Developer Urges Council to Ignore Zoning Advice

The developer of a plan to bring upscale shops to South Lake Avenue said Thursday he hopes the City Council ignores a Planning Commission recommendation to deny a key zoning change that he said would kill the proposal.

Victor Grgas, president of Forest City Development, made the statement a day after planning commissioners voted 5 to 4 to deny a request for a zoning change that would allow a parking structure to be built at Hudson and Del Mar avenues.

Without such a designation, Forest City officials said they cannot meet city parking requirements and move ahead with construction of movie theaters, shops and a supermarket in an area near Macy’s department store.

Grgas said that if the council votes at its March 2 meeting to follow the Planning Commission recommendation, it would end any chance of bringing upscale retail to South Lake and send the wrong message to Macy’s about the future of its store.

On Wednesday night, the commission heard from more than three dozen supporters and opponents of the project.