Frank Levinson with Team FaB speaks at the Kosciusko County Redevelopment Commission meeting on Thursday, July 11, in the Kosciusko County Courthouse’s Old Courtroom. InkFreeNews photo by Leah Sander.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — The Kosciusko County Redevelopment Commission has agreed to financially support a project which should bring three new industrial-use buildings to Leesburg.

At its meeting on Thursday, July 11, the council agreed to give Frank and Becky Levinson $250,000 generated from tax increment financing in the county.

The Levinsons would have to pay the money upfront and be reimbursed by the commission.

The couple is also seeking state Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative, or READI 2.0, funds to pay for the construction of the buildings.

When he appeared before the commission Thursday, Frank noted READI 2.0 monies are doled out to projects which also have a financial match from local government.

The project is at the former John Deere dealership, with three 12,000 square-foot buildings set to be constructed by SR 15 next to the Owens Fresh Meat Market building at 6287 SR 15.

Frank said the couple bought the property two-and-a half years ago.

“We now have several companies that are in there (including Owens),” he said. “We are out of space, so we’re looking to expand.”

He said the project would be “a small business industrial incubator.”

“The goal here is to really provide turn-key small bay industrial spaces within the county, which there’s a relative lack of,” said Frank. “I know that because when we went to go build we couldn’t really find any.”

He said the buildings will be divided up into “1,500- to 5,000-square-foot bays with offices, warehousing and some common space.”

Frank said the land is already zoned for industrial use, so the couple won’t be taking away farmland.

“Again the idea here is to take the 15 corridor, which is already fairly heavily trafficked, and to be able to build in some additional space there,” he said.

CR 1300N Project

The commission also heard an update from Crystal Welch on the CR 1300N development project.

She works for Abonmarche, which is handling planning for the project.

Welch said at a May steering committee meeting “we selected … a parcel that we are recommending to be used as industrial land going forward.”

“We are developing some conceptual subdivision layouts for that,” she said. “At this point we’ve got about three of them rolling around within the Abonmarche office.”

She said Commission member Jan Orban looked over layouts to give input.

Welch said the next committee meeting at the end of July people were “to finalize that land use map, that development strategy, discuss, make any changes.”

“We do think multiple conceptual subdivisions are the right way to go,” she said.

She said hopefully plans are to come to the commission’s Sept. 12 meeting “with a draft study report.”

In other business, the commission:

• Heard a brief Kosciusko Economic Development Corp. update from Peggy Friday, who attended her first commission meeting as KEDCO CEO.

The commission’s next meeting is 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, in the Kosciusko County Courthouse’s Old Courtroom.