A large-scale mixed-use development project was given the OK to begin construction after concerns with drainage were addressed.
The Kokomo Plan Commission unanimously approved earlier this month the development plan for the hotel and apartment parts of the Hub District, a $110 million project that includes a 114-room, four-story Hyatt Inn hotel, a 504-unit, six-story apartment complex, 28 townhomes and commercial retail all located northeast of Cooper and Morgan streets, near the two StarPlus Energy EV battery plants.
The project held a groundbreaking in early December and is expected to be completed in spring of 2027.
Construction of the apartment complex, which is three separate buildings, will be done in phases, according to Becky Feigh, senior project manager for Civil & Environmental Consultants Inc.
Half of the townhomes are already completed and being rented out.
The apartment complex includes a clubhouse, amenity area and a pool. Access to both the hotel and apartment complex will be from Cooper Street, according to development plans.
The project is receiving $16 million in tax increment financing bonds and a forgivable loan of $4.6 million from the city of Kokomo.
The approval allows for construction to begin for the hotel and apartment complex and comes just a few weeks after city officials expressed concerns over drainage of onsite stormwater.
The previous development plans failed to show that any of the finished flooring of any proposed buildings would be 2 feet above the 100-year storm elevation based on the size of the project’s water detention areas, according to Jon Pyke, director of the city of Kokomo’s engineering department.
Pyke said the project would need 3 more feet of elevation, in addition to the already 2 feet of elevation proposed, to meet the standard. That would’ve been an expensive endeavor for the project’s developer, Faris Center.
Without added elevation, the apartment complex’s parking lot would’ve been inundated with 2 feet of water during a 100-year storm event.
The new development plans, though, include underground stormwater detention areas. The change, Pyke told the Tribune, allows for the detention areas to be larger and, thus, retain more stormwater.
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