‘You are the Vision Keepers’: Downtown La Porte prime for vision-focused action on housing

‘You are the Vision Keepers’: Downtown La Porte prime for vision-focused action on  housing

Last week, La Porte was home to a professional team from the University of Notre Dame School  of Architecture Housing and Community Regeneration Initiative as they conducted a charrette, a  weeklong collaborative, in-depth design process, looking at housing, preservation,  transportation, and parking within the downtown area of the City. Final presentations took place  on the evening of Thursday, May 25, at St. Peter’s Catholic School, and Marianne Cusato,  director of the Initiative, empowered those in attendance.  

Healthcare Foundation of La Porte Final Listening Session Presentation 2023

Healthcare Foundation of La Porte Final Listening Session Presentation 2023 77 Photos
Healthcare Foundation of La Porte Final Listening Session Presentation 2023Healthcare Foundation of La Porte Final Listening Session Presentation 2023Healthcare Foundation of La Porte Final Listening Session Presentation 2023Healthcare Foundation of La Porte Final Listening Session Presentation 2023

“You get to determine what your community is. You get to choose what La Porte is today, and in  the future,” Cusato said.  

Healthcare Foundation of La Porte (HFL) and the City of La Porte invited the team from Notre  Dame to conduct a charrette as the next step in the HFL City of La Porte Housing Initiative  process, following an in-depth housing study completed in 2022.  

The partnership began in December, when HFL and Mayor Dermody reached out to Cusato and  her team. 

HFL President and CEO Maria Fruth said, “HFL and the City of La Porte are very excited and  grateful for our partnership with Notre Dame, and the expertise and experience they lend to the  HFL City of La Porte Housing Initiative and the La Porte community to help guide our next  steps.”  

In preparation for the charrette, the Notre Dame team held listening sessions with leaders and  community stakeholders throughout the spring of 2023. During the charrette, which was held  May 22-25, the team toured downtown, met with additional interest groups, and held public  presentations. In total, more than 220 residents, leaders, and stakeholders participated in the  charrette process. The team then used the public input and information gathered to spend hours  hard at work in the makeshift studio in St. Peter’s Catholic School.  

“As it turns out, a half-gymnasium in a Catholic school is the perfect charrette room,” Cusato  said, as she expressed gratitude to Father Nate Edquist for the use of the space.  

While in La Porte, the team’s goal was, as Cusato put it, to, “...come up with design solutions,  policy solutions, and strategies and implementation that allow us to address the critical issues”  seen in La Porte and similar communities throughout the Midwest.  

Team members presented renderings, photographs, and data-supported ideas for the  downtown, with a focus on “regeneration without displacement” and “commonsense  preservation.” 

Jennifer Griffin, of J Griffin Design LLC, spoke at length about the housing discoveries, potential  sites for future units, and current code limitations to the kind of development La Porte’s  residents need.  

Potential sites of interest presented included the old La Porte Hospital, the field and track  behind the La Porte Community School Corporation’s Educational Services Center, and Scott  Park. 

Preservation regulations, transportation changes, in particular rerouting truck traffic from  Lincolnway, and accessible, affordable parking downtown were also presented.  

Dean of the School of Architecture Stefanos Polyzoides stressed that, “We want to resist acting  for action’s sake,” and instead have a vision. “We will look at how to intervene downtown in a  socially responsible, economically responsible, environmentally responsible, culturally  responsible way, to make sure that the fabric of the city downtown, which is notable, is  maintained and grown.” 

Following Thursday’s presentations, the team will refine their work into a final report. The  partnership between HFL City of La Porte Housing Initiative and the Notre Dame Housing and  Community Regeneration Initiative will continue for years to see this vision come to life.  

Cusato opened Thursday’s presentations by asking those in attendance to raise their hands if  they grew up in La Porte. 

“That is incredible. The number of arms that were just raised says there’s something really  special about this place.”  Learn more about the HFL City of La Porte Housing Initiative and the Notre Dame Housing and Community Regeneration Initiative.