TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – As the Terre Haute Police Department continues to moves out its final belongings from its old Wabash Avenue location, Terre Haute city officials begin conversations about what could take the place of the old building.
Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett and the Terre Haute Redevelopment Commission received a proposal for a housing project that could take the property. Bennett said that a housing project could be good for downtown.
“We need more housing in our community,” Bennett said. “Anytime anybody talks about building single family homes, duplexes or larger apartments, we’re interested in that.”
However, the process of filling this vacant property is still in its early stages. Bennett said that this is simply the first proposal, and he’s open to bringing in anything that would benefit the community.
“The way this process works is that we will entertain all other offers or all of those proposals, and this is one that happened to make a presentation first,” Bennett stated.
Although this property could end up being anything, Bennett explained that he would like to have the old building torn down. He would like the future buyers to have a clean slate to work with.
“It’s easier to envision the use of a property when it is a clean slate,” Bennett said. “Take the building down and people will look at that and say, ‘I’ve got a lot of options here,” Bennett said.
Bennett stated that he, and other city officials, will seek the best possible proposal for the community.
“We’re going to seek the best possible proposal that makes the most sense and the thing that meets the most needs for the community,” Bennett said.
