Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana

Plans to turn Valparaiso's former Boys & Girls Club into a boutique hotel have taken another step forward. The city council Monday adopted a planned unit development ordinance for the future Grand Gardner Hotel.

Plans to turn Valparaiso's former Boys & Girls Club into a boutique hotel are moving forward, but parking remains a concern for city council members. The city council is considering a planned unit development ordinance for the Grand Gardner Hotel. The project would re-purpose the 1899 Gardner School that for decades housed the Boys & Girls Club into a 58-room hotel, restaurant and banquet hall.

Outgoing Porter County Council member Mike Jessen believes the county has accomplished at least as much during his eight years on the council as it had during the previous 20. "I don't say that do be braggadocious about it or say it was all Mike Jessen because it was far, far from that. It involved a lot of different people who were willing to work together, cooperate and collaborate," Jessen told the rest of the council Tuesday.

The Valparaiso City Council is supporting a measure that would allow for future incentives for a boutique hotel development. Urschel Development plans to convert the 1899 Gardner School that for decades housed the Boys & Girls Club into a 58-room Grand Gardner Hotel.