When it comes to Northwest Indiana, every town, city, and community has its own unique identity that makes it stand out from the rest. One such city, is the city of La Porte, and Mayor Mark Krentz is not shy about his enthusiasm for La Porte and all of the attributes that make it such a standout.
“The highlight of La Porte is the natural beauty of the city. We have beautiful lakes and that’s an attraction that is here year-round. It’s great in the summer, it’s great in the fall, even with winter sports it’s phenomenal,” said Mayor Krentz.
Outside of the natural beauty, Krentz is also focused on ensuring the economic viability and success of the city, and is pleased that La Porte is in the process of completing a new development called NewPorte Landing.
“It was previously the site of one of the biggest employers in La Porte, and when they went out of business in the ‘80’s, it changed the scope of the town dramatically. Now, we’re seeing a new vision there. Under several different administrations it’s been moving forward and it’s exciting to see the NewPorte Landing project come together with infrastructure and the readiness for development,” explained Mayor Krentz on the coming improvements.
If you’ve been around downtown La Porte, you may have also noticed that the storefronts have been getting a makeover as well. There has been a beautification effort to spruce up the storefronts downtown and attract more business to these shops.
Funds were made available through the Urban Enterprise Association Façade Program, and business owners and shop owners have been taking advantage of that to improve their storefronts.
“It presents a great deal of pride as you go through the city and you see these beautiful storefronts. It’s revitalizing the heart of La Porte. La Porte is very historical, we have a great cultural community,” said Mayor Krentz, “We have the La Porte County Symphony Orchestra, the La Porte Little Theatre Club, which has been around since 1925, and is one of oldest continuously operating theaters in the country.”
Aside from that, La Porte also boasts a large Civic Auditorium, which was a gift of the Fox family, and most communities of a similar size to La Porte would not necessarily have access to. Here, any number of events are held for the enjoyment of the community including the Holiday at the Pops Concert from the Symphony Orchestra, which brings the community together around the Holiday Season.
“Every day is a new day; we just celebrated our annual Sunflower Fair in September. It was the biggest and best ever! We have a lot of ongoing events constantly,” Mayor Krentz stated. “We just learned that several of our departments will be the recipients of some La Porte Healthcare Foundation grants to be presented November 6th; it will be very beneficial to city. It’s according to the Foundation’s mission of creating a vibrant, healthy community so that’s going to be a really exciting event for us and the grant recipients.”
La Porte also recently received $670K as part of the Community Crossings Road Paving grants in South Bend with Governor Holcomb.
La Porte is actively engaged in attracting new businesses and jobs, while also working diligently to address workforce needs.
“We have many good team members here at City Hall and throughout the City who are working to improve the quality of life and educational system, the cultural system. Everything. People take a lot of pride in La Porte and everyone wants to see things continue to improve which I’m excited to say is happening on a daily basis,” said Mayor Krentz passionately.
With all of these things going on, it’s no wonder La Porte has become a larger and larger scene on the Northwest Indiana stage.
Aside from its businesses, La Porte is also host to a great parks system and a plethora of historic homes that add a storied and rich feeling to the city that visitors enjoy.
“We’re a historical, cultural, just wholesome community. We’re nestled in a great part of the state, we are close to so many other things, and yet we have so many things culturally and architecturally as well as the natural beauty of the lakes. It’s a nice place to live, I’ve lived here my whole life, so I’m a big fan, obviously,” said Mayor Krentz on his passion for the city he calls home.
