Town of LaGrange to Reinstate Façade Program
LaGrange, IN –
Members of the LaGrange Town Council last week voted to reinstate in 2026 a grant program that would help downtown business owners improve their storefronts.
Emilee Buller of LaGrange County Economic Development Corporation spoke with council members about how LaGrange County had not been chosen recently as a recipient of Stellar Pathways funding. Her idea was that since the Town of LaGrange had pledged funds for a façade program as part of the Stellar project, that the town might still consider moving forward with it. She suggested working with Heidi Wolfe of Howe and showed council members work she had done in other communities. Wolfe also recently completed the façade at Bloomfield Lavender Apothecary in downtown LaGrange.
LaGrange Town Manager Mark Eagleson pointed out that the town had suspended its façade grant program to focus funding on its project at State Road 9 and U.S. 20, but that project is now wrapping up, he said.
Town attorney Bill Eberhard suggested the council have discussions about their vision for downtown.
Council members agreed to take 2025 to plan for the program and voted to bring it back in 2026.
Buller also came to the council with an idea to demolish a former tattoo shop at 117 N. Detroit St. in downtown LaGrange. Buller said the current property owner received estimates of $8,500 to demolish the building. The idea is that the owner would relinquish the building to the town, the town would pay for the demolition, then Buller at LCEDC would pursue grant funding to create a usable alley for the community, complete with seating and murals. The project is in the brainstorming stage now, Buller said, but a possibility could be doing a brick fundraiser for the pathway.
Council members voted to move the project forward.
Read LaGrange Standard-News article: Town of LaGrange to reinstate façade program – LaGrange Standard and News
