Steuben County Courthouse Adaptive Reuse Study - Alternatives Survey

A Jointly Led Project
This project is a collaborative project led together by six paying entities at the request of the Steuben County Board of Commissioners. These entities include Steuben County Tourism Bureau, Steuben County Community Foundation, Steuben County Government, City of Angola, Trine University and Cameron Memorial Community Hospital. The intent of these entities is to develop a community driven plan for the future reuse of the Steuben County Courthouse and the adjacent park space.

The Need For This Plan
Completed in 2024, the new Steuben County Judicial Center serves as the center of operations for the Steuben County Courts and all County Departments pertaining to those Courts. With the Judicial Center now open for business, the Steuben County Historic Courthouse is currently unoccupied. With the Courthouse being on the Historic Registry, the building must be maintained and reused for a new purpose.
This project is also important for the vibrancy and vitality of Downtown Angola. The Courthouse has a large presence on the Public Square and future reuse alternatives will have an impact on Downtown.

Project Intent
The intent of this project is to develop a community driven plan for the future reuse of the Steuben County Courthouse and the adjacent park space. This project will identify a range of alternatives for adaptive reuse of the current courthouse and adjacent park space. The planning process will have two key components. First, a community-wide consensus building initiative will be completed to collect input on the courthouse reuse. Second, an architectural evaluation will be completed to evaluate the feasibility of reuse options and estimate the cost of work.

Survey Purpose
The purpose of this survey is to gain community feedback on the proposed reuse alternatives for the courthouse and the proposed park concept for the adjacent greenspace. The first few pages of this survey are informative, sharing community input received thus far that shaped the proposed reuse alternatives, historic additions and renovations to the courthouse, and existing conditions of the courthouse. Survey questions follow the informative pages and ask for community feedback on multiple reuse alternatives for the courthouse and a park concept.