HAMMOND | Unresolved issues concerning a developer's plan to build a new retail complex and multiscreen movie house on the city's far south side will delay any approval of the project until December.
Scheduled discussions between George Markopoulos -- who wants to renovate the former Interstate Plaza in the 7800 block of Indianapolis Boulevard -- and city planning staff haven't yet taken place, and the Plan Commission on Monday night gave the developer two more months to straighten things out.
"I think we're pretty close," said Nicholas Chulos, an attorney with the Schererville law firm Krieg DeVault, which represents Markopoulos' Blue Light Holdings, LLC, owner of the 25-acre property just south of the Borman Expressway.
The proposal calls for demolition of the long-vacant former Builders Square store at the site, remodeling of the 110,000-square-foot former Kmart into mixed retail space and the construction of at least three restaurants along with a 12-screen cinema.
But the site plan for the project includes a private street not owned by Blue Light, and would require a waiver or variance from the commission regarding access for existing adjacent properties and any proposed new construction.
Commissioners gave their preliminary approval for the development in July, contingent on the resolution of several concerns and outstanding issues raised by city planning staff.
"There are still numerous site plan issues," City Planner Brian Poland said Monday. "Either commissioners will grant the waiver with the conditions that staff recommends, or they don't grant the waiver."
If the developer doesn't agree with the Plan Commission's decision, their next option likely would be to take the matter to Lake County Superior Court, Poland said.
"We're ready to meet any time," Chulos said. "It behooves all of us to get everyone to the table and work out what we can."
Markopoulos, whose Northbrook, Ill.,-based Praedium Development Corp. owns the former Woodmar Mall property two miles north of the site, has estimated the new complex would involve $20 million to $23 million in investment and create as many as 150 permanent full-time jobs.
