Portage energy fires up Andy Maletta EVERY morning

There’s something energizing about sitting across the table from someone who genuinely believes in the future of their city. That was the feeling during a recent breakfast with Portage Economic Development Corporation (EDC) Director Andy Maletta at Tate’s as conversation bounced from major retail announcements and industrial growth to waterfront redevelopment and a reimagined downtown corridor.

For Maletta, the excitement is personal.

As a lifelong Portage resident, he spoke candidly about what it means to help shape the city he grew up in alongside a new generation of leadership led by Austin Bonta. Throughout breakfast, Maletta shared the momentum happening across Portage including projects, partnerships, and investments that are changing both the perception and trajectory of the city.

“This is different,” Maletta said. “There’s an energy around Portage right now.”

That energy is visible throughout the community.

Major new retail investment continues flowing into the city with projects that include Target, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Olive Garden, Bigby Coffee, a new Starbucks, and additional commercial growth that continues to build confidence in the local market. Maletta explained that while attracting businesses has long been a focus of the EDC, the city’s momentum has evolved into something larger.

“With so much activity and interest in the city, our own activity has shifted from focusing primarily on attracting businesses to best assisting the incoming business opportunities for our retail, commercial, industrial, and residential developers,” Maletta said.

Industrial growth is also accelerating on the north side of the city.

A major glass company specializing in skyscraper projects is relocating operations from Illinois to Portage, bringing approximately 250 high-paying jobs with it. Maletta described the project as another validation point that companies are increasingly viewing Portage as a strategic place to invest and grow.

Still, one of the conversations that animated Maletta the most centered around the transformation of the former Portage Mall area into a reimagined downtown district.

Years ago, Developer Scott Faulk challenged city leaders and the EDC to rethink the historical struggles surrounding the mall property with one deceptively simple question: “What if you just took out the parking lot and built a road?”

Today, that idea has become reality.

The city has worked to reinvent the corridor by building around the structure that already existed while dramatically improving accessibility and functionality. Frontages have been upgraded, sidewalks widened, storefront visibility improved, and delivery access added to the backs of businesses to better support long-term commercial growth.

Maletta emphasized that the transformation required creativity, patience, and collaboration from numerous leaders including Mayor Austin Bonta, Lee Ann Van Curen, Tom Cherry, Dan Botich, Scott McClure, and others who helped shape and execute the vision.

Now, businesses are embracing the upgraded district and helping define what the next chapter of Portage can look like.

Current tenants including Bam Pizza Company, On the Rocks/Decibels, Moods, Regional Performing Arts Company, The Painted Apple Creative Studio, Rising Star Martial Arts, and The Social Goat are all contributing to the revitalized atmosphere taking shape in the area. Maletta specifically pointed to the investment and belief shown by Shannon Burhans and her husband through The Social Goat as an example of local entrepreneurs embracing the city’s evolving identity.

Another topic that lit up the conversation was the future of Marina Shores and the waterfront opportunities surrounding Halas Harbor.

A major new investor is coming to the Portage marina and what first caught their attention about Portage surprised Maletta.

Maletta said the developer told him that a Portage.Life video featuring Maletta enthusiastically introducing Mayor Bonta was what initially sparked his interest in the city. From there, he began following the mayor’s activity on social media and watched the growing excitement surrounding the Bears-related conversations tied to Halas Harbor and waterfront development possibilities.

For Maletta, those moments reinforce something he believes deeply: perception matters, energy matters, and leadership matters.

Over breakfast, it became clear that what excites him most is not simply one project or one ribbon cutting. It is the feeling that Portage is beginning to believe in itself differently.

For a lifelong Portage guy, helping lead that transformation alongside a young administration willing to rethink old assumptions has become more than economic development work.

It has become personal.