Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Real Property Management Golden Dome is the first recipient of a Winona Avenue Matching Facade Grant from the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce.
A check for $8,327.19 was presented to the new business’s owner, Chris Bammerlin, by the Chamber at noon Wednesday for improvements that Bammerlin did to his property at 1130 E. Winona Ave., Warsaw.
“So, with the funds we redid the landscaping around the entire north side, as well as part of the east side over here,” he said. “It’s also got a turf for my dog, or any dog, and it’s also washable so you can just wash it away and everything will just rinse down.”
Bammerlin also put up a new sign, which he said was very badly needed.
He took ownership of the building in July 2025, and officially opened the business in September.
“I basically gutted the whole interior building and I’m working on rebuilding it up,” he said. His goal is to have all the renovations completed by the end of this year.
Real Property Management Golden Dome manages properties on behalf of owners who don’t have the time or desire to manage them anymore.
“We’ll find the tenants. We’ll take the rent every month. We’ll take care of maintenance requests. We do that with vacation homes as well, or even if it’s your primary home, we’ll take care of anything that you need related to the property,” Bammerlin said.
He said he decided to apply for a Winona Avenue Matching Facade Grant after joining the Chamber in December and hearing about the grant.
“I’m slowly working on the outside. There was a concrete planter box that went around all that dirt pile, which I just recently removed that and I’m going to scoop out the dirt here, so I’m still working on it little by little and still trying to get that to look pretty, look better,” Bammerlin said.
Explaining why the Winona Avenue Facade Grant Program was started, Chamber President and CEO Rob Parker said, “Winona Avenue is a major corridor, an entry point into our community, and so we wanted to make everyone aware of how important Winona Avenue was for our businesses and our community, and the Board of Directors at the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce decided to give $35,000 in a matching facade grant.”
Businesses along Winona Avenue - from the railroad tracks to the roundabout - can apply, and the grant extends over to Market and Smith streets.
“So any businesses along there could apply to improve their facade to help beautify Winona Avenue,” Parker said. “We believe, again, as a major corridor in our community, it’s one that is lacking in terms of visual appeal. And by us investing in what we believe should be changed, we’re putting that first step forward to show that this is really important to the business community of Warsaw and Kosciusko County.”
The grant program has garnered much interest. Parker said they’ve completely allocated the funds in terms of businesses expressing their desire to participate. Real Property Management Golden Dome was the first business to get work completed and turn in receipts.
“I anticipate having $100,000 worth of renovations done this year from that facade program. So, $35,000 invested is going to return over $100,000 in property improvements along businesses on Winona Avenue,” Parker stated.
Funds for seven businesses’ improvements have been allocated.
“It tells you that there is a need and I have others that are interested,” Parker said.
It will be up to the Chamber’s board of directors on allocating future funds for the Winona Avenue Matching Facade Grant Program but Parker said he anticipates at least one more year.
“We’ll see how it goes from there,” he said. “I think everybody’s very excited. That’s a 3-to-1 investment if everything comes to fruition like we’re anticipating that it will. So that’s a great thing when a nonprofit like the Chamber can stimulate the economy in a 3-to-1 granting situation.”
In recent years, there’s been a lot of attention to the Winona Avenue area, such as the Union Station Lofts and the demolition of the dilapidated Jomac buildings. The city of Warsaw is currently having engineering work completed for Winona Avenue.
“And how can we improve, again, this corridor for the businesses and for the - it’s the major entry point into one of the best assets, probably the best asset from a visitor’s standpoint, in our community, maybe our entire county - The Village at Winona,” Parker said.
