La Porte, Indiana

A Study for Downtown Regeneration & Housing Strategies

Published in April 2024

Case Study Overview

In 2022, the Health Foundation of La Porte recognized housing as a critical health issue and commissioned a study to assess unmet housing needs in the city, with a focus on near-downtown neighborhoods. The study found that more than 60 percent of structures in these areas exhibit moderate to significant exterior deterioration and identified a citywide housing shortage of 1,650 to 1,850 units. This case study presents a vision for downtown regeneration that protects historic building fabric, removes truck traffic from the downtown core, introduces neighborhood-scale housing solutions, and reintegrates the former hospital site into the historic block and street network. This once-in-a-generation opportunity restores 12 city blocks to provide much-needed housing.

Current Status

La Porte has secured $1 million in READI funding and $4 million in additional regeneration funding.

Vacant, Underutilized, and For-Sale Properties

LaPorte is remarkably intact compared to many towns and cities in the region. Even so, there are numerous development opportunities throughout the city, many of which are found in surface parking lots and in the “missing teeth” of the main street fabric.

Existing Conditions

The City of La Porte maintains a strong identity of place, grounded in its unique history of avoiding the urban destruction that came for most cities over the last 60 years. While historic structures remain, however, many have vacant upper floors and struggling storefronts due to the heavy volume of trucks that travel through downtown daily on state highways. This truck traffic has led to urban decline in downtown La Porte and the residential neighborhoods directly adjacent to the historic core of the city.

Proposed Plan

This report proposes a vision for the regeneration of downtown La Porte that minimizes the displacement of vulnerable citizens. Downtown regeneration strategies return downtown La Porte to a pedestrian-friendly walkable center with economic vitality and a network of public spaces. The public realm can be activated through the removal of truck traffic, complete street design, a focused retail strategy, and engaging infill opportunities, particularly the redevelopment of the former hospital site.

Proposed Masterplan for Downtown La Porte, Indiana

The proposed plan combines an overall urban infill strategy with full designs for multi-block focus areas.

Study for the Scott Field Site in Northeast La Porte

This Scott Field Site proposal brings a mix of missing middle housing types to the undeveloped space within the center of a large irregular block.

Neighborhood Housing

A comprehensive housing strategy first requires assessing the regulatory, financial, and cultural barriers that limit the production of housing at all price points, but especially affordable units. Second, it requires implementing a toolkit to overcome these barriers through policy and design. This toolkit incorporates political and regulatory strategies, building types, case studies, and a zoning analysis.

Historic Preservation

Preservation often operates at two extremes: overly restrictive or nonexistent. Both of these put historic buildings in danger, and only 36 of La Porte's nearly two hundred historic buildings are protected from demolition or being altered beyond recognition, despite the economic and cultural advantages these buildings bring to the city. This study breaks down the benefits of preservation, policies to reinforce it, and commonsense practices that equip everyone to participate.

Buildings Surveyed as Contributing or Outstanding: At Risk

Map depicting historic structures and sites that have been surveyed and identified as "outstanding" or "contributing," but at risk of alteration or destruction due to a lack of local protection.