Merrillville is one of Northwest Indiana's most populous communities, but there's still plenty of room for growth, according to information presented Monday as part of the town's comprehensive planning process.
More than 43 percent of the town is open or agricultural, including much of the portion east of Mississippi Street, and planners believe that the population could grow from 36,000 now to 47,000 to 53,000 by 2045. To keep up with that growth, the Merrillville Momentum plan suggests focusing on medium-density homes — duplexes, town homes or single-family homes on smaller lots.
But it also calls for building on the town's history as a commercial hub and revitalizing some of its major shopping centers. Broadway Plaza could see façade improvements, parking lot upgrades and better walkways connecting it to Broadway. Crossroads Plaza could see similar improvements, but some empty stores could be replaced by new housing. Century Plaza could also see new uses, like commercial recreation or an enterprise or innovation district, with smaller parcels to attract start-up businesses.
Meanwhile, the former Star Plaza site, for the most part, is envisioned to return to what it was known for: commercial, office and hospitality, with the potential for new apartments. The main focus for the site would be private development. But there could also be new public spaces, like a central park, children's museum and an indoor/outdoor performance venue.
Merrillville Momentum also envisions a new town hall behind the existing one with a mixed-used development to go along with it, including an amphitheater, a new plaza and office space for community agencies and non-profits.
The plan also calls for new connections to tie the community together. That includes a Merrillville Promenade — a network of paths connecting Hidden Lake Park, Merrillville High School and the Dean & Barbara White Community Center — with an overpass over Broadway and an underpass under the railroad tracks. Other future trails could include an extension of the C&O Greenway east to County Line Road and a "Power Line Trail" connecting the Erie-Lackawanna Trail east to Methodist Hospital, along with pedestrian overpasses crossing U.S. 30 near Grant and Rhode Island. A new roadway could connect 80th Place and 79th Avenue, giving local traffic another way to cross I-65 without using U.S. 30.
The Merrillville Momentum Comprehensive Plan is in its final stages. Once complete, it'll help guide the town's development for the next 20 years.
