The last developable land in Schererville is a blank slate that’s going to require a lot of careful consideration before the town decides to build something on it.
The Town Council won’t be alone in making the decision, though, as it’s asked residents to weigh in on what they want for the approximately 60-acre former Illiana Speedway that it purchased in 2016. About 50 of them attended a special May 24 study session to do just that.
After a February meeting in which the town heard from independent minor league baseball group The Northern League and engineering firm American Structurepoint about a proposed multipurpose, minor-league field for the property, the residents didn’t mention it in their suggestions. Some were more interested in a complex like Bulldog Park in Crown Point or the Urschel Pavilion in Valparaiso, where the floor can be frozen for ice skating and events year-round.
Others, like Keith Brown, who coaches for Tri-Town Pop Warner Football, would like to see a sports complex that could be used for indoor and outdoor sports. That organization’s fields will be displaced as the Kennedy Avenue extension is completed.
Michael Hat took that idea one step further and described a multipurpose, five-story structure with something for everyone.
“What would be neat: Have some retail and food, have a cigar bar, but put a lookout center on the top that can be used for weddings and other events,” he said. “You can have a little fun outside and memorialize the track with a go-kart track and have food trucks pull up.”
Resident Greg Gilbertson, would also like to see the track honored in some way, such as having a prominent brass plaque like the one demarcating U.S 30. He, however, would like to see the land be restored entirely to a nature preserve with no business on it.
“What I don’t want to see is a strip mall,” Gilbertson said. “(Route) 41 is full of business, and this is the only stretch of property not riddled with businesses. I would hate to see that end.”
Town Council President Tom Schmitt, D-4, said plans for the land initially focused on a potential business park, but that idea was scrapped because residents don’t want it. The COVID-19 pandemic then stalled everything, he said.
Study attendees had the chance to complete a survey and give the top 10 items they’d like to see. Among the 30 items proposed were a bandshell, basketball courts, golf course, baseball fields, softball fields, a pool, BMX bike track, field hockey and an arboretum.
The town is accepting public comment through June, after which it’ll send out a Request for Proposal based on the top 5 items later this summer, Schmitt said. Because it’ll end up costing millions of dollars, the project will likely be funded through a combination of Parks and Recreation funds and American Rescue Plan money, he said.
The town will continue to collect public comment throughout June, so residents can submit suggestions at schererville.org/contact/ or look for the survey to in their June water bills.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
