The Grand Gardner Hotel's booking link on its website is now active and ready for reservations.
Work began on the 1899 Grand Gardner School in 2023, an initiatve of the Urschel Development Corp.
“This project is more than a hotel; it's about adaptive reuse; its about taking the old and making it new again,” said Mayor Jon Costas in a “Valpo View” video. “It's preserving a historic landmark and preserving it for future generations.”
Urschel had a little help: Ratio Architects for architecture; IIG for design; Cornerstone was operations; Tonn and Blank provided demolition and sitework; and the City of Valparaiso offered oversight, permitting and overall cheerleading.
The project required 60 construction professionals. It now employs about 25 permanent staff to run the hotel.
The hotel at 354 W. Jefferson St. incorporates the ornate Romanesque-style turn-of-the-century building that was originally the Gardner School until 1972. Then it was repurposed into the Valparaiso Boys & Girls Club, with a gym later attached. A “land swap agreement” in 2021 with Urschel Development Corp. allowed the school property to be acquired. A new facility for the Valparaiso Boys & Girls Club was built at 708 Evans Ave. and opened in May 2022.
“The Grand Gardner Hotel is truly an invitation to experience Valparaiso in a new way — a place for relaxation, a place for discovery, a place for connection,” Costas said.
The 67,000-square-foot Grand Gardner Hotel design uses the original school structure to house the lobby, kitchen, six guest suites and a speakeasy bar and lounge. The school was built in 1899, according the Valparaiso Economic Development.
The project received $1.5 million in state READI 1.0 funds. Initially the public pitched in $6.8 million, and private investors contributed $29.7 million, according to the Indiana Economic Development Corp.
A night's stay in the former 1899 Grand Gardner School ranges from $221 to $295 per night, depending on the day and room.
The hotel has 52 guest rooms, six suites, event and meeting venues, and a speakeasy. Learn more about the Grand Gardner here.
