Hammond BZA approves Reserve event venue at 5231 Homan Avenue with limits on ticketed music and expanded parking radius

The Hammond Advisory Board of Zoning Appeals on Jan. 28 approved a conditional use and several developmental variances for an event venue called the Reserve at 5231 Homan Avenue, allowing the restored former Bank Calumet building to operate as an events-based general facility while limiting certain live-ticketed entertainment and expanding how the board counts available parking.

The board voted 5-0 to approve the conditional use (case Z25-01), to reauthorize a prior residential conditional use (Z21-25) for upper-story apartments, and to grant four related developmental variances (Z25-02 a–d) that govern music, occupancy and parking. Approval was subject to staff conditions, including building permit inspections, compliance with Hammond Municipal Code Chapter 97 on noise, and a limit on ticketed/primary-music events.

Why it matters: The project represents a private $29,000,000 investment in downtown Hammond and is intended to bring regular visitors to the city center. Board members and staff framed the approvals as measures to support downtown revitalization while restricting potential neighborhood impacts from larger, stand‑alone ticketed concerts.

The petitioner, represented by attorney Scott Yaney, described the project as a major rehabilitation of a historic bank building that will include market-rate residential units above and a grand first-floor event hall. "Already, these folks have put in $29,000,000 in that building," Yaney said during the hearing, noting the developer's prior approvals and restoration work. Developer representatives said they expect residents to begin moving into the upper floors in the spring and that the venue operators will schedule community and private events there.

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