Board approves Drive and Shine car wash, lube center for former Old Chicago site

The Town of Merrillville Board of Zoning Appeals on an approximately 4-0 vote approved a special-exception request from Drive and Shine to demolish the former Old Chicago building at 740 East 80th (the northwest corner of Rhode Island Street and Delaware Place) and build an indoor tunnel car wash, outdoor vacuum areas and a three-bay loop oil-change center.

Board members heard that the project would be a major private investment and that the petitioner proposes industry-standard environmental controls and traffic controls. The applicant said the site would include water-recycling systems, oil–water separators, landscaping and a glass-front indoor wash area, and described the development as a “$15,000,000” investment intended to spur redevelopment along the U.S. 30 corridor.

Applicant representatives said the site plan shows the main entrance at the existing Old Chicago driveway on Rhode Island, an exit-only on the southeast corner and additional drives on Delaware Place to serve the loop center and lube area. The petitioner said the operation would process vehicles quickly: the company described its tunnels as capable of washing “150 to 180 cars an hour,” and estimated daily demand between “200 to 600 cars per day” for the car wash and roughly “30 cars per day” for the lube center. The company said staffing would be “5 to 7 employees” on a shift and proposed hours of 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday–Saturday and 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

In response to board questions, the applicant said site civil engineering and detention will be addressed during the permit-stage submittal and that existing utilities and regional detention ponds serve the site. The petitioner acknowledged the plan is preliminary and indicated flexibility on driveway configuration to address queuing and safe egress. The applicant also said municipal fleet accounts sometimes receive discounted service at other Drive and Shine locations and that they had begun inquiries about municipal fleet pricing for Merrillville vehicles.

The board motion approving special-exception application Z2E2-0225 included a condition requiring the petitioner to address traffic flow as part of final engineering review; the motion passed on a roll-call vote of four ayes, zero opposed.

A resident and local developer spoke in favor of the request, saying the use is consistent with surrounding commercial activity and that no nearby residences would be affected by noise. No members of the public spoke in opposition during the hearing.

The board’s approval authorizes the special exception for this location and this use only; engineering, site plan approval, permitting and any required sign variances (including any LED/message board) remain subject to later approvals and the applicant’s civil submissions.