On July 14th, we put out an open question to Portage residents on our Facebook page asking what they would build if given the choice. Easily the most popular suggestion was some kind of community center or indoor activity space, though there were suggestions for restaurants, stores, and other projects as well. The post got quite a lot of attention from residents, with over 230 comments as of July 17th, as they expressed their ideas for what new improvement they would most like to see.
Here, we compiled a list of the most popular or interesting ideas commenters came up with that would benefit Portage in some way:
Food/Shopping
Restaurants weren’t among the top ideas Portage residents had for prospective building projects, but there were still a few that people would be excited to see in town.
“Red Robin!” exclaimed Caryn Adair on her hope to see the restaurant chain make its way to Portage.
Jen Scanlon had a few ideas for grocery stores: “Target, Trader Joe's or Whole Foods!” Others also recommended Trader Joe’s and expressed interest in more grocery stores in town.
“A family friendly bakery/coffeshop by day, wood fired pizza in the evening,” said Kelly Hunt Vander Vliet.
“Breakfast restaurant on the North end of town by all the motels,” Recommended Grace Moran.
“A mattress store!” said Kindra Rodrick, providing a joking voice for those in Portage who expressed a wish for less mattress stores and more places for family fun that many others in the comments found amusing.
Entertainment/Community
“A community center with a pool, lazy river, a kids play area. Miniature golf, tennis courts, indoor rock climbing, ice skating rink, multi-use rooms and gymnasiums, state of art gym facilities and skateboarding park and softball fields.“ Sheli Stratton suggested, garnering the most feedback on the post. Many in Portage recommended similar ideas and saw some kind of community center where kids could do various fun activities as the best addition to Portage.
Ashlee Stanley chimed in with similar thoughts for family entertainment but wanted to use a pre-existing business to make some of that possible, “Keep R-way skating rink running? Or add on to R-way and make it have a bowling alley too! With laser tag and arcade! Fun family place to go and it's shutting down!”
“How about a venue for concerts since the Star Plaza Theatre is shutting down at the end of the year. The closest venue for concerts is at the Horseshoe Casino, Hammond Indiana. Build a 5,000 seat venue for shows. This area will be lacking in venues for concerts,” said Victor Ray, suggesting something that many in Portage and elsewhere in the region would also like to see.
Jennifer Dallas had a few ideas for stores and entertainment: “A Target would be nice. The town could use more family fun places, something that can be used for all seasons and all ages and not cost a fortune... a family fun center with arcades and perhaps play zone area would be nice.”
“Community Theater,” said Timothy Slatton.
Danielle Allsbury had a different idea for entertainment, “A Drive-in movie like the 49er would be awesome. Definitely need more places and things for families to do. I'm tired of seeing more restaurants, or stores we don't need.”
“An aquatic activity center! I would settle for a pool tho,” exclaimed Jackie Lisa Bass, echoing several others including Nathan Gonzalez and Amber Alexander that were anxious for an indoor pool.
Luke Foster Hayden had a more active idea for a new project, “A Bike shop with a strong community emphasis and high end gear at a reasonable price.”
Others like Jeni Bolton and Antonio Gutierrez had more charitable ideas, “To help people - a place for veterans, homeless or food center. For fun- a concert venue.” Gutierrez recommended a similar idea, “A shelter for homeless veterans!”
Christina Booth Brazil had an idea in a similar spirit, “A safe place for runaway teens whereas they are allowed to stay without question whereas they have options for a better future and can learn skills, with outreach responsible programs to help them”
Mike Cleary had a more practical project idea for Portage, “Traffic Circle at Lute and Airport Road intersection.”
All in all, Portage residents had a lot of ideas for their town, to add some more family fun, variety and opportunity to the community! We love to hear your creative ideas and this post was no exception!