Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
For the money the city has put into the Warsaw Tech Park, it’s gotten back 10 times in investment, Warsaw Community and Economic Development Director Jeremy Skinnner told the Redevelopment Commission.
At its meeting Monday, the commission approved a resolution regarding the disposition of property relating to the Autocam Medical project that will continue to see the Warsaw Tech Park grow.
Autocam Medical issued a news release earlier Monday stating it plans to construct a 100,000-square-foot state-of-the-art manufacturing facility on 15 acres at the northeast corner of North CR 200W and U.S. 30, representing a capital investment of over $70 million in building and advanced manufacturing equipment.
Skinner said the building will be in the Warsaw Tech Park and upon full completion will have up to 300 employees.
“There’s an offer sheet. We’ve done the two appraisals. The two appraisals average came in at $521,250,” he said. “... This is the opening process of this project as we approve this resolution, then advertise the bid. If we don’t receive any bids, we’ll close that bid and then be able to dispose of that property.”
Commission President George Clemens asked if 15 acres gave Autocam Medical enough room to expand. Skinner said it does for now, but there’s another 18-19 acres out there.
Skinner said if the commission approves the resolution for the disposition, then there’s a few other steps. “As part of this, we’ll be updating that district specific to designating this property as part of the project, which will extend the life of that specific parcel so we can capture the bulk increment,” he said.
The plat for the property is mostly done, Skinner said, and it will be submitted to the Warsaw Plan Commission to create the 15-acre lot.
“Lots of things to come. This will get the ball rolling,” Skinner stated.
Joe Thallemer, commission member and former Warsaw mayor, said, “I just think this is real exciting. It’s been about 12-13 years since we got going on this, as far as acquiring the property. ... It’s just really neat to see this.”
Skinner said, “Yes, we are building, which we’d hoped would happen. I think the encouraging thing is just the sheer amount of investment that we’ve had out there, based on what we’ve put out. I think I’ve said this a lot of times, but right now we’re at like a $10 ratio. For every dollar we’ve put in, we’ve created 10 new dollars. That’s prior to this (Autocam project).”
The investment also has added 500 jobs in the Tech Park, with the Autocam Medical project adding another 300, he said.
Thallemer made the motion to approve the resolution, Council President Jack Wilhite seconded it and the motion passed unanimously.
Marsh Outlot
Next up, the commission unanimously approved extending the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Ewert Developments LLC for the outlot at the former Marsh property, 500 S. Buffalo St.
The Ewerts are looking to purchase the property for the purpose of locating a Scooter’s Coffee franchise there. The purchase price of the property is $225,000. The MOU extension gives them until Sept. 1 instead of June.
Skinner said the Ewerts have things they have to do and he has things he’s working on, which is why the extension is needed.
Like the Warsaw Tech Park, Skinner said there’s a plat in the works and he has shared it with the Ewerts and they seemed to be okay with it. The plat will need to go before the Warsaw Plan Commission as well.
“A lot of steps to go through as we look to dispose of the property, so we’re just giving them more time to accomplish those things,” he said.
In April, the commission approved an MOU with Warsaw Antique Mall for them to potentially purchase the Marsh property for $1 million, minus the outlot. The city bought the Marsh property from Cardinal Services in 2023 for $1.25 million.
Thallemer asked if there could be another potential outlot at the property. Skinner said, “I think you absolutely could,” but it wasn’t his original plan, though that could be explored.
“I have pushed that to our marketing team a little bit. So I know that they’ve talked to a few people, but they didn’t generate any interest,” Skinner said.
Councilman and commission member Mike Klondaris made the motion to approve the MOU extension, Wilhite seconded it and the motion passed.
Misc.
In another matter, Skinner told the commission he will review the 2026 budgets for their approval at their July 7 meeting. He just wanted to get the budgets in their hands now so they could review them.
The last item on the agenda for the commission to approve, which they did, was the list of claims.
Those included $480 for Four Aces; $36.08, Quill; $100, Kosciusko County recorder; $40, Kosciusko County auditor; $13,142.85, Warsaw Community Development Corporation; $5,857.50, A & Z Engineering; $501.83, NIPSCO; and $739.41, Norfolk Southern.
