The Stone Quarry Lounge is a popular stop in Portage, but Mayor Austin Bonta hopes the new road being built to create a new downtown won’t stop at the bar.
The Redevelopment Commission on Thursday authorized paying up to $35,000 to buy a partial parcel to extend the road being created in front of Portage Mall south beyond the Stone Quarry and possibly as far south as Central Avenue.
The alley being developed behind Portage Mall would extend past the Stone Quarry, too, to allow for deliveries without disrupting the flow of traffic in front of the buildings.
The RDC previously authorized buying land in pieces from the Portage Mall property owners, carving out pieces in back for the alley and in front for a new streetscape to replace the parking lot.
Redevelopment Director Dan Botich and Bonta want to turn the old strip mall into the core of the new downtown being built north of Central Avenue. The RDC plans to build a road in front of the shops with parking along the street that will create more spaces than the existing parking lot. Streets will branch off from there, connecting other areas to be absorbed into the new downtown.
The RDC already owns land on the east side of the mall that it plans to offer for development after the new street is built.
“We began this process obviously not factoring the Stone Quarry in,” Bonta said, but it wasn’t forgotten. “The Stone Quarry was always in the back of our mind.”
The price the city plans to offer uses the same formula for square footage as was used for other properties, he said.
Acquiring the needed portions of the Stone Quarry parcel would extend the road and alley to Blueberry Hill Pancake House. From there, it’s a relatively short distance to Central Avenue. First, though, the Stone Quarry section of the road and alley is needed.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
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