After years of planning, construction will soon begin on a new apartment complex at the old Elkhart Foundry.
A rendering shows the new Stonewater at The Riverwalk apartments in Elkhart.
On Monday night, Elkhart’s common council passed a $4.65 million dollar bond that’ll help build what’ll be known as Stonewater at The Riverwalk.
They hope to break ground after Labor Day.
After three years of meetings, discussions and delays, builders are feeling bullish about Elkhart.
“We’re done, there’s nothing left to do on this project from a financing standpoint,” Brian Prince with Flaherty & Collins Properties said. “We have construction drawings, we’re bidding this thing out in two weeks, so it’s live.”
This week, Elkhart’s council OK’d more than $4 million in bond money to build the mixed used complex, including over 200 new apartments at the old Foundry site along the river.
“We’re short about 820 units in the Goshen, Elkhart area,” Elkhart mayor Tim Neese said. “This is a step in the right direction, it’s not going to cure everything.”
“Elkhart’s never seen anything like this,” Prince said.
In the past few years, what Elkhart has seen is revitalization, inviting more businesses and foot traffic to the riverfront and downtown.
“We’re going to have approximately seven thousand square feet of retail,” Mayor Neese said.
“We’re seeing this trend across the Midwest of people wanting to be back downtown. They want the walkable environment, the shopping, the eateries, the whole nine,” Prince said.
Mayor Neese says he expects the new apartments to attract both seniors and young, working tenants. Prince says he’s confident they can cut the ribbon within a year and a half.
All told, Stonewater will cost about $32 million to build.
Elkhart’s redevelopment commission has also pledged up to $1 million to get the site ready for construction.
Prince says they plan to bring in dirt trucks to build up the site above the flood plain, but they’re planning to finish most of the foundation before the ground freezes.