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KEDCO, OrthoWorx, Main Street Warsaw and the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce representatives Tuesday shared their perspectives on the importance of a downtown Warsaw parking garage to encourage the county commissioners to move forward with it.
The proposed parking garage would be at 225 N. Buffalo St., property, owned by Snapping Turtle LLC. The last estimated cost for the parking garage was about $15 million, with $5 million covered by Orthopedic Industry Retention Initiative (OIRI) funds and $2-$3 million from the city of Warsaw.
KEDCO (Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation) CEO Peggy Friday said, “I’d like to offer an economic development perspective on the proposed downtown parking garage. At its core, economic development is about removing barriers to growth. We already have prime businesses, steady foot traffic and continued interest in downtown. But what we lack is the infrastructure that supports this next phase of growth.”
She stated parking isn’t a luxury, but a basic economic infrastructure. When parking is limited, customers don’t stay, employees struggle to access their workplace and investors hesitate.
“We hear this consistently from businesses and employers. Parking constraints limit expansion, discourage new tenants and suppress downtown activity,” Friday said. “This project solves the problem in a long-term strategic way. The garage provides reliable parking spaces for county employees, which immediately frees up surface and on-street parking spaces for customers, residents and visitors. That increased turnover directly benefits downtown businesses and improves the overall experiences for the public.”
The garage could be designed as a mixed-use economic asset, she suggested.
“Ground floor retail or service space activates the street, strengthens the tax base and supports surrounding businesses. Communities across Indiana have proven that garages built this way become catalysts, not just parking structures. From a financial standpoint, it’s a rare opportunity,” she said.
If the county doesn’t move forward with the parking garage, Friday said the funding from OIRI and the city for it could be lost permanently.
“And it’s important to note the need for parking doesn’t disappear if we say no today. It becomes more expensive to solve later when outside funding is no longer available and costs are higher. Approving the project is the most responsible and cost-effective way to address a known constraint,” she said.
OrthoWorx President and CEO Ryan Christner reminded everyone what the goal of the OIRI is.
“The main goals are to attract new talent, support the orthopedic industry and provide amenities and experiences to retain existing talent that’s already here; create opportunities for expansion in the industry; and enhance growth and development in Kosciusko County,” he said. “The best part about this initiative is that it benefits everybody.”
Christner said OrthoWorx has had a tremendous year across the county, highlighting a couple of their projects such as Union Station Lofts, the Community Amenities Program and the Gordon Health & Wellness Center at Grace College phase I.
More specifically in downtown Warsaw, the Millworks housing development ribbon-cutting took place in the fall. Earlier this month, OrthoWorx launched the Community Experiences Program and are planning a Buffalo Street project.
“All these projects just continue to build upon what many call dominoes that are falling, and this parking garage is one of the big dominoes that continue to be a catalyst for the future,” Christner stated.
Terry Sweeney, Main Street Warsaw (MSW) downtown development director, explained MSW’s mission is to develop, manage and market downtown Warsaw and help drive visitation and spending.
The county is the largest property owner in downtown, owning more than three entire blocks, he said. Weekdays, the county attracts hundreds of customers in the form of employees and residents seeking county services, and spending money at the downtown businesses.
“This traffic and how the county manages and develops its property have a direct impact on downtown success,” Sweeney said. “Downtown is home to the county seat and the core of the county. Downtown success ... makes an important statement about the vitality of the county, as well as the city. More than this, it’s an important regional destination and economic anchor that supports county government by generating significant economic activity, improving quality of life for residents and as an important talent retention and recruitment asset. Moreover, it’s an efficient and significant funder of county government.”
He said the downtown “generates a disproportionately large amount of property taxes compared to its size and to other geographies within the county, and provides significant return on investment for the county.”
He talked about the Cultural District plan by the city and how some of the projects depend specifically on the parking garage being built. He also said MSW is actively talking with developers for projects with total investments exceeding $10 million. “These developers are considering the investments because they could potentially have access to the garage.”
Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce President and CEO and MSW Executive Director Rob Parker summarized everything that was said before him.
“So, on behalf of Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce and KEDCO and OrthoWorx and Main Street Warsaw, I just really want to try to get across how important this project is to the linchpin, it’s the foundation of what’s to happen to our downtown. Terry mentioned it: It’s a great investment for the county. It’s a great investment for growth. Peggy mentioned it: Without that structure, businesses will not come to the downtown as readily, as quickly as they would with a parking garage,” Parker stated.
“So, we have the momentum. We have the projects, we have the partners. But we, obviously, have a bottleneck that’s only going to get worse, and that’s parking.”
The parking garage aligns with the county’s economic priorities, especially with the OIRI championed by OrthoWorx, and complements the work done by MSW and the city of Warsaw. “A garage helps existing businesses grow, supports recruitment of new tenants and provides the kind of dependable capacity that lets downtown scale without losing the charm that makes Warsaw special,” Parker said.
The Chamber supports the plan because it’s pro-business, pro-jobs and pro-growth.
“The Chamber hears it directly from employers and entrepreneurs: Parking availability is a deciding factor whether they locate downtown or expand or host clients in the heart of the city. Commissioners, a yes vote is a vote for long-term competitiveness. An investment that can be built responsibly, built with beauty and pride and leveraged to multiply that private-public partnership. With OrthoWorx, Main Street, KEDCO and the Chamber aligned behind this effort, the county has a rare opportunity to remove a real barrier to growth and secure downtown Warsaw’s next decade of vitality,” Parker concluded.
Middle District County Commissioner Cary Groninger said he appreciated everyone coming in and talking about the parking garage.
“I know we have some important votes coming up on that ... so appreciate you guys coming in and showing your support for our community. It’s something that, I think, just recently we were the Community of the Year. I think some of that has to do with our forward-thinking and how we prepare for the future and work together and collaborate with multiple different agencies to really move Kosciusko County forward,” Groninger stated.
