Looking west on Winona Avenue, the Jomac Products buildings can be seen on the left. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union.

By David Slone
Times-Union

WARSAW – The demolition of the Jomac Products buildings by spring 2026 is only the first of changes coming to Winona Avenue from Detroit (SR 15) to McKinley Streets.

Warsaw Community and Economic Development Director Jeremy Skinner on Friday, Oct. 24, presented to the Board of Public Works and Safety a contract with American Structurepoint Inc. “to start the engineering work for Winona Avenue.”

The contract for $193,000 will be paid out of the Economic Development Income Tax (EDIT) professional services fund. He said the engineering work is part of the Orthopedic Industry Retention Initiative (OIRI) and Grace College Catalyst Corridor programs. OIRI is a state-funded effort designed to enhance Kosciusko County’s global leadership in orthopedics by supporting quality-of-place, talent development and innovation efforts, according to a news release previously provided by OrthoWorx. The Catalyst Corridor Project is a series of initiatives in Warsaw and Winona Lake, funded through a $27 million Lilly Endowment grant, that fall into four themes: innovation initiatives, well-being amenities, connection ways and enhanced placemaking, according to a news release previously provided by Grace College.

“We will be starting to look at what Winona Avenue could be in the future,” Skinner told the Board of Works Friday. “… Our first phase will be looking at all the utilities and identifying red flags, identifying the right-of-way, looking at all the project parameters we have, and then we’d be moving into our concept phase at that. So this will also be the concept phase and get us cost estimates and potential project breakdowns, so looking at different sections of the project and how we could potentially fund this project in the future.”

In conjunction with what Structurepoint is doing, Skinner said there are two Ball State University classes that are “doing some concept and idea things for us as well.” One of the classes will be in town next year, touring through Winona Avenue.

“So we just have a lot of different things going on that – we’re looking at Winona Avenue and what it might be, and primarily this contract will get us to the concept and cost estimating phase, which will then allow us to move forward with bringing projects in front of you guys to actually go to construction,” he said.

Councilwoman Diane Quance asked, “And this is incorporating this communitywide study that we did on that critical corridor study?”

Skinner said yes, “it incorporates some of that, it incorporates the Grace College Catalyst Corridor project, it incorporates some of the things we did with OIRI. So there’s some money with Grace College Catalyst Corridor, there’s some money set aside for OIRI. And this is kind of the initial phase to start identifying what Winona Avenue looks like in the future, and also how do we get to getting it under construction and completing that vision.”

Mayor Jeff Grose said there’s been “a lot of momentum, a lot of effort for years. This is right at the top as far as something we’re going to target and do, and Jeremy’s efforts, along with countless others, to get to this point. … It’s very exciting.”

Quance agreed it’s very exciting to see it coming to fruition.

“As we get a little bit further into this, obviously, it’ll be front-loaded with all the utilities and right-of-way, identifying all of those red flags,” Skinner stated. “As we get a little further into the concept phase, we’ll start to engage the public a little bit on what that might look like and get their feedback as well.”

Grose said it’s a huge project with a massive amount of information.

“Just getting us to this point, like you said, Diane, it’s just very good, I think, not only for Warsaw but also Winona Lake … and Grace College,” he stated. Board member George Clemens made the motion to approve the agreement, Quance seconded and it passed 3-0.

Jomac Buildings

Along Winona Avenue and Smith Street are the former Jomac Products buildings, which have been owned by Fellowship Missions since they were gifted to them in June 2023 by Cardinal Services. On behalf of Fellowship Missions in 2024, the city of Warsaw applied for and received an Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for the asbestos abatement and demolition of the buildings.

Fellowship Missions’ plan for the property is to demolish it, make it into greenspace and then eventually build a new shelter there to replace the current shelter. Once the new shelter is built, the old one will be shut down, demolished and become a parking lot for the new shelter.

On Aug. 15, G & G Hauling & Excavating was awarded the bid for the buildings’ demolition for having the lowest bid at $322,896. On Sept. 19, Environmental Management Specialists Inc., Huntertown, was awarded the bid for the asbestos abatement for $75,685. At Friday’s Board of Works meeting, City Engineer Aaron Ott presented owner-contractor agreements with both companies, which the board approved. Quance asked which will come first, the demolition or the asbestos abatement.

“The asbestos abatement will come first,” Ott replied. “We actually have a pre-construction meeting scheduled next week, assuming that we were going to pass this (agreement) today, so they’ll have 30 to 45 days to go in and complete that work. And then that allows the demolition process to go forward without worries of the asbestos material being disturbed and creating a health and safety issue.”

When Quance asked if it would all be completed within the next couple months, Ott said the asbestos abatement work would be.

“Then the demolition contract, we release them to start as soon as the asbestos abatement is completed, and they will have several months to go in and do their work. If all goes well – and there are some checkpoints with OCRA that can affect the schedule – but we should by next spring have a vacant site with grass growing on it,” he said.