It’s been three years in the making and come spring, Wayne Enterprise’s idea will come to life. With both residential and commercial space, Vale View will offer a new, modern and “green” style of living to its residents and the Valparaiso community. When Wayne Enterprises broke ground on Vale View last spring, they knew it was going to be special.
Matt Welter, owner and CEO of Wayne Enterprises, said he’s excited to see the project come together.
“It’s really cool to have an idea and see it work out better than what you were expecting on paper,” Welter said. “We’re stoked for this project and excited to unveil it to the community.”
Vale View is all about amenities. From private elevators, built-in gas grills, and electric car charging stations, the building pulls out all the stops for its residents.
“We built them to be self-contained so when you go into the elevator, you fob in and it opens up directly into your apartment’s foyer with 8-foot double doors, Welter said. “You open up the double doors, and there’s your living space.”
With the new building, Wayne Enterprises saw a different way to power Vale View.
“The entire roof is covered in solar panels which will power all the common areas, the elevators, the emergency stairwells, and the electric vehicle charging stations,” Welter said. “The solar power was something we wanted to do with the charging stations, and from a business standpoint, it helps bring down the common area costs as well.”
The 37,000 square foot building is expected to be ready for its residents in early April. The first floor of the building will be used as commercial space, which has already been claimed by Ella Jaymes, Ameriprise Financial, and Fluid Coffeebar.
“In total, the building has about 7,000 square feet of commercial space available that’s now all leased up,” Welter said.
The apartments are more than 1,600 square feet with two bedrooms and bathrooms, a study, and beautiful views of the heart of Valparaiso.
“The balconies will be about 385 square feet, and each one is going to have a built-in gas grill,” Welter said. “From the balcony, residents are going to see a different side of Valpo you can’t see anywhere else.”
Wayne Enterprises had a distinct vision for Vale View and knew they would need to work with the best in the business to make it all happen, which is why they looked to the expertise of Chester Inc. for the build. Welter says the team at Chester Inc. has been there every step of the way, around the clock.
“One of the things I like, not only are the people who own the business involved, but the crew is very knowledgeable, and they have a good relationship with the city,” Welter said. “They know a lot about what it would take to accomplish what we wanted. We knew adding the grills to the patios wasn’t going to be easy and the team at Chester knew what coding would be required for us to make that idea happen. We had to go before the city council and get more than 20 zone ordinances. Their expertise in knowing the unified developed ordinances just made the process so much smoother.”
Long term, Wayne Enterprises sees Valpo as a good investment, which is why they chose the lot at the corner of Franklin Street and Brown Street for the development.
“Kudos to Wayne Enterprises for taking this risk. We love to partner with people who are going to help with the economic development of the city,” said Rich Shields, Director of Marketing & Business Development at Chester Inc. “The outlook is phenomenal, so anyone who’s a resident or business will be able to truly enjoy the downtown Valpo atmosphere here.”
“We love this town, we love the people in it, we love the organizations and the government. There are good things coming to Valpo and that’s why we’re taking the risk and investing in this community,” Welter said.
For information on Vale View, visit Wayne Enterprises’ website. For inquiries about the developmental work Chester Inc. does throughout Northwest Indiana, visit chesterinc.com.
