After 20 years at the Norfolk Southern Railroad Train Depots, La Porte Economic Advancement Partnership (LEAP) recently made the move in early December to its new location at 605 Michigan Avenue, right in the heart of downtown La Porte.
Bert Cook, executive director for LEAP, said they acquired their old property at the Depots when the city leased it to them a couple of decades back. However, when the Railroad made the decision to take the property back, it was time to find a new place to set up shop.
Cook and the LEAP team then hit a stroke of luck and found a business looking to sell its space.
“We ran into a couple really great people, Jennie Riddle and her team at People & Songs, who owned this building at 605 Michigan. They were looking to sell it, but they really wanted it to go to an organization that was doing good things in the community. We fit that bill, and so we were able to work directly with them on the sale of the building. We are very appreciative of their support and everything they did to help us make that a new home,” Cook said.
Cook said the new building was already in great shape and move-in ready. Only minor accommodations were needed upon LEAP’s arrival to accommodate their other tenants.
“Leadership LaPorte County, the Builders Association of LaPorte County, and then Blue Sky Art Gallery have been with us in our other location,” Cook said. “They were tenants of ours, so we really wanted to try and find a building that we could provide space for them as well. Being as they're great organizations, they do great things for the community. We remodeled 605 In order to accommodate them, and that's why the first floor of the building is our tenant spaces, some conference room areas, and then the second floor is fully the LEAP offices.”
After walking through the entryway, guests are welcomed in the front sitting room, made complete by a large brick wall to hone in on the small-town charm. A hallway leads back to a meeting room, a kitchenette, and an additional extra space. A grand staircase next to the sitting room leads upstairs to the LEAP offices and a conference room, with a back door leading out to an outside balcony.
Cook said although the new location is just a block and a half away from the old one, they’re now much closer to the downtown scene. As an integral part of the La Porte community, the new location has proven to be a great benefit for LEAP.
“We always felt a little bit disconnected at the Train Depot. Moving the block and a half over made a big difference. We feel like we're right in the hub of everything, the center of everything. We’re close to City Hall, close to the county courthouses, close to the variety of our downtown businesses. So I think, for me, the best part of it is just being very, very connected to the center of the city,” Cook said.
Acquiring the new building has also helped LEAP become more involved in a community that’s constantly growing and expanding.
“I think owning my own building is a good thing for our organization,” Cook said. “We've obviously invested significantly in the downtown and we've worked with a ton of companies over the years who have done the same thing. So I think that helps to just push the fact that our downtown is a growing, exciting, and developing place. It’s a great statement that we're making in terms of where the action is and where we want to be for the organization as a whole.”
Cook also said the space has boosted internal communication as well, as all the offices upstairs are close together in one central location.
“The building and the space within the building makes a lot of sense. My staff is really well connected now. The other building was a little bit differently laid out, and so people were maybe not quite as connected. Now everyone is right there, and I think that leads to better collaboration and to better communication within the staff,” Cook said.
LEAP is also paying homage to clients and past events throughout the office as well.
“We've got a lot of memorabilia scattered around the office from large-scale projects that we participated in over the years. There's a shovel and a couple of pictures from a bank's development, which is just completing construction in Newport Landing. We've got things from a ton of different projects over the years, and it's all a great reminder of lots of new projects that we enjoyed working on. But I think it's also interesting for those partners who come into our office. We always get questions, or it's a good discussion point to start a conversation about this project or that so it's a great thing to be able to share some of that with anyone who's visiting our building,” Cook said.
LEAP is also extremely thankful for all the companies and organizations that have stepped in to help make this move possible. Larson-Danielson Construction Company served as the general contractor, and Cook said they made the process as easy as possible. Bee’s Paintings helped with the painting and also scheduling, and Cook was extremely appreciative of their help as well.
“The bottom line is that we have so many great local contractors who serve and do it in a real professional way,” Cook said.
For more information on La Porte Economic Advancement Partnership, visit https://laportepartnership.com/.
