Welcome to the working week: A catch-up edition
Welcome to the working week: A catch-up edition
So long, Crane on Main. More on the roundabout at Purdue’s golf courses. More railroad relocation land readied for development. New Lafayette City Council districts. And did you see that Civic play?
Thanks to the KLD Alzheimer’s Foundation for sponsoring today’s edition. The KLD Foundation will host “A Night to Remember,” Saturday, Oct. 1. Join the KLD Alzheimer’s Foundation for a night of silent auctions, raffles, dinner, honoring a caregiver and celebrating the legacy of those that have or had Alzheimer’s or dementia. For tickets or more information, check the links below.
Let’s start the working week by cleaning out the notebook a bit …
CHERRY LANE/GOLF COURSE CLUBHOUSE RECONSTRUCTION: The West Lafayette City Council last week signed off on a land swap with Purdue and Purdue Research Foundation that will bring a whole new look for Cherry Lane at the entrance to the Boilermaker-Birck Golf Complex.
Over some objection – Cherry Lane resident Jim Rau said the city needed to take a deeper study of safety on the road before allowing a redesign – the city council agreed to a plan that will have PRF putting a bend in Cherry Lane, adding a roundabout at the golf course entrance and putting tunnels for golf carts under the road. The new jog to the north in Cherry Lane will open space for Purdue’s new Pete Dye Clubhouse, a $20 million to $25 million project near the first tees of the Kampen and Ackerman-Allen golf courses. Purdue is expected to cover costs of a project scheduled to start in November 2022 and reopen in September 2023. As for the rest of Cherry Lane, the city is looking at a design and construction timeline that stretches to 2031, according to a timeline present to the council.
Here’s a look at the plans:
SO LONG, CRANE ON MAIN: Temporary no parking signs went up this weekend for Monday in the 600 block of Main Street, as crews prepare to disassemble the massive crane that has loomed over the Luna Flats project, 631 Main St. (That would be the second crane that went up and came down this summer in downtown Lafayette, when factoring in work at the city’s Public Safety Center, under construction a block away along Sixth and Columbia streets.) As for the rest of the Luna Flats project? The leasing site says things are aimed for February 2023. Just a heads up.
LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL REDRAWS DISTRICTS: We still have the midterm election to get through in November, but the city council races in 2023 will take on slightly different shapes. Last week, the Lafayette City Council agreed to a new map for its six council districts, a once-a-decade process using fresh U.S. Census data. City Attorney Jacque Chosnek said the redistricting effort tried to keep the new districts as close as possible to the existing council maps. In 2023, all nine council seats will be up for election, with six council members chosen by district and three at-large seats chosen by voters across Lafayette. Here’s a look at the new district map, compared to the current one.
Map approved for 2023 election:
Current Lafayette City Council districts:
NEW DEVELOPMENT, OLD RAIL CORRIDOR: Earlier this summer, city officials started floating the idea of opening two tracts along a former rail corridor south of downtown Lafayette for a planned development of homes. In recent weeks, the city’s redevelopment commission advertised that it would take proposals from developers Sept. 22 for strips of land on either side of South Fourth Street, about midway between Kossuth and Fountain streets.
How many houses and what sort of market they’d serve hasn’t been put to paper. Dennis Carson, Lafayette’s economic development director, told the redevelopment commission in August the request for proposals for the property would hopefully drum up interest and ideas from developers.
The land is the latest remnant of Lafayette’s Railroad Relocation Project targeted by the city for redevelopment. The Lafayette Railroad Relocation project took 29 years and $186 million, rerouting trains from the heart of the city to a corridor along the Wabash River and eliminating dozens of at-grade crossings by 2001.
Among the projects on former rail lines: Work is expected to start this year on homes on a section of South Eighth Street, a block from South Street, on another chunk of land that once had rails. In September 2020, the city sold the once blighted land to Triple R LLC – a partnership of the Rider family that already owns and has renovated 13 properties in the nearby Ellsworth-Romig Neighborhood – for $1,000, in a deal that Mayor Tony Roswarski called “a once-in-a-lifetime moment” for that part of the city. Developer Jeff Rider has plans for a $12 million project to build between 20 and 22 custom homes – ones that started in the $275,000 range – near Eighth and Oregon streets.
Coming up …
CIVIC’S ‘THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG’: I didn’t see it, but if the social media feed was correct the past few days – and from what I saw, I’d trust it – this weekend’s sold-out productions of “The Play That Goes Wrong” was a hit at Civic Theatre of Greater Lafayette. Four shows remain, Thursday through Saturday. For tickets and more information, here’s your link.
THE SIDEWALK CHALK FESTIVAL: Artists of all sorts are still being taken for this week’s Lafayette Sidewalk Chalk Festival, hosted by The Friends of the Education Building at First Baptist Church, at Seventh and North streets in Lafayette. Those who sign up will get a section of sidewalk near the church. Work hours will be noon-5 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday. The exhibits will be up … until it rains. If you know an artist who would like to reserve a square of sidewalk, email hlm@hlmohler.com or text to 765-742-0252.
BLUE MASS AT ST. MARY: The public is invited to a Blue Mass for those in police, fire, dispatchers, EMS and other public service roles Thursday, Sept. 15, at St. Mary Cathedral, 1207 Columbia St., in Lafayette. Sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, the service will be 5:15 p.m. The Blue Mass concept dates to 1934 in services held across the country, taking its name from the blue uniforms often associated with law enforcement and other public service professions. David Tate, a chaplain with the Lafayette Fire Department and Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Department, said the Blue Mass has been held periodically through the years and is being revived this year. “This came after 9/11 as a way of recognizing those who serve and put their lives on the line every day,” Tate said. “We shouldn't have to wait till a funeral to say thank you for your service.”
Thanks, again, to the KLD Alzheimer’s Foundation for sponsoring today’s edition. The KLD Foundation will host “A Night to Remember,” Saturday, Oct. 1. Join the KLD Alzheimer’s Foundation for a night of silent auctions, raffles, dinner, honoring a caregiver and celebrating the legacy of those that have or had Alzheimer’s or dementia. For tickets or more information, scroll to the top of today’s page or check the link here.
NEW OPTION: You can get group subscriptions to the Based in Lafayette reporting project. Get a 15% discount if you purchase four or more subscriptions as a group. Click here to get it lined up.
Tips or story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com. Also on Twitter and Instagram.
I appreciate these check-ins on multiple stories. I'm not clear why the railroad sections need to be developed. Why not maintain them as public green space? Some benches. A pergola here and there.