Union Station Apartment Lofts On Track To Be Completed In 14 Months

Union Station Apartment Lofts are expected to be completed in 14 months, and a number of organizations have been a part of making sure that train gets to the station.
Thursday afternoon, while the construction work progressed and a train sat quietly idle on the railroad tracks near the former Gatke Corp. site, those organizations celebrated the construction of the 80-unit development with a brief ceremony.
Shelby Bowen, Rebar Development founder and partner, said it took a lot of people to get the project going.
“It was a union of just a tremendous amount of organization, more so than any project we’ve worked on, but I was telling both mayors there was never a point where I really was not invested in delivering this project, so it’s awesome to be a part of,” he said.
Bowen listed some of the organizations that were involved in the development, saying, “I feel like a NASCAR driver, hitting all the sponsors. There is no way I can do that because so many people participated to make it possible, and I’m just tremendously grateful.”
Construction is well underway of the four-story building, he said. “What will be cool is when you all come back to cut the ribbon with us next spring/summer ... what I’m excited about, I think all of us can’t wait to stand up on the fourth floor where we have amenity space and a rooftop terrace that overlooks the lake and everything else.”
After the ceremony, he said the project includes 80 apartments, all either one-bedroom and one bathroom or two-bedroom and two bath. As far as amenities, there will be a work-from-home center, rooftop terrace, a resident cafe, fitness center, indoor bike storage, pet spa and trailhead.
“I always say everything but the pool. It’s going to be extraordinary on the amenities side,” Bowen said.
There also will be three commercial studios. They’ll be about 1,000 square feet and will be designed for smaller, local businesses with very flexible lease terms. “We build them out so they’re ready to go, and those have been popular with folks who want to be in a cool project in a great location,” he said.
During the ceremony, Bowen said the theme of Thursday’s celebration was gratitude. “The Union Station Lofts is really true to the essence of the word union. It wouldn’t have happened without you all, so I appreciate it,” he said.
KEDCO Involvement
Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation (KEDCO) was there from the beginning, first with CEO Alan Tio and the last year with Peggy Friday, he said.
In her comments, Friday said, “On behalf of the board of directors of the Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation, and the team at KEDCO, congratulations to the city of Warsaw, of Kosciusko County and all the partners who made this project successful. This is a celebration, a celebration of growth and progress. KEDCO is excited to see this project come to life because of what it means as a milestone in this community.”
The revitalization of the site is a major step in beautifying Winona Avenue and enhancing the surrounding area, she said. It also helps address the need for more attainable housing in the community, “an effort that KEDCO and partner organizations have taken seriously and are actively and intentionally working on.”
Friday said it’s clear the project is all about collaboration.
“We’re grateful to work alongside partners like the city of Warsaw, Rebar Development and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) and many others,” she stated. “Thank you for your continued partnership and commitment to moving our community forward, and thank you for your investment in our community.”
Located near the intersection of McKinley Street and Winona Avenue, the former industrial site is being transformed into a $19 million investment and is expected to activate the McKinley Street Ride-Walk corridor, according to a news release from KEDCO. Union Station Lofts is a public private partnership that includes a $4 million redevelopment tax credit from the IEDC and Northeast Indiana Regional Development Authority. Additionally, through the Orthopedic Industry Retention Initiative (OIRI), housed by OrthoWorx, the project will receive an additional $1.4 million in funding.
City Of Warsaw Involvement
Mayor Jeff Grose thanked Bowen and Rebar for investing multi-millions in the community, providing much-needed housing. He also thanked all the stakeholders that were present at Thursday’s celebration. While he said he played a small part in all of it when he sat on the city council and the Warsaw Redevelopment Commission to get to this point, “here we are, and it’s just unbelieveable.”
While the city council and Redevelopment Commission did the work on their side to make the Lofts happen, Grose said the leadership for the project was past mayor Dr. Joe Thallemer and Warsaw Community and Economic Development Director Jeremy Skinner.
“These guys didn’t try, they made it happen. So a lot of credit goes to them. I stand here on behalf of the city, but really the credit goes to Joe and his leadership, along with Jeremy,” Grose stated.
Thallemer said the site is a very historical site.
“The Inter Urban, that serviced the town of Winona Lake and the city of Warsaw, was on this site. Shut down in 1952. Gatke came along and was prolific until 1991. This site has been idle since,” he said.
The city would get solicited for many various ideas for the property over the last 30-plus year.
“But with all the solicitations that we got for ideas, Jeremy and I talked a lot about this property, and what that told us was that the interest in this community was so much in this corridor, in this property, that we had to not just sit there and take a passive role, and take ideas, we needed to really get down and dirty,” Thallemer said.
He said they focused their vision on a project on the Gatke site to stimulate the Argonne Road-McKinley Street corridor.
Thallemer said they met with Bowen and listened to his vision for the site. He and Skinner then took a trip to Lafayette to look at Bowen’s finished project there, and were real excited on the way home because of the work Bowen did. Knowing what they wanted at the Gatke site, Bowen “fit the bill.”
“We got together in August of 2020, which wasn’t exactly a prolific time in our country with the pandemic, but needless to say, we partnered through all of that, the ups and downs, the economic hardships of inflation, problems with workforce, of interest rates and everything else we talked about,” Thallemer recalled.
“I will say, folks, this is tangible now. It’s not an idea, this is tangible. Very excited for the corridor. I know there’s many things that are being bowled up here, and Jeff’s going to carry the load on that. We’re very excited. I can’t wait to see what’s next,” he concluded.
Skinner said, “It just seems like yesterday we were up the hill, opening up that project, and today we’re here with Shelby. A lot of the work that is going on in this corridor is really complimentary to KEDCO and Peggy and Alan before her.”
Tio introduced Skinner to Bowen. They sat down and discussed the projects and Bowen’s ideas, and everything was built from there.
“There was a lot of challenges, with every project there is, and a lot of partners on this project, so great thanks to him for being able to organize and help us, the city, as we helped him through all those partnerships to make this project a go,” Skinner stated. “To see it come to fruition is going to be a great end product. We’ve been to see his work before, so we’re really excited to see our project finish.”
Council President Jack Wilhite gave a history lesson on the site.
“Although not contributing much in the past 40 or so years, this site, on which we stand, has long been important to the local community,” he said.
In 1902, the Winona Assembly launched the Winona and Warsaw Railway, later called the Winona Inter Urban. The electric trolley line, with maintenance and power facilties on the future Gatke site, stretched from Goshen to Peru. It eventually closed do to competing modes of transportation and profits dwindling.
In 1926, the Gatke Corp. took over the site, manufacturing asbestos brake lines for the automotive industry. Production ceased in 1976 amidst lawsuits and the 1972 Consumer Product Safety Act, which banned asbestos. After decades, the site sat vacant, becoming a safety hazard and a magnet for vagrants.
“However, through a partnership with Rebar, the site is now being transformed into a vibrant hub for housing and business, reclaiming the community significance,” Wilhite said. “I find the naming of the Union Station Lofts appropriate as it has a rich railroad history, harkening back over 100 years and is located on the edge of two municipalities, hopefully strengthening the bond between the towns of Warsaw and Winona.
“Critics often question local government’s role in such products. However,” Wilhite said, “Inaction all but dictates future decay. Our community’s promise demands bold action and Rebar’s investment fuels a thriving future. I’m proud to support this vision, however modestly I do it.”
OrthoWorx & Local Contractors
Ryan Christner, on behalf of the board of directors of OrthoWorx and the team for OIRI at OrthoWorx, stated, “This is a wonderful opportunity and really, for us, we’ve got three different housing projects that we’re planning on being a part of within the scope of OIRI and this is the first one. And the exciting thing is Shelby and his team have really set the bar pretty high for what we expect for future projects that we plan to partner in. So this aligns very well with our mission for OIRI, is to build a community with infrastructure and amenities and all the things to retain and cultivate talent for the orthopedic industry, and beyond that as well.”
Bowen wrapped up the speeches by noting, “We bid this out. CPM is our general contractor, essentially the construction manager. They don’t perform any of the trades, they manage all the trades. And what’s great about that, in this partnership, is that they bid every trade out to anybody. Local has an opportunity to participate, and we did have local participation here, so a lot of that investment is actually staying here.”
As long as they were credit-worthy and could show they could perform the work, he said local contractors were going to get preferential treatment.
Anyone interested in living or renting commercial space at Union Station Lofts is encouraged to visit www.LiveUnionStationLofts.com to join the interest list or follow @UnionStationLofts on Facebook and Instagram.