Eastgate Overlay District

Valparaiso, Indiana

Bird Houk Collaborative created the design standards/guidelines for the City of Valparaiso’s Eastgate District, a ±70 acre commercial corridor located east of Downtown Valparaiso. The purpose of these guidelines is to regulate development so that sprawl and land use segregation are reduced and pedestrian-oriented urban places are promoted within the District. BHC worked closely with the community, the city, and the district property owners to create harmonious definition between buildings, open space, parking, vehicular traffic, and pedestrian movement throughout the corridor. Retail display windows, reduced building setbacks, rear and side-loaded parking lots, and other pedestrian-oriented site design elements are part of these guidelines. BHC’s knowledge of design, development, and public planning led to the creation of standards which will help to ensure the economic and aesthetic prosperity of the Eastgate District.

Goals of the Eastgate Overlay District Regulations:

• Encourage innovative, neo-traditional mixed-use development
• Reduce sprawl and segregation of land-use and encourage more efficient use of
land by promoting a compact settlement pattern
• Encourage shared parking facilities
• Promote the creation of urban places which are oriented to pedestrians
• Reinforce physical, visual, and spatial features through the consistent use of urban design standards