The Gatke property consists of 3.3 acres located at 2321 S. McKinley St., Warsaw.

WARSAW — While it may not look like progress is happening at the Gatke property, City Planner Jeremy Skinner explained that behind the scenes progress has been made during the Warsaw Redevelopment Commission meeting held yesterday, April 2.

A letter of intent with Michael Kinder & Sons, Fort Wayne, was reviewed and accepted by commission members. The letter details the proposed project and the intent for the land. Michael Kinder & Sons is looking into the development of two 20,000 square foot multi-use buildings. The buildings could potentially be used for retail, eateries, art production or professional offices.

“It’s just an agreement between us and them that they’re going to move forward with trying to put together a project that fits the project description,” explained Skinner. “We will work with them to try to make this happen.”

The city is continuing to chase an Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs grant for the property. This grant would go towards the demolition costs. One stipulation of the grant is that once demolition is completed, nothing can be done with the property for five years. The city has separated the property into two parcels to allow remodeling to continue on the main building while the other is demolished if the grant is received. It was noted that this is a very competitive grant.

“A lot of moving pieces but we are progressing towards seeing something,” said Skinner.

A memorandum of understanding would be presented before any work or exact financial components would be considered.

In other news:

• The commission reviewed the 2018 financial report, which outlined the revenues, debt obligations and balances of each district. The report also listed all projects currently being worked on.
• The next meeting will be at 4 p.m. Monday, May 7.