I-35 development announcement expected soon

by Marianne Gasaway

Plans for development east of Interstate 35 may soon be revealed.

The City’s Planning and Zoning Commission is expected to consider a preliminary and final plat for the 66 acres of land located north of Highway 122.  In recent months the City has been preparing the area for development with sanitary and storm sewer lines, as well as paving North 32nd Street.

According to City Administrator Scott Flory, Courtway Development will submit plans for the area to the P&Z, scheduled to meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 25, at City Hall.  The Commission will then make its recommendation to the City Council.  That group could act on the measure at its Monday, July 1, regular meeting.

In March, Flory and Mayor Nelson Crabb revealed an $8.5 million large scale hotel-conference center is expected to be constructed in the city’s Northeast Urban Renewal Area, which encompasses a large area east of Interstate 35.It includes the North 32nd Street area on the north side of Highway 122 where the former Andrews Prestressed Concrete building once stood.

“The mayor and I have been involved in this project since last October and have met with representatives on the hotel several times.  It is a quality project and would be a real boon for Clear Lake,” Flory stated in May.  “A space like this is what we’ve been missing right now to attract larger conferences.  This would be a destination retreat at the professional level,”  he said, adding it could accommodate a group of

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500.

The hotel portion of the project would have approximately 80 rooms.

According to Flory, it has been about 23 years since a major hotel project has been built in Clear Lake.

At its regular meeting Monday night, the Council received a positive update from Jason Petersburg, of Veenstra & Kimm, on its North 32nd Street Improvement Project.  Petersburg said sanitary sewer work is 100 percent complete and storm sewer work will likely wrap up this week.  Grading for the new roadway is next, with paving anticipated during the second week of July, weather permitting.  The entire project should wrap up in late August, he said.

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