By PAULENE POPARAD

Chesterton Advisory Plan Commission members said there are significant and satisfactory differences between the GK retail mall rejected last year and the new 333,795 square-foot Mills Pond project proposed Thursday by a different developer.

By providing a major entrance at Rail Road and Kelle Drive, an improved interior traffic plan and a dedicated right-turn lane from northbound State Road 49 before the County Road 1100N stop light, in member Jeff Trout’s opinion, “It’s a great improvement over anything we’ve had so far.”

Four-sided finished faces on three smaller-scale buildings along 1100N and on four moderate-sized ones along State Road 49, combined with other details like upscale architectural standards, specialized lighting and landscaping, all were well-received by the commission.

One main 126,000 square-foot anchor and two junior anchors would be on the east side of the 40-acre project. All tenants are so far unidentified other than CVS, which previously announced it wants to relocate to the site but no final agreement has been reached.

Mills Pond’s developer is Robert Rossman of Crown Point who is working with Indianapolis-based Kite Realty Group. Rossman’s team is responsible for the 80-acre Beacon Hill retail center at 109th Avenue and Broadway in Lake County anchored by a Strack & Van Til food center.

Rossman representative Jeff Ban of DVG Inc. told Chesterton commission members, “We’re not here to shove a plan down the town’s throat.” The goal is to address issues that were not adequately addressed by GK, he added. “If we can’t get to that point, we won’t continue with the project.”

The next step would be submitting a traffic impact analysis (TIA). Ban said they are aware of the town’s plans to redesign the 1100N intersection at South Calumet Road by closing the latter, and to upgrade 1100N at County Road 100E with a traffic signal.

The commission voted 6-0 that the petitioner post $15,000 in escrow so the town can hire and pay an independent traffic engineer to review the anticipated Mills Pond TIA. In a technicality, the developer was advised to re-apply after March 26 because the current property owner, John Ameling, was the same for GK and a rejected petition must wait one year to be resubmitted.

Traffic again a concern

Ban described 1100N as the town’s main east/west road and said the goal will be interconnecting traffic signals at Pioneer Trail, State Road 49 and 100E as one corridor. He pointed to the series of stop lights at State Road 49 along Indian Boundary Road as an example.

As did GK’s plan, Mills Pond currently shows its main entrance on 1100N at a new stop light at Pioneer Trail, however, Ban said his group would prefer to locate the main entrance farther east on 1100N and increase the distance from State Road 49. Commission member Mike Bannon encouraged him to study that option.

Ban said the entrance on Rail Road was upgraded to serve local residents and take the pressure off 1100N. “We understand the traffic is of tremendous concern.” But commission member Frank Sessa said he has yet to encounter back-ups at South Calumet Road and 1100N. “I don’t know what all the concern is about traffic on that road. I think it’s blown way out of proportion.”

With a proposed right-in, right-out road cut onto 1100N and a third service entrance there as well, Trout said the Mills Pond plan gives motorists more options. “I think it fits the community better (but) I don’t know it’s perfect by any means.”

Town engineer Mark O’Dell advised three road cuts onto 1100N may be too many. Commission President Fred Owens said the dedicated right turn off State Road 49 before 1100N has to account for drivers who will want to cross lanes and turn left into WiseWay at Pioneer Trail; Ban agreed the situation isn’t ideal and needs to be studied.

Bannon said unlike GK funneling most interior traffic in front of its busy main anchors, Mills Pond directs more traffic along its west side as well as on a continuation of the widened Rail Road entrance that bisects the main parking lot. He noted that there needs to be a better designation where pedestrians should cross.

Commission member Steve Yagelski asked why the main west interior road was not continued through to Rail Road. Ban said he didn’t believe there was adequate sight distance to the west near the State Road 49 overpass but a second Rail Road intersection moved slightly to the east can be studied.

Although the Mills Pond square footage is slightly less than GK proposed, Bannon said he’d like to see it reduced again even though the project isn’t overly dense now for the area it consumes. He asked that the rear of the anchor stores facing Coffee Creek to the east also be aesthetically pleasing, and that interior intersections be landscaped.

Ban said they want to work with the Coffee Creek Watershed Conservancy. A walking path along the wetlands and a detention pond is planned, as is an observation overlook pier. Owens said parking needs to be identified for these amenities.

Adjacent-use concerns

Trout said the location of mall tenants can affect traffic citing three restaurants in the Galleria retail center on Indian Boundary that tie up parking spaces. Ban said he can draft language preventing such high-traffic generators from locating side-by-side.

He also said they are not ready to present design details for Mills Pond buildings, however, Yagelski asked that architectural standards be incorporated in the planned-unit development ordinance rather than in the tenant covenants so the town can enforce them.

Commission member Sig Niepokoj asked about the intensity of the lighting in the parking lots, now planned for 1,503 vehicles. Ban said the lights would be lower in height, less bright and some turned off when not needed.

After the meeting Ban said developers are looking for high-end, upscale tenants and he invited the community to tell them what businesses residents would like to see. GK had proposed a Target and a Kohl’s as anchor stores. Mills Pond has no accelerated timetable or groundbreaking deadline, according to Ban.

He displayed a large area map for the commission identifying the centrally located Mills Pond parcel saying, “This is a very small singular piece in the entire puzzle of a community.” Chesterton’s downtown would be 1.2 miles to the north.

Although Thursday’s conceptual presentation wasn’t a formal hearing, residents spoke under comments from the public. Maureen Foos said the same traffic issues identified for GK still exist. “Please be very cognizant that traffic doesn’t back up in all directions.”

Jim Oates said he’s been told that good planning provides for development at major intersections and cloverleafs, not on side streets or county roads. About 25 persons were in the audience, several from the Duneland First grass-roots group that provided substantial input during the GK hearings.

Woodlawn plan cut down

In other business, the commission expressed reservations during a concept review regarding a potential two-acre development at 951 Woodlawn Ave. that could be subdivided into five lots having up to 20 living units in the Residential-3 zoning district. An existing home is on the parcel.

Concerns were raised regarding density, stormwater drainage and the use of a cul-de-sac making access for emergency services more difficult. “It’s a congested area already and this would be tight,” said Owens.

Trout suggested Shapiro, representing John Geary, Larry Koldziej and Sam Shultz, revise his plans. Shapiro later said, “We’ll be back. We’ll make the adjustments and go from there.”

Finally approved on secondary plat with member George Stone absent were the 94-unit Village Green Townhomes after months of review and public comment; the project is planned as 35 buildings on 15 acres at the southeast corner of County Road 1050N and Kelle Drive east of State Road 49.

Because the townhome parcel was previously platted for other uses in Coffee Creek Center, numerous approvals from the Plan Commission and Town Council were required.

Posted 3/16/207