Commission to negotiate

Portland Redevelopment Commission will work toward an agreement with a developer for a project in the Hood Building.

Consultant Ed Curtin of CWC Latitudes told the redevelopment commission Monday that there were no responses to its request for proposals for development of the Hood Building, which is home to The Graphic Printing Company at 309 W. Main St. (The redevelopment commission purchased the building in late 2023 from the company, which now rents the basement and first floor, for potential development.) After a 30-day waiting period, the commission is now free to negotiate directly with a developer.

Curtin said he has reached out to the developer that had previously expressed interest and that he continues to be interested in the project. They discussed a path forward, with Curtin indicating that a key question is whether Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) 2.0 was awarded for the project. (No announcements of award funding for Jay County have been made thus far.) Curtin said he plans to reach out to East Central Indiana Regional partnership president and CEO Trevor Friedeberg for more information.

Plans are for Curtin and redevelopment commission president Rusty Inman to discuss an agreement with the developer with the possibility of providing additional details during an executive session following the group’s next meeting. Answering a question from Mayor Jeff Westlake, Curtin said ideally the commission would have a deal to consider at the meeting in April.

“That’s assuming we get all the details worked out,” Curtin said. “And there’s a lot of details to work out.”

Commission member Reda Theurer-Miller also brought up an issue Westlake has raised with Indiana Department of Transportation regarding the ongoing U.S. 27 (Meridian Street) construction project. 

The mayor has express concern to INDOT regarding trip hazards involving the bump-outs at some intersections.

The mayor indicated that he was initially presented with several options but INDOT, but that the state agency seemed to be pushing toward using planters.

Theurer-Miller said she is hopeful that the city and Portland Main Street Connect, of which she is a member, can work with INDOT to either use existing planters or ensure that new planters are of a similar design.

In other business, the commission members:

•Re-elected Inman as president, Theurer-Miller as vice president and Joe Johnston as secretary.