Warsaw Mayor Jeff Grose, left, gives Brad Johnson the oath of office for the Warsaw Redevelopment Commission on Monday. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union.

By David Slone
Times-Union

WARSAW — To help with an environmental solution at The 2525 apartments, the Warsaw Redevelopment Commission on Monday, Feb. 5, approved to pay for the installation of a venting system for about $41,611.

The affordable housing project by RealAmerica Companies is on Durbin Street, Warsaw, at the location of the former Arnolt Corp. site. It will have 60 new apartments. The ceremonial groundbreaking for The 2525 took place in November 2022.

Warsaw Community and Economic Development Director Jeremy Skinner brought the request for the city to help pay for the environmental solution before the commission as discussion. He said it was brought to him on Thursday.

“In general, with the ongoing environmental solution we need to provide for the affordable housing project, there’s been some additional cost. This covers some of those additional costs,” Skinner said, adding the total of all those additional costs is over $90,000. “They are over budget and are basically asking if we would help with any of these costs.”

He asked for direction from the commission on what they wanted to do. RealAmerica has to do the environmental work regardless of whether or not the city contributes toward it.

“The issue centers around the ground contamination that creates potential vapors. Those potential vapors have to be monitored and drawn out of the ground and released into the air safely, and this is part of that solution, along with the injections that they’re doing,” Skinner explained.

Some of the environmental solutions were covered by an Environmental Protection Agency grant that was filtered down to the city through the state. The other part of that is the monitoring of the inside of the buildings now that there are buildings on the site, he said, to make sure they’re within the tolerance levels according to the EPA.

“That cost was unknown to them at the time, and now, roughly what they’re looking at is potentially up to $90,986,” Skinner stated.

Commission member and former Warsaw mayor Joe Thallemer said, “When that project started, we knew there were environmental concerns. The whole idea was to create a site to overcome those environmental concerns, and we had great support from MACOG (Michiana Area Council of Governments) and the developer and the city. We all threw our heads together. It’s a big success story.”

He asked if the venting solution was anticipated but maybe not to the degree that they needed. Skinner said he didn’t think it was anticipated.

“I think the thought was they did the inground piping, they did the injections, they have a release that’s not in the building, but … they’re not achieving completely what they want, which is now requiring some additional safety factors to be included, which is part of what this is — is creating a vent inside the building that takes the air and pushes it out of the building, then allows them to sample that air to make sure that it’s meeting the tolerances,” Skinner said.

He said even though they’re doing the injections and they’re comfortable with what is onsite, “there may be some stuff coming from off-site that can cloak through the site, which are still creating challenges.”

Skinner continued, “We’re talking with the state right now on what we can do to maybe monitor or go after – identifying what issues might be off-site and might be coming onsite. That would take getting permission from other property owners and doing some testing on their properties to identify some other potential contaminants that could be dealt with.”

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management wants to look at other properties off-site that may be contributing to the issues onsite of the affordable housing complex.

Thallemer asked if the inspection costs would be ongoing so the $90,000 may not be all that may be required. Skinner said the $90,000 was what they were presented with so far and it includes a 10% contingency. Roughly $82,714 is the estimated cost without the contingency.

“These levels that they’re finding that they’re feeling now they need to vent, it’s not jeopardizing occupancy of the units, is it?” Thallemer asked. Skinner said it was not.

Commission Vice President and Councilman Mike Klondaris asked if the environmental solution was being mandated by IDEM, and Skinner said it was.

The housing project originally had an EPA grant through MACOG. However, no federal grant is available now for the ventilation solution so the housing developer is eating the additional cost and asked that the city help, Skinner explained after Klondaris asked if there were grant money available.

Thallemer said it made sense to continue the project to occupancy as it’s “that close” and he felt it was important that the city support the project, given what RealAmerica has invested in the community.

Skinner estimated RealAmerica’s investment in the housing is at least $10 million. The city’s investment was giving the land to RealAmerica; $200,000 in demolition costs; and a 10-year tax abatement.

Thallemer said the Redevelopment Commission could pay half of the $90,000 cost or pay all of it, but because they might be setting a precedent going down the road, he suggested paying half of the cost.

Commission member Bill Curl said the $41,611 was for materials, but the rest was for environmental testing and they don’t know how much that would end up being. Skinner said it would be reasonable to say they’d pay for the vents and building of them, which was the $41,611.

Thallemer eventually made a motion to approve the amount to install the venting system, which was passed 3-0. Commission members George Clemens and Jack Wilhite were not present.

In other business:

• The commission approved to pay $300 per month for a year to Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation for Peek Medical to have workspace at the KEDCO Downtown Business Studio.

“Peek Medical is a software company that creates surgery planting software and they are trying to open up an office up in America,” Skinner said.

They’ll start with an office at KEDCO, and as they are successful they will open up their own space, he said. “Our incentive for them is to cover their cost for the (workspace) while they’re there,” Skinner said.
Klondaris said it was interesting that the company is coming to the Orthopedic Capital of the World in the United States from Portugal.

“Jeremy, with the types of jobs and industry that Plug and Play, the med-tech accelerator, this is exactly what they’re looking at in the med-tech space,” Thallemer said, adding that he was certainly for it.

• The commission approved the February 2024 claims, which included $141.26 for NIPSCO; $477.88, Indiana American Water; $42,000, West Hill Development; $750, Regions; $5,665.01, DLZ; $98.85, Quill; $1,526.25, Wessler Engineering; $2,565, Emans Engineering; $3,438.95, Environmental Management Specialist Inc.; and $70.68, Times-Union.

• Mayor Jeff Grose gave Brad Johnson the oath of office. Johnson is the representative for Warsaw Community Schools to the commission.