Plans for an osteopathic medical school to be built near Franciscan Health Crown Point drew praise when presented for the first time to the Crown Point Plan Commission on Monday.
Yet some Plan Commission members, including Michael Conquest, questioned the type of housing proposed for the development and who would operate the apartments set to be used primarily by students, but not limited to students.
He, along with other members, asked Jon Gilmore, president and CEO of Tonn and Blank, to bring back more concrete plans about that aspect of the development.
Gilmore said that he would bring back to planners more options for the proposed apartments.
“This is going to be awesome,” Conquest said in regard to the proposed medical school.
The medical school, associated retail and housing will be built in a joint effort by Franciscan Health and Tonn and Blank Construction Company, said Gilmore.
The new medical school, with the first class of students projected to begin in 2030, will be built on a 116-acre parcel near Interstate 65 and U.S. 231 across the street from Franciscan Health Crown Point, Gilmore said.
The initial first-year class size will be 100 medical students, with enrollment growing each year to 200 students in each class, Gilmore said.
The medical school will eventually reach a total enrollment of 800 students, Kevin Leahy, President/CEO of Franciscan Alliance, said in a previous news release.
In other business, the Plan Commission also approved a site development plan for a Holiday Inn Express to be built at 125 S. Superior Drive.
Plans are to begin construction of the 99-room, 55,000-square-foot hotel later this year, Crown Point Investment spokesman Amit Shaw said.
The Plan Commission also gave primary plat approval to a one-lot commercial subdivision at 1305 E. 101st Ave.
Jim Wieser, an attorney for V1 Crown Point, LLC, said plans are to build a 1.2-million-square-foot warehouse to be used for distribution.
Deborah Laverty is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
