Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Less than 14 months after the groundbreaking ceremony for Union Station Lofts, a ribbon-cutting ceremony and tours took place Wednesday for the 80-unit development on the site of the former Gatke Corp. in Warsaw.
Shelby Bowen, partner of Bowen Capital, formerly Rebar Development, said he first visited the site about six years ago and started looking at how it could be developed.
“It went better than planned. CPM, who is our construction manager, who we’ve now built several projects with, they just really delivered extraordinarily well here,” Bowen said in an interview before the ceremony. “And there was a couple things that helped. We’re kind of isolated so we didn’t have a lot of traffic issues to deal with. Believe it or not, this site drains really well, so when it rained we didn’t get stuck in the mud for very long. And so they did an extraordinary job.”
Residents are already living in the apartments. Bowen said they had six move-ins alone Wednesday.
“We are almost 45% pre-leased. We already have 20 people, including the six moving in,” he said, saying that was better than one could expect. “We are just thrilled that people are coming, visiting, touring. This is great.”
The people moving in are multi-generational, with some being people who were already living in Kosciusko County and some moving here for jobs, Bowen stated. “It’s just really been a fantastic mix of residents from all generations and folks who are local and folks who move in from out of town.”
Bowen said the railroad tracks next to the building is a “complete non-issue really.” There’s no railroad crossing there so the trains don’t honk their horn, the trains are going slow because they usually stop next to the development and “it’s so infrequent that it’s not an active line and it’s just very infrequent.”
From the fourth-floor patio, one can see a view of Winona Lake, especially if the train is not there.
“All of the units on the fourth floor have great lake views off the balcony,” Bowen said.
The smallest unit is about 660 square feet and rents for about $1,275 per month. The largest - two bedrooms, two baths - is about 1,200 square feet and leases for about $2,000 per month. There are sizes in between, Bowen indicated.
Some of the amenities include a pet wash station, an indoor bicycle rack, a gym, ceiling fans, upgraded appliances and pre-wiring for the internet and more.
There is a commercial space on the first floor.
“We have a letter of intent, still confidential, but it’s with a restaurant/brewery and where I would say we’re really close, but no deal is done until it’s done,” Bowen said. “It’s a new restaurant/brewery here but an experienced restaurant brewer. We’re very close to finishing that deal for them to occupy that commercial space.”
During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Bowen thanked everyone involved in the project, including former Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer, Warsaw Community Economic and Development Director Jeremy Skinner, the Warsaw Common Council, Mayor Jeff Grose; the state of Indiana and the Redevelopment Authority; Kosciusko County, OrthoWorx, Grace College and “everybody that became a part of the team that said, ‘What can we do to help?’”
Once CPM got started, the project was quickly executed, he said.
“CPM, our construction manager, just really took ownership out of the gate and has delivered an extraordinary end-product here. It’s a very hard thing to do what they’ve accomplished to do so in a way that they took so much pride in the outcome,” Bowen stated.
Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation CEO Peggy Simmons said, “It seems like we just broke ground yesterday. But when people look at the Union Station Lofts, they see a beautiful building, but I see something a little different. I see a young professional who accepts a job in Kosciusko County because he can find a place to live. I see a nurse, I see an engineer, a teacher, a skilled tradesman who chooses to stay here because they can build a life here. I see new neighbors, new customers for local businesses and a new energy flowing into our community because economic development isn’t just about buildings, it’s about people.”
She said every successful community eventually learns the same lesson: “If you want jobs, you need talent. If you want talent, you need housing. And if you want a thriving future, you must be willing to invest before the need becomes a crisis, and that’s exactly what happened here.”
Simmons stated that communities succeed when they invest, plan and when they believe in themselves to build for the next generation.
“Let’s celebrate a community that continues to choose progress over complacency, partnership over division and possibility over limitation because the future of Kosciusko County is not something that happens to us, it’s something we build together,” Simmons said.
Thallemer said the building speaks for itself.
“Hearing that it’s 45% leased up at this point, it tells everyone here that this was the right thing to do,” he said.
Thallemer said a quality workforce in the community doesn’t happen without housing. “We’re talking beautiful market-rate housing like this, single-family homes, senior housing, affordable housing. We’ve all worked very hard to meet the needs of our community. This is a crown jewel, this is a tremendous project,” he stated.
Thallemer thanked Bowen for his vision and turning that vision into brick and mortar.
Ryan Christner, president and CEO of OrthoWorx, thanked everyone involved in the project.
“As mentioned, this project represents more than just a building. It represents an investment in people in our community and a better future,” he said. “At OrthoWorx, we know that attracting and retaining talent requires more than getting jobs. It requires great places to live, connect, learn and to build a life together. Union Station Lofts delivers just on that.”
He stated that the best communities don’t happen by accident. “They’re built through a shared vision, partnership and belief that the future can be even better than it is in the present. Today is proof of that,” Christner said.
Zach Tucker, Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors chair, thanked everyone involved in the project.
“This is incredible. Can’t believe it,” he stated.
To lease a unit at Union Station Lofts, there are office hours or one can visit the website at https://www.liveunionstationlofts.com/ to schedule a tour time.
