A $300 million development in Michigan City faces an uncertain path forward. The 14-story SOLA project would bring 179 condominiums and a 240-room hotel to the city’s lakefront area. The developer has had an exclusive agreement to develop the land at Michigan and Franklin, but the city says the developer hasn’t been able to close out on the financing.
On Wednesday, the city’s redevelopment commission denied a request to extend the deadline again and split the hotel and condos into separate phases. Commission Chair Sheila Brillson Matias said, after years of discussions and multiple extensions, they’re experiencing “SOLA fatigue.”
“I’ve witnessed people on our team really trying hard to do the right thing for the community, but, you know, there comes a time where you have to just say, ‘I give,’” Matias said.
Unless the developer is able to finalize the necessary financing, the agreement will expire at the end of the month. At that point, the “site will be evaluated for future redevelopment opportunities consistent with long-standing City goals,” according to a city press release.
Resident Scott Meland said it may be best to start over with a new developer. “Now that it is six years in the future and we have [the South Shore Line's] double tracking and we have momentum in this town, the value of that parcel is considerably more than it was five years in the past,” Meland told the redevelopment commission.
Still, Matias said she’d be open to the current developer submitting a new proposal focusing on the hotel, if the funding is there. She said she’s not opposed to growth in the city, but it needs to be done in a smart, strategic way.
“We have only one chance to redo our lakefront – one chance – because once it’s gone, it’s gone,” Matias added.
In the press release, Mayor Angie Nelson Deuitch said, “development agreements must be guided by clear milestones,” and when a project doesn’t meet requirements, it’s the city’s “responsibility to acknowledge that reality and move forward.”
