Warsaw Redevelopment Gets Update On Innovation Center
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David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
Two of the claims before the Warsaw Redevelopment Commission Monday were from MKM Architecture for their ongoing work with an innovation center.
The claims were for $9,504.78 and $4,050.
Warsaw Community Development Coordinator Jeremy Skinner said MKM is working on two possibilities for the location of the innovation center. One possibility would be at the Warsaw Tech Park, while the other would be on property owned by Warsaw Chemical along Argonne Road.
He said when they did the Warsaw Tech Park recertification in 2020 and listed goals for next four years, one was to get the innovation center up and running. Skinner said they will be working on that “pretty strongly” over the next four years.
MKM is contracted to look at the spacing and other requirements for the innovation center, as well as cost estimates.
All the claims presented Monday to the Redevelopment Commission were unanimously approved.
The other claims included $5,625 from Baker Tilly for their work on the expansion of the Central TIF and the Nextremity designated taxpayer agreement; $5,490 and $8,480 from American Structurepoint for their work on the Buffalo Street plaza project; $8,284.50 from Plews Shadley Racher Braun for their discussions with Warsaw Chemical on obtaining the southern portion of their property for the innovation center; and a claim of $24,736.34 from Phend & Brown for work on the CR 300N and Shelden Street improvement project.
On the Buffalo Street plaza project, Skinnner later said it might be done by May, but work is ongoing and the pandemic has delayed delivery of materials for the project.
“We’re just kind of waiting in line to receive those products,” Skinner said. “Some of those products – there’s nothing we can do.”
He said they looked at alternative products, but they didn’t meet specifications.
“We’re playing the waiting game. The end product will be well worth the wait, but it’s kind of frustrating,” Skinner said.
The only other item on the Redevelopment Commission’s agenda Monday was change order No. 2 from Phend & Brown Inc. for the CR 300N and Shelden Street intersection improvement project.
The project included a roundabout, lighting and related work. The largest shift in the change order had to do with lane markings, which were missed, he said, and they had to adjust some lights.
The original contract price was for $1,880,359.30. The increase of this change order was $13,538.50, resulting in a final contract price incorporating the change order at $1,893,897.80.
Skinner said he went through the contract and talked to city engineer James Emans about it. Emans told Skinner he was comfortable with all the quantities and change order.
Skinner said to just have a change order for less than $14,000 was good, especially for a contract that was almost $1.9 million.
