Aug. 17–CROWN POINT — As many as 20 stores, several restaurants and two hotels would occupy the newly dubbed Crown Point Galleria at the 109th Avenue and Interstate 65 interchange in plans proposed by developer Todd Kleven.
The mall would be home to upscale occupants and would feature a centrally located showpiece water fountain, Kleven said last week in a workshop with the Plan Commission.
Kleven described the proposed development as a lifestyle center. Lifestyle centers are gaining in numbers and popularity across the country, he said.
Proposed for an eastern entry to the city off of the interstate, the Galleria “is really going to make a statement,” said Kleven, a vice president with Hawk Development Corp. and its I-65 Properties LLC division.
A preliminary map shows a group of three larger stores — the biggest at 105,000 square feet — at the north end of the site. It also shows a strip mall housing up to 10 smaller stores on the east side and another strip mall with room for six smaller stores on the west side, all north of 109th Avenue.
Two two-story hotels are shown south of 109th Avenue. One of the hotels would be more upscale than the other, Kleven said.
The total 421,700 square feet of retail, dining and lodging would amount to about $100 million in assessed value, Kleven said.
Kleven would not name any of the potential occupants. He said no letters of commitment had been signed. Kleven said the concept for the Galleria generated interest when he presented it at the International Council of Shopping Centers Global Retail Real Estate Convention in May in Las Vegas.
The development would likely draw clientele from the Crown Point area and points south, especially with the arrival of the planned Illiana Expressway, Kleven said.
Sporting events at the city’s 95-acre Sportsplex, on East North Street west of the Galleria proposed site, also would generate clientele, he said.
Planning board members were receptive to Kleven’s presentation.
“When you dream, you dream big,” board member Michael Conquest said.
“I would encourage you to move forward,” board President John Marshall said.
Kleven said he hopes to come back to the Plan Commission in 60 days to begin the city’s approval process.
Development at the I-65 and 109th Avenue intersection had been long hoped for. Hawk Development began acquiring land there about seven years ago, Kleven said.
Hawk Development Corp.’s I-65 Properties has agreed to pay the estimated $750,000 upfront cost of relocating an underground oil pipeline so the property can be developed.
The city would reimburse I-65 Properties the cost of the relocation from the additional tax increment financing income generated when the property is developed. If the property is not developed and doesn’t increase in value, I-65 Properties will not receive any money from the city, according to an agreement with Crown Point.
Plans are to move the pipeline from the south side to the north side of 109th on former farm land with no utility conflicts, Kleven said.
Plans also are to extend Delaware Parkway, which borders the west side of the Galleria property, north of 109th Avenue to 107th Avenue.
