Plans for a Portage retail development with a possible Target store continue to move forward.
An ordinance presented to the city council Tuesday would rezone more than 84 acres at the southeast corner of U.S. 6 and Airport Road, allowing for commercial and multi-family residential development.
Attorney Dave Westland represents developer Simon CRE. He said the retail portion, to be known as The Landing at Portage, would include about 330,000 square feet of commercial space.
"The center has direct access from U.S. Highway 6, $75 million to $100 million in investments, when you include both the commercial and the light multifamily," Westland told council members.
He said Simon CRE hasn't finalized a developer for the residential portion of the project to the south, but he expects it could include paired homes or townhouses, similar to a subdivision planned south of that. "I don't think there's been a determination, but I know the developer is looking forward to working with the city and potential builders to get something that everybody's happy with," Westland said.
The rezoning ordinance will be up for final approval at a future meeting. No tax abatement has been requested for the development yet, but that doesn't mean a request won't come forward in the future.
Meanwhile, council members voted to rezone land in the 2800 block of Willowcreek Road, allowing Ladybug Laundry to build a location north of Biggby Coffee.
Ladybug President Logan Wuethrich said it will offer self-service and drop-off service, but not dry cleaning. "As a full-service laundry, we've got vending machines. We've got the TVs, Wi-Fi, the whole nine yards, to come and do your work while you've got to sit for an hour and wait," Wuethrich told council members.
Ladybug Laundry currently has 12 locations in seven Northwest Indiana counties.
