‘We’ve had some great wins’: Terre Haute Mayor reflects on first six months
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowAt age 27, Brandon Sakbun was elected the youngest mayor in Terre Haute’s history last year. After marking his first six months in office, Sakbun says “every day is game day,” bringing new issues and challenges to the table.
Speaking with Inside INdiana Business Host Gerry Dick, Sakbun said the city has seen some “great wins” during his short time as mayor, particularly when it comes to housing.
The mayor noted how the city retooled its housing grant program, which has led to a record number of homes being built in Terre Haute.
“Anytime you’re talking about construction…that 7-7.5% interest rate, it’s frustrating, right? So, how can local governments say, ‘Hey, we’re going to provide just a little bit of financial support to get you over the edge through a grant-based program partnered with Thrive West Central,” Sakbun said. “That’s led over 300 new housing units—either constructed or starting construction—in a six month span. In previous years, we’d only hit 122 a year.”
In February, Thrive West Central, the economic development organization for west central Indiana, said it was using a $10 million allocation from the Vigo County Council and Terre Haute City Council to expand its Homes for the Future initiative over the next five years.
The program allows developers and homebuilders to apply for funding to cover up to $245,000 of building costs for projects in Clay, Parke, Sullivan, Vermillion and Vigo counties.
Thrive West Central CEO Ryan Keller told Inside INdiana Business that the goal is to build approximately 4,500 to 6,000 housing units over the five-year period.
Sakbun said it’s important to him that the city looks at the improvements it wants to make as a whole rather than piecemeal projects.
“Whether it’s strong investments in quality of life projects, strides in housing, addressing archaic infrastructure, what we’re doing is not siloed efforts,” he said. “We’re taking a collective approach to turn Terre Haute back on an upward trajectory.”
The mayor noted work that’s being targeted near 13th Street and Wabash Avenue just east of the Indiana State University campus.
“We’ve got some infrastructure improvements with INDOT. We’re going to tear down our old police station…and chase a multi-use development project there,” Sakbun said. “Then continuing to move west, we’re blessed to see a hotel development that includes commercial opportunities. There’s even going to be a pool downtown Terre Haute with a couple of bars and restaurants. What that does…is it drives downtown development and density.”
Sakbun said the Terre Haute Convention Center and the addition of the Terre Haute Casino Resort have been keys to the city’s growth, but emphasized again the all-encompassing nature of his administration’s outlook.
“We never sell the convention center; we never sell just ISU. We only sell Terre Haute, Indiana,” he said. “So it’s a part of that. Yes, you got that destination development, but you’re also saying, ‘Hey, can we keep some of these young families? Can we keep some of these seniors by offering more activities, more dining more, drinking in downtown Terre Haute?”