Eagle Creek subdivision gets Hobart planners nod

A proposal to build 48 single-family homes with price tags ranging from $250,000 to $350,000 at 61st Avenue and Arizona Street received approvals Thursday from the Hobart Plan Commission and residents of the neighboring Deep River Estates.

Mike Macki, representing Merrillville-builder Cornerstone Design Development, said the company hopes to begin construction in July on the project, called Eagle Creek Crossing, which is expected to take four years to complete.

Macki said there will be eight house designs, all with 30% brick and the remaining vinyl, from which to choose.

Engineer Randy Peterson said the development will be built on almost 23 acres at the northeast corner of 61st Avenue and Arizona Street, to the north of Deep River Estates. He said the lot sizes will be about 12,000 square feet and the homes will be served by Hobart sanitary sewer and Indiana American Water.

The city several years ago extended a sanitary sewer line down 61st Avenue and improved the arterial road from the Hobart border to the west to Indiana 51 to the east in hopes of attracting new development.

Mayor Brian Snedecor and City Council members have also said they wanted to attract more higher priced housing in the city.

“Staff worked to prepare a project that the city and residents have been asking for,” City Planner Sergio Mendoza said.

Hobart Realtor Andrew Batistatos voiced his support.

“As a Realtor in this city this project looks good and there is a need for houses in this price range,” Batistatos said.

Residents of Deep River Estates expressed their approval of the project, which some said was more desirable than other plans presented in the past, but asked that the two subdivisions not be connected via Hickory Street as proposed and that the entrance to Deep River Estates remain on 61st Avenue instead of Arizona Street.

They said Deep River Estates has always been on a dead end street and they want to keep it that way.

While City Engineer Phil Gralik said the entrance at Deep River Drive and 61st Avenue will eventually be closed as the result of a recent 20-year traffic study, the commission agreed with Councilman Dave Vinzant’s suggestion that a temporary barrier, such as planters, be placed on Hickory Street where it will one day connect the two subdivisions.

“It won’t happen overnight,” Vinzant said of the eventual changes.

Gralik said the traffic study found that if 61st Avenue remains the same, expected increased traffic will cause backups resulting in delays of almost 12 minutes.

“We want to eliminate all traffic signals on 61st and will have roundabouts at all major intersections on the road,” Gralik said.

One of the conditions for approval of the Eagle Creek Crossing is that the developer pay a fair share of the cost of the roundabout. Another condition calls for a uniform fence to be erected along Arizona Street.

Karen Caffarini is a freelance reporter for the PostTribune.