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Merrillville approves multiple special exceptions: two car washes, used-car lot and Mexican restaurant
Summary
The council approved special-exception requests for two car washes, a used-car dealership and a Mexican restaurant; Drive and Shine’s approval includes a required traffic study.
MERRILLVILLE, Ind. — The Merrillville Town Council on April 8 approved four special-exception requests from the Board of Zoning Appeals for commercial uses at or near U.S. 30 and West 80th Avenue and other corridors: two car washes, a used-car lot and a Mexican restaurant.
Drive and Shine, proposing to convert the former Old Chicago restaurant at 740 East 80th Avenue into a luxury car wash with an enclosed two-story indoor vacuum building and an attached lube center, received approval conditioned on a traffic study satisfactory to town engineering. The council voted 5 in favor with one abstention — Councilman Sean Pettit declared a conflict and abstained, stating he had a financial relationship with Drive and Shine’s billboard holdings.
Jeff Ban, principal with DVG Team (engineering and surveying), told the council the Drive and Shine project represents roughly $15 million of planned investment, including land and equipment. “The investment that is being proposed…
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