(Michigan City, IN) - The long-struggling Marquette Mall in Michigan City could have a different but similar future use.

The city has hired Town Planning and Urban Design Collaborative to create a vision for the property.

City officials believe the mall property has excellent potential to become a residential neighborhood featuring retail and other commercial space.

The property is next to the busiest intersection in the city and two miles from where South Shore commuter trains will be traveling faster to and from Chicago after the ongoing construction of the double track is completed, officials said.

Officials with the Economic Development Corporation Michigan City have released pictures of a concept of what they believe the property could become.

“Both the City and community are eager to work with a developer to transform this 20th-century mall into a 21st-century live-work-play neighborhood,” officials said.