06/26/2026
What an incredible evening.
Last night, over 150 community members, volunteers, donors, partners, sponsors, elected officials, and neighbors gathered at 850 Axe Ave to celebrate a milestone years in the making: The Crossing "Hard Hat" Grand Opening.
The evening was a powerful reminder of what can happen when a community comes together around a shared vision.
The Crossing represents more than a building. It represents 23 homes, countless acts of generosity, and a community-wide commitment to ensuring that everyone has access to safe, affordable housing.
We are deeply grateful to the individuals who helped mark this important milestone by speaking at the ribbon-cutting ceremony:
-Bob DeRuntz, Volunteer Coordinator & ARPA Grant Writer
-Dean Birky, General Contractor for The Crossing
-Mike Bottom, American Legion Post 94
-Mark Lopez, Senior Advisor to Congressman Frank Mrvan
-Jon Costas, Mayor of Valparaiso
-Susannah Larson, Project Neighbors Board Chair
-Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce
Thank you for helping us celebrate not only a building, but the people and partnerships that made it possible.
A heartfelt thanks to our Grand Opening sponsors, whose generosity helped make this celebratory event possible:
-Family Express
-Shive-Hattery
-City of Valparaiso
-Hines Plumbing
-Country Inn & Suites
-NITCO Fiber
-Presbyterian Church Resale Shop
Your support helped create a meaningful opportunity for our community to come together and celebrate this milestone.
And a special thank-you to Valpo Velvet Ice Cream for the delicious ice cream, to The Planetary Blues Band for bringing energy, music, and great vibes to the celebration, and to Von Tobel and Simko Signs for creating a custom hammer for our volunteers to take home with them as a token of appreciation.
A project like The Crossing is never built alone. It takes donors who believe in the vision, including philanthropic supporters like 1st Source Bank, Porter County Community Foundation, and the City of Valparaiso, as well as the numerous individual donors who gave generously; public investments like Porter County’s ARPA funding; and extraordinary in-kind contributions like the hundreds of thousands of dollars in architectural and engineering work provided by Shive-Hattery. It takes contractors and tradespeople who solve problems and keep moving forward, community partners who open doors, board members who provide leadership, staff who carry out the work every day, and neighbors who cheer us on. To every person and organization that contributed their time, talent, expertise, resources, encouragement, or support: thank you.
And to our volunteers, especially: The Crossing would not exist without you. From hauling materials and painting walls to cleaning, installing cabinets, putting in insulation, and showing up whenever help was needed, volunteers helped transform a vision into reality. Your fingerprints are all over this building, and future residents will benefit from your generosity for years to come.
The grand opening marked an important milestone, but there is still work to do before residents move in later this summer.
As we complete the final details and prepare these apartments for their first residents, there are still opportunities to get involved. Whether through volunteering, giving, or simply helping spread the word, your support will help us cross the finish line and transform these 23 units into homes.
Thank you for helping make The Crossing possible.
📸 Photos by Amanda Yono
