The LaGrange County Innovation Center represents years of conversation, collaboration, and belief in what is possible for our community. What began more than two years ago as an idea to create a place where opportunity, innovation, and people come together, quickly grew into something much larger. At the beginning of 2025, that vision gained real momentum as partners, resources, and timing aligned to move the project forward.

In April 2025, LaGrange County made a transformative investment by awarding $2.2 million from its Major Moves Fund, signaling strong local commitment to the future of this project. Just one month later, in May 2025, we purchased the former surgery center just north of the Town of LaGrange, marking a major milestone in turning vision into reality.

This nearly 13,000-square-foot space will become a shared home for the LaGrange County Economic Development Corporation, the LaGrange County Chamber of Commerce, and GO Explore Childcare & Preschool (currently operating as Imagination Station). More than a building, the Innovation Center is designed to be a hub of activity and connection. It will include a 60-person community meeting room and a space known as the Hub, offering co-working space, rentable offices and conference rooms, and ongoing continuing education opportunities through Purdue Manufacturing Extension to support both employers and employees across LaGrange County.

At its core, the LaGrange County Innovation Center reflects the mission of the LaGrange County Economic Development Corporation: to encourage sustainable economic growth, opportunity, and prosperity for LaGrange County. Local economic development organizations play a critical role in strengthening communities by supporting employers, growing the workforce, and creating environments where businesses and people can thrive. Increasingly, that work extends beyond traditional economic development and into quality of life investments that make communities competitive, resilient, and attractive. The Innovation Center embodies that evolution—bringing together business support, workforce resources, education, and community space in one place to remove barriers, foster collaboration, and support long-term economic success. Access to childcare is foundational to a strong workforce, and the Innovation Center directly addresses that need. GO Explore Childcare & Preschool will expand from 16 licensed seats to 72 licensed seats, creating meaningful new capacity for families while strengthening our local economy.

The LaGrange County Innovation Center is about creating space—for ideas to grow, for people to connect, and for our community to move forward together. It reflects a shared commitment to building opportunity today while preparing LaGrange County for what comes next.

Check back often as we update this section with news articles and press releases regarding progress on the Innovation Center.