Portage's first million-dollar home nearly complete

PORTAGE | Criminal defense lawyer Robert L. Lewis has lived and worked in Gary most of his life, but beginning this summer, he will call Portage's first $1 million house his home.

"Quite frankly, I prefer Lake County. However, I couldn't find precisely what I wanted in terms of property there," Lewis said.

"There were lots, but not the kind of acreage I was looking for."

His new home, under construction at 2320 Samuelson Road, sits on three acres of wooded property.

"I was driving through and saw different vacant areas and I contacted a Realtor, and we talked about that particular area," Lewis said.

"It's close to everything, not too far from where I am now."

Chris Stidham, executive director of the Portage Economic Development Corp., said the shift toward high-end residential development is well under way in Portage.

"Traditionally, Portage was a working-class community with ranch-style homes in the $100,000 range," Stidham said.

"Now, with developments like Austin Hills and Marina Shores, we're moving into a different area. We just needed a developer to take a chance."

Stidham, who also is director of business and community relations for the Downtown Development Corp., said the city is aware of the danger of creating a culture of haves and have-nots with the high-end developments coming in and the existing housing stock also going up.

"That's the danger," Stidham said.

"It has a tendency to drag all of the home values up and make them unaffordable. It can create a divide. It will be a challenge, but the city has done a good job of planning for a good mix of housing. There is no shortage of bi-levels and tri-levels. It's something we're trying to work on."

Stidham cited developments like the planned transit-oriented development across U.S. 12 from the South Shore station and the townhouses under construction adjacent to the U.S. Post Office on Willowcreek Road as an example of new developments that offer a variety of housing options and prices.

"Building that type of townhouse or condo atmosphere helps with that," Stidham said. "Those are perfect for an empty-nester or a young bachelor who doesn't want to have a yard."

Stidham said people moving into higher-end homes in the city are coming from a variety of areas, "but the majority of folks are from Illinois."

"They're moving out here because of the change of pace," Stidham said.

"The suburbs in Illinois are becoming a lot more urban and busy and congested. Out here, we're only an hour from Chicago, but you can come home and have a yard and a quieter lifestyle."

While Lewis isn't coming from Illinois, he said the quiet lifestyle afforded by the location of his new home appealed to him as well.

"I'm a quiet person," Lewis said. "I like my privacy."

Lewis said construction is "pretty much on schedule" and is expected to be complete sometime in June or July.

"It's a project that I figured would draw some attention, and I'm hoping it dies down once I'm actually there," Lewis said.