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Warsaw Redevelopment Commission approved the purchase of land north of Kohl’s for over $1.8 million on Monday.
The approximate 11 acres of vacant property at 3343 N. Detroit St., Warsaw, is being sold by Warsaw 15-300N I LLC.
Jeremy Skinner, Warsaw community and economic development director, said the property has been on the market for some time as Warsaw 15-300N I LLC is no longer interested in doing commercial development.
“We’ve had a couple people that we’ve talked to about doing something there. It made sense for us to assist in the development of this land,” Skinner said.
Two appraisals for the property were done and the property is being purchased for the average of the two appraisals, which is $1,836,100. The money to purchase the property will come out of the Northern Tax Increment Finance (TIF) fund.
The property has been under option for two-plus years for a potential Veterans Administration (VA) clinic, but that option has expired, he said.
Skinner said he doesn’t know if the city would want residential property on the land because it is commercial property.
He said there are two developers he’s talked to in conjunction with retail strategies and there’s been conversations about what entities the city would like to target to see if the city could actually get any of those commercial entities. Once they feel they have a project, Skinner said that information will be brought to the Redevelopment Commission.
Redevelopment Commission member and former Mayor Joe Thallemer asked if the city were to purchase the property and then sell it, would it retain its TIF status? Skinner said it would.
The intent for property would be two-fold. The city would purchase the property and, at the same time, they would package the property for development. At the time, the city would probably adust the TIF in that area, Skinner said. That portion of the TIF will be reset because of the sale. Skinner said the readjustment of the TIF won’t be done right now because he didn’t know what the timeframe for any development is, but when the city does any development, they will reset the clock for that acreage and that will maximize the city’s ability to recoup the investment the city made in the purchase and development of the property.
Skinner said he believed the TIF expired in 2030 or 2032.
