Valpo City Council weighing bonds for Grand Gardner project
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The Valparaiso City Council is considering additional financial support for the redevelopment of a former school in the city’s downtown into a boutique hotel and event space.
Our partners at Lakeshore Public Media report developers are seeking up to $6.8 million in economic development revenue bonds for the more than $40 million Grand Gardner Hotel project.
The building was constructed in 1899 and then repurposed in the early 1970s as a Boys and Girls Club, but was vacated in 2022 when the club moved into a new location.
If approved, the bonds would be paid back to the city using property tax revenue generated through a Tax Increment Financing district, which has the support of Mayor Jon Costas.
“Think about it. We’re preserving an old building. We are putting, really, something back on the tax rolls that hasn’t been on the tax rolls,” Costas told the council last week. “It’s creating something that we don’t have, something unique that is needed.”
The project includes the demolition of a 6,000-square-foot gymnasium on the east side of the building that was added by the Boys and Girls Club, as well as three adjacent homes. Urschel Development Corp. plans to refurbish the original building and add new wings on the east and west sides of the building.
The council is expected to take a final vote on the bonds at its meeting on Monday.
In December, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. approved $6.5 million in redevelopment tax credits for the project.