Built in 1860, the year before Abraham Lincoln became president, the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City is the state’s oldest. For more than 163 years, it has housed some of Indiana’s most violent criminals.
But Michigan City community leaders last week learned the prison’s days are numbered. And they aren’t shedding any tears.
The Indiana Department of Correction announced Friday that it will close the prison, and the existing Westville Correctional Facility 13 miles away, when it builds a new prison at Westville in three to four years. The state agency initially had planned to keep both prisons open along with the new one, but in the past few weeks switched gears and decided to only operate the new one at Westville.
Angie Nelson Deiutch, a Michigan City common council member who is running for mayor, had already been trying to get people to envision a city without the prison. Deiutch led an effort to secure state funding for a feasibility study of how the prison land could be redeveloped in the event the prison is ever closed. She said several positive developments for Michigan City had led her to want to start a discussion of the prison site’s future.
First, the state had announced it was planning to build a new prison at Westville, even if it hadn’t yet decided to close the Michigan City prison.
Before that, in 2018 NIPSCO announced that it plans to close its coal-fired electricity generation plant in Michigan City between 2026 and 2028. The plant sits between the prison and the waterfront.
In 2019 the Indiana Dunes National Park was established just three miles away in Porter.
Deiutch was hoping the anticipated economic impact projected by the feasibility study would help persuade the Department of Correction to close the prison. But she still thinks the study will be worthwhile.
“So I think the study is more around the financial impact it can have on the community, and what are some opportunities and what can we present?” Deiutch said. “We want this to be community-led, as far as having a group of people on a steering committee. Now we can really take the time to move forward and say, ok, what kind of economic impact can this have, and what are the needs of the residents that are here, and our future residents?”
More than 400 people work at the prison. Deiutch says some people have asked her if she’s worried about losing those jobs. She isn’t. She notes the new Westville prison will be close enough to transfer there.
Clarence Hulse is executive director of Economic Development Corporation Michigan City. He called news of the closure a “pleasant surprise.” Like Deiutch, Hulse said the large site can fit some much needed affordable housing, along with retail and office space.
“Like anywhere in the country, we need more affordable housing, more workforce housing, more housing for seniors,” Hulse said. “So definitely we want to address those issues and definitely it could be a job creator for the west side of Michigan City, which has been depressed for years. So it could be a shot in the arm for that part of the city.”
Indiana Department of Correction officials declined WVPE’s interview request Wednesday. In an email, an agency spokeswoman said the prison won’t be closed until the new prison is built. Construction is budgeted to start next year and finish by 2027 or 2028.
The statement said, “Many decisions will need to be made before then, including future plans for the Indiana State Prison property in Michigan City. More information will be released as it becomes available.”
