An architect’s rendering of the proposed parks office in Warsaw. Artwork provided by Design Collaborative.

By Dan Spalding
InkFreeNews

WARSAW – City officials on Monday night unveiled plans to construct a $3.6 million parks office that will also serve as a maintenance hub.

The 6,200 square foot, two-story building will be at the corner of Indiana and Fort Wayne Streets.

The project will be done using an increasingly popular new building process used by municipalities, known as Build Operate Transfer. These BOTs, in general, involve an entity – usually a government entity – entering into an agreement with a private company to finance, build and operate a project and then eventually return it to the public entity.

One of the benefits of the BOT process is that municipalities can lock in a fixed total cost for the project.

With the American economy undergoing one of its biggest inflation bumps in decades, having the ability to nail down a fixed price is especially attractive for cities with infrastructure and economic development projects being considered.

This is the timeline presented for the Warsaw parks office construction project.

Some on Warsaw City Council said Monday night, Dec. 20, that they like the concept and the potential benefits.

Council unanimously approved an agreement with the developer, GM Development. Construction is slated to begin in the spring of 2022 and conclude by mid-2023.

The park’s staff lost its main office at Center Lake Park more than two years ago after it was demolished to accommodate part of the Buffalo Street redevelopment project. The office staff currently works at the Pete Thorn Center.

The future facility is designed for growth and combines the parks department’s entire staff under one roof adjacent to Central Park where much of their work is focused, said Larry Plummer, superintendent for Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department.

The building’s design is intended to also serve as a gateway to the park complex along Center Lake.

Plummer said he thinks it offers a vibrant visual as people arrive at the park. 

Officials said it was important for the design to blend well with the nearby North Buffalo Street improvements as well as the Zimmer Biomet headquarters across the street.

The plan follows numerous meetings and extensive work with the architectural firm, Design Collaborative of Fort Wayne.

The building will include a wash bay, two maintenance bays, additional storage space, increased locker space for employees, offices, a conference room, a break room and additional space for future growth, Plummer said.

The city’s original estimate for the project made in July of 2020 had been around $2.5 million, but the ongoing issues with the global supply chain constraints, inflation and a changing labor force have led to dramatically increased costs for the near future for construction equipment – including structural steel.

City Engineer James Emans said bids for many of the current infrastructure projects have come in 30 to 60% higher than earlier estimates.

In May of 2021, the price had jumped to $2.9 million and Mayor Joe Thallemer said they knew they had to come to resolve a plan.

The new estimate for the parks office – arrived at in July – was $3.6 million.

The city relied on advice from its financial consultant, Baker Tilly, and an attorney with Taft Law in Indianapolis.

Thallemer said they chose GM Development, of Fishers, because the firm has done more BOTs than anyone in the state.

“With this being our first BOT, we thought it was important to use someone who’s been through this before,” Thallemer said.

Here is how the future parks office is positioned along Fort Wayne Street and Indiana Street. Artwork provided by Design Collaborative.

The view of the future parks office from Fort Wayne Street. Artwork provided by Design Collaborative.