Rural King, America's Farm and Home Store, will open a new location in the Maple Lane Mall in La Porte. Located at 1340 West State Rd 2, this renovation to the once-bustling mall will be a promising development in city revitalization.
In an announcement made Monday by the City of La Porte, and the La Porte Economic Advancement Partnership (LEAP), officials outline the basics and focus of the project.
“A promise my administration made during our campaign was to immediately focus on bringing high-quality change to our community. Over and over again we heard that residents of the west side of La Porte needed places to shop within walking distance. With this project we have made that a reality,” said Tom Dermody, Mayor of the City of La Porte.
Significant renovations to the 221,000 sq. ft. structure are scheduled to begin in early spring. According to the announcement, other tenants are not identified at this time, but renovations to additional tenant spaces will be completed as a part of this project. The rehabilitation and renovation of this area will be a major shot in the arm for the west side of La Porte, officials said.
Rural King has worked with the La Porte Redevelopment Commission and the La Porte Urban Enterprise Association to make the site redevelopment possible.
“This revitalized property will offer new employment opportunities to the people of La Porte,” said Bert Cook, Executive Director of LEAP in an interview with GreatNews.Life. “The opening of a new store in that particular space will be of great benefit not just to the west side of the city, but to the La Porte community as a whole.”
LEAP represents the City of La Porte in economic development efforts, offering a wide variety of programs that can benefit projects like the Rural King opening. Some of these programs available for companies looking to relocate include tax credit phase-ins of new property tax liabilities and grant programs through the Urban Enterprise Association.
The Maple Lane Mall was once a hub of commerce in La Porte, but the doors closed in 2017 after anchor stores like Levine’s and K-mart diminished over the years as global spending habits changed. Dermody said Rural King’s commitment is the first major step in changing that.
“Renovating this property with Rural King is a priority in our effort to establish a high quality of development and a high quality of life in the City of La Porte,” Dermody said in an interview with GreatNews.Life. “We’re always looking for ways to improve our community, and to continue to build a place where people want to live. Bringing in Rural King is a perfect example of us offering unique resources that can be of benefit to the whole community.”
“We are very pleased Rural King has chosen to locate a store here in La Porte,” Cook added. “We believe the partnership between the La Porte Redevelopment Commission and La Porte Urban Enterprise Association is a unique one that allows us to make dramatic improvements in our community. We are excited to see this building put back into use and appreciate Rural King’s investment in La Porte.
The Rural King project is just one of the new strategies that the mayor, his administration, and LEAP will be employing to focus growth and development within the city. Other ongoing projects include developing the NewPorte Landing area, and focusing on opportunities to both build new and revitalize existing structures.
“I have been working in this organization for almost 15 years now, and I’ve never been so excited to be part of a team that strives to make La Porte a community better tomorrow than it is today,” Cook said. “I’m proud of being a part of this effort and I’m excited about what the next few years will bring.”
The store is scheduled to begin construction this spring and is set open March 2021.
More about Rural King:
In 1960, Rural King started as a small, family-owned farm store in Mattoon, IL. The passion and dedication of its associates pushed the company further than ever imagined. Now, the company is one of the fastest-growing family-owned companies in America and has added over 110 stores in a thirteen-state area.
All store locations have a large variety of products, such as livestock supplies, clothing, hardware, and compact RK tractors from 19-55HP at select locations. Rural King is proud to provide all customers with the lowest prices every day, free coffee and popcorn in every store, and a friendly smile. To find more information about Rural King Supply and the products they carry, visit Ruralking.com or a Rural King store near you.
For more information about LEAP, please visit laportepartnership.com
