MIchigan City Development Thread! |
MIchigan City Development Thread! |
Mar 3 2015, 01:29 PM
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Getting Comfortable Group: Members Posts: 42 Joined: 22-January 13 Member No.: 1,242 |
I think that we should have a thread where we can keep track of and discuss projects that are under construction, planned or proposed for the city. We can also exchange ideas about what types of developments Michigan City needs to attract to be competitive in the region. I am sort of a development nerd and the idea comes from 'Skyscraperpage' where the site is devoted to major construction projects from around the world.
Current projects and proposals: Michigan City Police Station Lifeworks Business Park Construction on South Franklin Realignment of Washington and Pine New activities center/pavilion at Washington Park U.S. 421 Overpass U.S. 12 bridge Franklin Street Bridge LMGIS Art Space Proposed "up-scale" hotel for North End Former Memorial Hospital Site Trail Creek Corridor Beautification of Nipsco Cooling Tower Nipsco "Scrubber" NICTD Track Realignment We have a lot of development in the works. I've always felt that Michigan City is a sleeping giant that has the potential to dominate the region. We have had multiple developers envision high-rises and mid-rises in the city at various locations. I can remember back in 2006-2007 a developer from Chicago wanted to demolish Galveston Steakhouse and erect a 13 story "S" shaped condo on the site before the economy collapsed. Another developer proposed two 20 story condo/hotel buildings for the former Memorial Hospital site and Lohan-Anderson recommended 3-24 story condos for Trail Creek next to Blue Chip. The possibilities are endless but the city must rid itself of the terrible NIMBY'ism which harms our growth. I hope to hear of other projects in the city that people have knowledge of that I am unaware of and welcome even rumors. For instance, I have a friend with ties to sources in the city and he has stated that they are working towards Marquette Mall being demolished with the city claiming emanate domain. Whether it is substantial I don't know but it is certainly conceivable and necessary. He also claimed that the mall doubled the rent of Applebee's and that is why they exited the city. I hope Michigan City does not work to just become Valparaiso redux which I fear is the idea. Michigan City has a unique opportunity to become more South Bend like with major developments. We have almost double the Sq. Mileage of Valpo and La Porte. The problem is Michigan City is largely underdeveloped. We have large swaths of land primed for mixed use projects. Cleveland Ave. for one has the potential to be even more prominent with a greater density than Franklin Street yet it has attracted no interest from what I can glean. The sign for "Cleveland Crossing" has been up for 8-10 years. I would also like to see Michigan City attract more authentic ethnic restaurants and other businesses to give more of a big city feel by offering something for everyone and widening the demographics rather than just being a high-end mono-cultural boutique city like Valpo. A market research company suggested Michigan City also attract a college campus somewhere downtown to give a "university feel" to the North End. Either PNC, Ivy Tech or I.U. That would be an excellent idea to bolster growth. |
Jan 13 2018, 01:20 PM
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Getting Comfortable Group: Members Posts: 42 Joined: 22-January 13 Member No.: 1,242 |
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the City's most embarrassing and clueless moment this year in modernization and redevelopment by turning down La Porte County's offer to jointly build a new courthouse in Michigan City for $22 million with only $6 million coming from the city. Instead they will now senselessly spend $16 million renovating the current courthouse which inconveniently sits dead in the middle of the intended redevelopment area directly across from a planned mid-rise hotel. Need any further proof of incompetent urban planning in this city? I wouldn't have cared if the money came from my taxes, I would have gladly cheered them demolishing that awful courthouse. Why have a new police station, city hall and courthouse? Nothing like showing outside investors how serious you are when you won't even take risks or contribute to redevelopment outside of infrastructure yourself.
Oh, and the city employing facadism for the new "state of the art" train station, according to Ron Meer is another giant gaffe. That facade is hardly relative, intricate or worth saving. Now we will have some ho-hum design limited in its scope and scale because they must incorporate some contrived historical value piece that no one in the city remotely cares about. Why build an avant garde train station when you can preserve an unsightly history... |
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