By Zach Horner | 16 WNDU
ELKHART, Ind. (WNDU) – The first luxury apartments in the city of Elkhart are open for business and seeing their first residents moving in as they finish up construction. The Stonewater at the Riverwalk apartments are part of the River District in Elkhart, and new construction and beautification is booming in the area. The city says there is more to come in the future.
“The foundations of it are done, but the River District continues to grow and expand and touch all parts of the city,” said Levon Johnson, president and CEO of the Elkhart Chamber of Commerce.
One of those foundations is the 200-plus luxury apartments at Stonewater at the Riverwalk. The other relatively new addition considered a foundation to the River District is the Elkhart Health and Aquatics Center.
“I think they’re just trying to make it family-friendly, they’re trying to make Elkhart a better name for itself, I think. So, really trying to make the area grow,” said Karrie Seufert, property manager at Stonewater at the Riverwalk
Plenty of construction continues in the Elkhart River District, and over the next decade, the city says that part of downtown Elkhart will be looking a lot different.
“It is amazing to go through and look at the transformation in that area, the excitement around it and then the conversations that now start to spur, ‘OK, now we’re focused here, but if this is the center, how do we start growing that out,'” Johnson said.
So far, Stonewater at the Riverwalk has 17 tenants who have moved in and expect more as the city continues to grow, and hoping more residents grow their roots in a budding downtown.
“This provides another option for people to be able to work and live and play right in the same space,” Seufert said.
And although they’re considered luxury, the property manager says rent isn’t wildly expensive and ranges from $760 for a studio up to around $2,650 for the 2,000-square-foot townhouse.
“We are affordable, we aren’t so out of people’s price range that makes them uncomfortable,” Seufert said.
As Stonewater looks to make their new digs home for residents in Elkhart, the city continues to look toward a bright future for the River District.
“Over the next 10 years and what you see now in the River District and as amazed as we are at the way it looks right now, in the next 10 years even more of it is going to take shape and it’s going to be even more amazing,” Johnson said.
More apartments are planned for the district, so for now, we’ll keep an eye on downtown to see what the future holds and what expansion takes place.