The former Owen’s grocery store, 302 W. Market St., Warsaw, is one of the projects in Northeast Indiana Regional Development Authority’s READI application that was sent to the Indiana Economic Development Corporation in hopes of receiving up to $50 million for projects, according to a recent Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly article.
The Oct. 6 story states the Regional Economic Acceleration & Development Initiative (READI) application – which is over 300 pages – was sent Sept. 30 and includes the 11 counties in the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership. Kosciusko, Wabash and Whitley are three of those counties.
Earlier this year, Gov. Eric Holcomb announced the $500 million initiative in hopes of attracting at least $2 billion in match funding.
The 130 projects in the application, according to the Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly article, would be implemented over five years with a potential investment of more than $2 billion. Even if the region gets the maximum amount, the projects in the application are not guaranteed. Those projects with funding in place may get priority, the article states.
The Owen’s Redevelopment Project would have $3.5 million coming from the READI grant. The Greater Fort Wayne article states, “Redevelopment of the former Owen’s Market grocery story in Warsaw to create workforce housing by transforming the property into a four-story mixed-use development encompassing nearly 150 market-rate apartment units, 15,000 to 20,000 square feet of commercial space and a 300-plus-space parking garage.”
In February 2019, Kroger’s Central Division announced the decision to close the “old” Owen’s store, attributing the closure to the store’s ongoing poor financial performance.
Owen’s built the facility on Market Street in 1959, according to previous information provided from the mayor’s office. The Owen’s stores were sold to Kroger in 1997.
The full Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly article can be found online at https://www.fwbusiness.com/fwbusiness/article_cc549b5b-fd05-5c58-ab58-47001917e968.html.
