Valpo Approves Plan to Level Mansion, Build New Homes

(photo courtesy of The Times of Northwest Indiana)

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The property where an aged, Victorian-era, mansion in Valparaiso currently stands will become the site of 15 new homes, described as “upscale.” The Valparaiso Board of Zoning Appeals approved the variances needed for Downtown Valparaiso Partners LLC to proceed with the project, according to our partners at The Times of Northwest Indiana.

The four-story building was built by the William Calkins family just prior to the Civil War. At one time, according to the paper, Valparaiso University President Henry Baker Brown owned the home. Over the years, locals called the structure the Calkins-Brown house.

According to the developers, fifteen homes will cover Calkins Hill, 14 of them becoming attached single-family duplexes and then a separate single-family home.

"People want to live in the downtown area," said Todd Leeth, who represents Downtown Valparaiso Partners LLC.

In more recent years, the building was used as a restaurant and was known as the White House. But the paper says it fell in disrepair.

Click here to read more from The Times of Northwest Indiana.