A developer is asking St. Joseph County officials to rezone the corner of Capital Avenue and Douglas Road to build a small shopping center. It’s the first proposed development aiming to serve employees of the Microsoft data center that’s under construction nearby.
The developer will ask the county’s plan commission next Tuesday, Nov. 17, to rezone the southeast corner of Douglas and Capital from residential to commercial. They plan a building with three tenants, one simply designated as business, one as retail and one yet-to-be-named restaurant with a drive-thru.
The site lies within Mishawaka Utilities’ drinking water wellhead protection area, so its plans for handling wastewater would need state approval. But the area plan staff has recommended approval of the rezoning because it’s only within the 10-year “time of travel area,” meaning it would take any contaminants at least 10 years to reach the aquifer that supplies the city’s water.
The planning staff recommends approval on two conditions: that the developer hooks into city water and sewer when it becomes available to serve the Microsoft data center a quarter-mile to the north; and that 100 feet more of right-of-way is created on Douglas near the intersection to handle its customer traffic.
