Warsaw will soon be home to a corporate housing complex that provides short-term renting options for the more corporate crowd.

Jeff Ryan, rural development specialist for Real America Development & Management of Fishers, went before the Warsaw Board of Zoning Appeals Monday night. He explained that the company wants to build short-time, market-rate apartment units to cater largely to orthopedic companies.

After meeting with representatives of Biomet, Zimmer and Symmetry Medical, Real America Development found a common need for temporary housing for interns and other industry employees who are sometimes brought in only for several weeks or months of training. “There’s a greet need for intern housing for the orthopedic industry,” said Ryan. “We’re talking 3 to 6 month terms for upscale, more executive style housing.”

Real America plans to build 39 apartments at the northwest corner of Sheldon Street and Heron Boulevard behind Kohl’s. Ryan said many of the companies here use short-time housing that exists some 35 miles away in Fort Wayne, while others rent hotel rooms for sometimes months while employees undergo training. In a letter to the WBZA, Ronda Weybright, president of Real America, noted, “From our conversation with them, the 39 apartments we are proposing will not cover their needs but it will help them significantly.”

In a letter to Warsaw City Planner Jeremy Skinner, Real America noted over the past few years that they have owned Heron Preserve and Pike Lake apartments, they have had to turn down numerous potential residents looking for short-term, market-rate housing due to the low- to moderate income guidelines for those units.

In the request to the WBZA, Real America Development petitioned for two variances from development standards and for one special exception to allow for multi-family units in a Commercial 3 zoned area.

According to assistant city planner Tim Dombrosky, the C-3 zoning does allow for residential development, especially when it conforms with surrounding developments. In this case, Dombrosky said the city planning office recommended approving all three proposals and allowing the housing complex to move forward with construction. Four of the five WBZA members were present at Monday night’s meeting and unanimously voted to accept the petition.

The Warsaw Corporate Housing units will include 19 two-bedroom units in building 1 and 16 one-bedroom units and 4 efficiency units in building. 2.