$311 million SoLa tower build could signal start of Michigan City’s shift to resort destination
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The $311 million SoLa development that’s serving as a headlining act in Michigan City’s downtown revitalization is beginning to lease out units with construction hopefully starting this summer. The residential project figures to be a foundational part of the transformation of Michigan City, and potentially Indiana’s lakeshore region, from a post-industrial community into a resort-like destination.
The SoLa project, so-called for its location “South of the Lake,” will cover a total of 628,000 square feet of space and is billed as one of the largest developments in northwest Indiana. The 13-story building will have 170 condos, 18 townhomes and nearly 250 hotel rooms in addition to 22,000 square feet of retail space.
Chicago-based Farpoint Development is working on the project that originally broke ground in 2023 but has seen delays with financing amid high inflation and the ever-rising cost of building materials. But Farpoint founding principal Scott Goodman said he’s confident construction will start in July and could finish in early 2027.
Goodman said he’s excited to play a role in the changes coming to Michigan City.
“I was obviously very familiar with the Michigan City market, and always thought it was right for development such as this, and thought it was under under invested,” Goodman said. “I think that we started hearing about the double track project four or five years ago and that sparked our [interest]. Then it became a little bit of a cascading event. All of a sudden, the decommissioning of the power plant and the penitentiary going away, and just a very friendly and aggressive local government there.”
The 239 hotel rooms will be split into two hotel brands—a TRYP and The SoLa Hotel—both managed by Wyndham. Goodman and his team are now starting to lease out the units ahead of construction. Of the 188 planned condos and townhomes, Goodman said 60 will be kept as rentals, leaving the other 128 for purchase.
As of last week, Goodman says 30 of the units have sold or are in the process of selling. With condos priced in the mid-$400,000 range and the larger townhomes in the low-$900,000s, SoLa appears to be targeted at people looking for a second property.
“We don’t have a good feel right now as to who are going to be year-round, permanent residents, and who will be more transient and who will just be investors,” Goodman said. “We don’t know. We are hopeful that there’ll be a significant number of full-time residents there. Our idea is to help make this community a little more of a 12-month community.”
Another feature which mirrors more established rental-heavy communities is that owners will have the option to use the SoLa’s built-in property management system to rent out their unit when they’re not staying in it.
Goodman noted that strict regulations around new short-term rentals (including Airbnbs) in the popular tourist destination of New Buffalo could make SoLa more attractive to those looking to rent out their unit.
Construction on the SoLa is soon approaching, but it’s not the only project on the horizon in Michigan City. The new South Shore Double Track project, an increase in work-from-home practices and large data center developments to the east have drawn other projects to the city including:
- Franklin Tower: a $101 million 12-story building featuring 220-apartments, some retail space and a parking garage at the corner of 11th and Franklin streets. Slated for completion in spring of 2026. Development by Flaherty & Collins
- Singing Sands: a planned 300-unit workforce housing project at the corner of 8th and Michigan streets with some first floor retail space. Project development by Indianapolis-based Helix.
- Fifth and Pine Street project: a development slated for 500 apartment units with a grocery store along a three block stretch starting at Pine Street and 5th Street and going east.