A preliminary and final plat was approved Monday night to create six new commercial lots at the southeast corner of the U.S. 30 and Anchorage Road intersection. The area is where Meijer is located. Meijer is scheduled to open at the end of June. The plat is creating six new commercial lots from the original 37.71 acres. Following the meeting, Warsaw City Planner Jeremy Skinner said Staples and Panda Express have shown interest in two of the outlots. He said neither business has submitted development plans or applied for building permits. Panda Express, a Chinese restaurant, has a partial development plan completed, but has not applied for a building permit, Skinner said. Mike Ewton, manager of planning and administrative services for Realty Link, land developer for Staples, attended Monday night’s meeting, but did not speak. A traffic signal is required to be installed at the U.S. 30 and Anchorage Road intersection based on Indiana Department of Transportation’s design recommendations to accommodate Meijer. “I don’t want us to end up like Kokomo with a stop light every 50 feet,” said Rick Keeven, commission member. Skinner said the signal will be timed and traffic will be able to enter on Anchorage Road, but not exit to the road. Traffic will be required to exit to U.S. 30. “The real traffic mess will be the tie up on Anchorage Road,” said Jim Gast, commission member. Tom Allen, commission president, said he liked the idea of a timed traffic signal at U.S. 30 and Anchorage Road. All of the lots are adequate size for commercial development, and the Meijer development was reviewed by the plan commission in July 2011, Skinner said. Meijer is looking to fill more than 200 jobs in Warsaw. Potential candidates should begin the hiring process by applying online at www.meijerjobs.com
