Area residents will have a chance to get a clearer view of a new proposal to redevelop Calumet Country Club as Catalyst Consulting, the firm that created the plan, begins a series of open sessions intended to inform the community about the project. So far, the new plan does not appear to have won over opponents to industrial development on the site.
Catalyst officials Vince Bass and Jerry Lewis were guests Monday night of Glenwood Trustee Adam Winston’s regular Tea and Conversation livestream session along with representatives of South Suburbs for Greenspace, a group that formed early last year to oppose industrial uses for the country club property.
Bass and Lewis said they plan to host more meetings at 6 p.m. on Thursdays at the clubhouse, 2136 175th St. They hope to dispel rumors and provide facts about their plans, they said.
Bass said the plan has not yet been formally submitted to the village of Hazel Crest for consideration. The property was part of Homewood until last year, when property owner Walt Brown of Diversified Partners successfully sued to disconnect from the village. In order to receive municipal services, the property will have to be annexed by Hazel Crest before a project can begin.
He said the new project is very different from the one Diversified Partners presented to Homewood, which was solely devoted to warehousing. He and Lewis mentioned a range of uses they intended to develop in addition to warehousing, including an indoor sports facility, an aquaponics farm, a prefabricated home manufacturing plant, a grocery store, a hotel, a pet hotel and an indoor water park.
The site will retain 30 acres of green space, Lewis said, and he estimated the development would create 3,000 jobs.
“We have actually appealed, based on our studies, to what’s needed in the Southland,” he said.
Liz Varmecky and a number of SSG members pushed back on the positive portrayal, noting that the site will still host a large warehousing facility, and warehouses generate truck traffic.
SSG, she said, was “founded to try to protect the greenspace in the Southland against having an industrial development on this site. This site is right next to two residential neighborhoods.
“We have significant concerns about flooding, pollution and road access. Though this new plan does have perimeter uses that could be of interest to the community, behind all of those uses it’s just warehouses.”
She cited a report from Hazel Crest Village Attorney John Murphey that said the new plan calls for 50% more warehouse space than Diversified’s proposal.
Gary Dingle, president of NAACP Chicago Far South Suburban Branch, asked if the perimeter businesses are expected to be viable, could the warehousing element be eliminated?
“If we can get rid of the trucking stuff it may be an easy path,” he said. “The community doesn’t want trucking. They don’t want the warehouses. Why the trucking. Why do we need it at this property?”
“We’re not just building warehouses for the sake of building them,” Lewis said. “We’re building them because of the demand in the market today.”
A number of participants asked for specifics about traffic, zoning and other issues with the project. Lewis said details will be made available at the Thursday discussion sessions.
“We’re looking forward to the conversation,” Bass said. “We’re here for the community.”