The $303 million SoLa development that will bring a Renaissance Hotel, condos and a rooftop pool to the Michigan City lakefront is geared toward attracting out-of-towners.
The 14-story, 700,000-square-foot mixed-use development with cutting-edge architecture is catering to tourists and Chicagoans and others seeking second homes to get away from during the summer months.
However, the resort-style development will still offer amenities to locals. It's looking at hosting community events, such as outdoor movie screenings and farmers' or pop-up markets.
SoLa will also feature 21,000 square feet of retail space. It's expected to bring in high-end restaurants, bars and an outdoor retailer that will offer rentals that will allow people to better enjoy the Lake Michigan shoreline.
The developers expect to bring in a local outdoor retailer that will rent out bicycles and kayaks, said Alan Schachtman, the CEO of ASA Real Estate Development and one of the partners in the development. Tourists, part-time residents and locals alike will be able to rent kayaks to take into Lake Michigan and Trail Creek and bikes to enjoy Washington Park, Mount Baldy Beach, the Indiana Dunes National Park, the new Singing Sands Trail and other outdoor amenities.
Bicycle and kayak rentals have been taking off in popularity along the South Shore of Lake Michigan after the surge of visitation that followed the Indiana Dunes being elevated from a National Lakeshore to a National Park in 2019. Pedal Power for instance rents bikes out of a trailer at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center in Porter.
Both Grand Calumet Bikes and the Gary Public Transit Corporation's Cycle219 rent out bicycles in Gary's Miller neighborhood near Marquette Park and the Miller Woods in the Indiana Dunes National Park. J&M Excursions rents out kayaks to explore the Miller Lagoon where the Grand Calumet River meets Lake Michigan. Paddle Portage and Miller's Marine rent out kayaks and canoes to explore Lake Michigan, the Burns Waterway and Salt Creek.
Bike shops, some located near trails, also rent out bicycles across Northwest Indiana.
"We've got a strong expression of interest from an outdoor outfitter that's going to sell outdoor apparel and products and rent out bikes and kayaks," he said. "It will be like a REI thought the space would be too small to be an actual REI."
Farpoint Development has already sold 30% of the 170 condos it plans to build, including a record $2.5 million sale for a penthouse suite overlooking Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline.
"It's been quite a complicated project, but we're seeing an increase in velocity on sales now that people see that this is going to happen," Schachtman said. "Demand was never an issue, but there was a question of whether this was ever going to happen. A lot of people had skepticism about the project. But two big things happened. We signed an agreement to bring in a Marriott Renaissance hotel and secure a tax-increment financing district and Economic Improvement District bonds. Now people see this is finally going to happen."
The project is planned for a 2.8-acre site where the police station and Michigan City News-Dispatch newsroom used to be, and Matthew Hoffman's You Are Beautiful sculpture is now. Short for South of the Lake, SoLa will consist of a 242-room Renaissance Hotel, 170 condominiums and 18 townhomes.
Developer Scott Goodman said the goal is to transform Michigan City into more of a resort-style community like New Buffalo just across the border in Southwest Michigan.
"There's been an acceleration in sales with every new announcement," Schachtman said. "We're just finalizing all the other pieces."
The goal is to break ground next year and open in 2028.
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