Progress on the North Buffalo Street development continues to slowly gain momentum.

The first townhouses are under construction on North Buffalo Street. InkFreeNews photo by Dan Spalding.

Construction of the first townhouses is progressing. The existing work involves three townhouses, one of which will serve as a model. The other two will remain as shells so that floorplans can be firmed up with the buyers once deals are done.

The upscale housing prices per unit will start at about $400,000, according to the developer, Dave Matthews of Matthews LLC.

Construction of mews — smaller units expected to be above and below the $200,000 range — could begin within a few months, Matthews said.

Plans for a four-floor multi-use building near Center Lake, appear to be moving forward. Mayor Joe Thallemer said he is under the impression that a list of tenants could be finalized by mid-October. Matthews declined to confirm that on Friday. If that happens, demolition of other nearby buildings could happen soon and construction could begin before the end of the year, Thallemer said.

Another sign of progress was seen Friday when staff with the parks department transitioned to temporary offices at the Pete Thorn Center, a move that will allow for the demolition of the old office building on Canal to make room for the multi-use building.

Another related aspect that made news this week was K21 Health Foundation’s pledge of $1 million for an ice rink. Officials recently suggested the skating facility could be near or part of the multi-use building. In K21’s announcement, it was noted that no location had been determined yet.

With a huge chunk of money set aside, I’m guessing plans for the ice rink will come together more quickly after decades of talk.

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SIGN OF THE TIMES — Election Day is Nov. 5 — a little more than 50 days away — but campaign signs are popping up. Warsaw City Council candidate  Jack Brunetto is using a billboard to promote his District 5 race and Chris Plack has yard signs popping up in parts of District 2 and elsewhere. His opponent, His Republican opponent, Josh Finch, has one alongside Plack’s at BMac’s restaurant. Chris Magiera, who is gearing up for a Republican primary race in 2020 against incumbent U.S. Rep. Jim Banks, has some signs on SR 15 south of Warsaw. And yes, I acknowledge this may not be a comprehensive list.

For those interested, voter registration deadline is Oct. 7.

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POLL RESULTS — On a lighter note … this week’s InkFreeNews poll had some intriguing results. The whimsical question: If time travel existed, which era would you visit? You can see the options and survey results (as of Friday) to the right.

As you can see, there was no clear choice. In my recollection, I don’t recall answers to any recent poll questions being so closely bunched up. I normally try to interpret such results, but I’ll leave it alone other than to point out that people don’t see a lot of upside to visiting dinosaur age.

The poll continues until Monday

Dan Spalding is the editor of InkFreeNews.com.
He covers city government and politics and always welcomes your input.
He can be reached at [email protected] or at (574) 855-7612.