BRIAN WILLIAMS, Times of Northwest Indiana
bwilliams@nwitimes.com
CHESTERTON | Little is being said publicly about a potential land deal that could bring entertainment, sports, medical and business venues to Coffee Creek.
Edmund Kwiecien, president and chief executive officer of the Optiva Group Ltd., of Strongsville, Ohio, said Friday that because of a nondisclosure agreement, he is unable to talk about the possible deal, although he said he hoped to be in Chesterton in several weeks.
Earlier in the week, the Optiva Web site outlined plans for a lifestyle center featuring a luxury hotel, a 2,500-seat community playhouse, shops, restaurants and three nightclubs near the 167-acre Coffee Creek Watershed Preserve.
The Web site also trumpeted a 10,000-seat sports complex, a 200-bed hospital, a cancer center, shops, restaurants and nightclubs at Coffee Creek Center.
The sports complex could accommodate indoor hockey, arena football and soccer. Discussions were in progress with an unnamed arena football team, the site said. Plans for an indoor water park were also in the works, it said.
Optiva has been in negotiations for at least a year with Gierczyk Companies, a Homewood, Ill., real estate development concern, and Lake Erie Land Co., a subsidiary of energy provider NiSource Inc., said Jeff Trout, a member of the Chesterton Town Council. Developer James Gierczyk bought major parcels of the 640-acre Coffee Creek Center two years ago from Lake Erie Land.
Town Council President James Ton said many have shown interest in the Coffee Creek location over the years, but he has heard nothing that would lead him to believe a deal was close to being finalized.
"We're not interested in speculation, we're interested in propositions," Ton said.
Representatives of Gierczyk and Lake Erie Land could not be reached for comment.