Public meeting set to cover Indiana State Prison project
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Officials in Michigan City will host a public meeting tonight, giving members of the community to offer input on the planned reimagining of the Indiana State Prison site.
The site is set to be vacated when construction on a new, $1.2 billion corrections facility in Westville is complete. The new facility will replace the Indiana State Prison and the existing Westville Correctional Facility.
The public meeting will take place at the Michigan City H.O.P.E. Community Center at 222 McClelland Avenue from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Economic Development Corp. Michigan City said in a news release that the event will outline the process of transforming the site, and allow residents to discuss design, connectivity, economic development, and land use.
“Giving community members a voice is vital to this extensive process and the future of the site,” Michigan City Mayor Angie Nelson Deuitch said in the release. “We are at the initial stages of discussing what this can mean for our city.”
Last August, Michigan City said it was forming a team of consultants, architects and designers to create a master plan for the site, a process that could last through this fall. That team includes Farr Associates Architecture, Terra Engineering, Zimmerman/Volk Associates, Sam Schwartz Engineering and others.
In December, former Gov. Eric Holcomb and Mayor Nelson Deuitch signed a letter of intent indicating the state’s willingness to transfer the 24-acre property to the city by Jan. 1, 2029.
The Indiana State Prison originally opened in 1860 as the state’s second prison. Officials with the Indiana Department of Correction have previously stated that closing the prison would save the state nearly $400 million in capital improvement spending on top of the $45 million in annual operating costs.
Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority CEO Sherri Ziller told Inside INdiana Business in 2023 that housing could be a major focus.
“It’s a large site. It can fit some much needed affordable housing, senior housing workforce housing, along with the necessary retail and office space that Michigan City is seeking it,” Ziller said. “This could serve as a major job generator for Michigan City.”
Community members who wish to submit a comment before the meeting can do so online.
“This public meeting is just one essential component of the reimagining and transformation,” EDCMC Executive Director Clarence Hulse said in the release. “We have an advisory council comprised of community leaders as well as our team of experts to take on the analysis, planning, design and development of a master plan.”
Crews broke ground on the new Westville prison project in September 2023. Construction is slated to be complete in late 2027.