The location of the former Indiana American Water building on North Buffalo Street could still become the site of a mixed-used building. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union.

By David Slone
Times-Union

WARSAW — A potential developer for the mixed-use building at the end of North Buffalo Street has been found.

The Warsaw Redevelopment Commission approved a memorandum of understanding Monday, April 14, with Team Fab LLC for the Buffalo Street project.

Warsaw Community and Economic Development Director Jeremy Skinner told the board, “The intent is to, over the next 12 months, to put together a development of 60,000 to 75,000 square feet, $15-$20 million, 60 to 80 residential apartments, 4,000-6,000 square feet of potential commercial retail or office on that property.

”The commission’s contribution for the project will be an amount not to exceed $350,000 toward project costs, possibly related to site development. Also, he said, they will assist in working with the Fort Wayne Regional Development Authority to get the original Regional Cities funding for the Buffalo Street project moved over to support the mixed-used building project.

“So it’s very similar to the original project that was outlined when we first started that project on Buffalo Street, that mixed-use building down by the lake, and this will allow Team Fab to have a 12-month period to develop the project and enter into an economic development agreement by this date of 2026,” Skinner explained.

After the meeting, he summarized that Team Fab has a year to do their due diligence, enter into an economic development agreement, which would start the design and move towards construction. “That period would be like three years, not one.”

The original North Buffalo Street Redevelopment Project broke ground in 2019. The goal of that $27 million project was to create an urban housing development within walking distance of downtown Warsaw. The project was to be paid for, in part, with a $3.5 million grant from the Northeast Indiana RDA. The project was to include 52 townhomes, city homes, mews and a mixed-use building.

Dave Matthews, of Matthews LLC, was the lead development firm for the project but is no longer involved.

Skinner clarified after the meeting that the city never gave Matthews any money for the project.

“We’re untangling our agreement because he has some property down there that, obviously, we would like, that he paid for himself, we did not pay for it,” he said. “So, I think the biggest thing people get confused of is thinking that we gave him money. We gave him nothing. Everything he did to date was on his own dime. The only thing we paid him for was we reimbursed him for the demolition of the Indiana American Water building, but that cost we were going to incur anyhow in demolishing it. So the only money that we paid him for was for that demolition.”

The city did give Matthews the small pieces of property that Matthews built the townhomes on for phase I of the project, but they “just didn’t sell.”

Council President Jack Wilhite asked Skinner during the meeting Monday about what property would be included in the potential mixed-use building. Skinner said the site would be the former Indiana American Water building and parks department workshop. Canal Street also could potentially be in the property, as well as the parks department maintenance shed, the house the city purchased at 330 N. Buffalo St. and a storage building behind that.

“Then as they develop the project, there could be some other parcels,” Skinner said, but that’s uncertain until Team Fab brings the actual project and economic development agreement forward. “We’re just approving the form right now, giving them the 12 months to put that project together, at which they will come back with an actual economic development agreement.”

Once the project has been defined and approved as part of the economic development agreement, then the city will dispose of the property needed to complete the agreement. Skinner stated the city still needs to “untangle” itself from Matthews and the rest of those properties, but that does not impact the mixed-used building project.

Commission member and former mayor Joe Thallemer said, “I’m certainly in favor of moving ahead with this. We’ve spent quite a bit of time, as you all might remember, working on this project. We got to the point where we needed to continue to move ahead with our discussions and the work we’ve had with Team Fab. They’ve been very community-oriented, wanting to be involved. They’re local. The work they’ve done locally speaks for itself, and I think at this point they’re ideal partners to continue the vision, if you will. So I’m very much in favor of this.”

Thallemer made the motion to approve the MOU with Team Fab LLC for the Buffalo Street project and the motion passed unanimously.

The second resolution the commission then approved, in conjunction with the Team Fab MOU resolution, was for the disposition of Canal and Buffalo Street property. Skinner said most of the parcels were disposed of when they were working with Matthews, but this new resolution will complete the disposition process for the remaining parcels that could potentially be a part of the Buffalo Street project.

Randy Rompola, bond counselor with Barnes & Thornburg, said the second resolution, “It does provide for the disposition process for these parcels that were not previously disposed of, and, basically, going through this process it allows you in the future to dispose of them. It doesn’t commit you to do anything.”

The properties included in the disposition resolution include 330 N. Buffalo St., 104 E. Canal St. and “all or a portion of the parcels of property which comprise Buffalo Street beginning at the northerly intersection of North Buffalo Street and an alley located north of 347 N. Buffalo St., continuing along Buffalo Street and ending at the intersection” of Buffalo, East Canal and Indiana streets, according to a copy of the resolution.

Explaining the process, Rompola said the redevelopment commission approves the resolution and an offering sheet Monday. A notice will be published, and then at a next meeting the commission will approve another resolution. Thirty days after that, they’ll be free to dispose of the properties mentioned in the resolution. The value of all of the parcels is just over $100,000, Rompola said.

Thallemer asked about the subrecipient agreement with the RDA and if that had anything to do with land ownership. Rompola said he did not believe it did.

“In essence, that agreement is null and void at this point because Matthews was the agreement,” Skinner said. “We have had lots of conversations, and I won’t speak for the RDA, but, basically, the conversation is they’re hoping we can bring someone to the table and then redo that agreement. So that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Commission member Bill Curl made a motion to approve the second resolution and his motion passed unanimously.