JASPER — Plans to make the vacant Jasper Cabinet site near the Patoka River into a vibrant hotel, apartment complex and trendy hangout spots were revealed Wednesday night.
Developer Boxer Girl of Indianapolis, with the help of Columbus consulting company CWC Latitudes, showed the Jasper Common Council its plan to create River Centre, a $26 million development that would include hotel, housing, commercial space and green space between the developments and the river.
“We believe River Centre will be an economic catalyst to your downtown area,” said Jane Hendrickson, owner of Boxer Girl, “and hopefully revitalize and bring even more activities and new businesses to the city of Jasper.”
The council examined the plans prior to unanimously agreeing to make the site into its own tax-increment finance district.
Mayor Terry Seitz said after the meeting he is excited about River Centre.
“We wish them well. We hope there is a role we can play,” he said. “We will partner as much as we can. But ultimately, we respect the fact that this is a private investment in Jasper.”
Some of the buildings on the Jasper Cabinet site will be razed. The parts of the former factory that will be used will be the three-story brick building closest to the Jasper Train Depot and the structure that lines Jackson Street. The buildings to be demolished are four smaller additions that sit behind the brick building and closer to the river and a building that rests closest to the corner of Jackson and Second streets.
Ed Curtin of CWC Latitudes said an engineer has toured the site and determined the buildings that will remain are structurally sound.
The structures kept intact will be converted into a multi-use site. The first floor will be about 36,000 square feet of commercial space for shops and restaurants. The second and third floors will have approximately 75 one- and two-bedroom apartments. The entry to the building will be at the corner of Jackson and Second streets. An outdoor patio will be on top of the building near Jackson and Second, and other patios will be at the building’s rear.
A hotel with 80 to 100 rooms will be built to the east of the building, close to the Patoka River,
General Hotels Corp. of Indianapolis is a partner in this project and will own and manage the hotel. The company has more than 40 hotels including Crowne Plaza in Indianapolis and hotels in Terre Haute, Lafayette and Kokomo.
Company president Jim Dora said he toured some of the sites near the riverfront, in particular the Spirit of Jasper train, depot and Jasper City Mill.
“I get the flavor of downtown and see the opportunity for development of the riverside area,” he said.
“There is just a great potential there. There is a great vision for the downtown area. I hope to have the opportunity to be a part of it. And I think it could be a very exciting project.”
Proposed parking includes space for about 260 vehicles on two lots. View the complete presentation here —
RiverCentre.pdfParking for about 230 cars will be constructed on land the city now owns between First, Second, Main and Jackson Streets. The land, which is in a flood-prone area, was purchased by the city using a $544,584 grant from the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority. In addition, parking for about 30 cars will be constructed on land near Third Street just north of German American Boulevard and east of the depot’s parking lot; the land is also owned by the city, having been purchased in 2013.
Hendrickson said the total investment will be about $30 million. Design plans would be done in 2016-17 and construction in 2017-18.
Councilman Earl Schmitt asked how the developer was going to deal with the fact that the property is in a flood-prone area.
“How are you going to combat the floods down there?” Schmitt asked point blank. “You know that’s flood prone down there.”
Curtin mentioned that the city was able to get the Indiana General Assembly to pass legislation addressing this area. The legislation passed in 2013 allows residential and commercial development in the area along the river between Veterans Memorial Bridge and the Third Avenue Bridge, so long as any residential development be 2 inches above the historic high flood level.
“So that makes a big difference from the permitting standpoint,” Curtin said. “When the hotel gets constructed, that first floor elevation will be two feet above the 100-year-flood (elevation),” he said.
As for the Jasper Cabinet building, “we need to do some additional investigation. We believe that first floor is above the 100-year-flood (elevation). But we need to do some surveying work to verify that.”
“We know there are a lot of challenges ahead,” Hendrickson told the council. “But we see wonderful opportunity. And we would not be willing to stand up here and tell you we can do something if we couldn’t.”
Boxer Girl is also developing Hunter’s Crossing in Huntingburg. That Stellar Communities project will include 120 new single-family homes on Chestnut Street between 12th and 17th streets and a nearby park.
Hendrickson reiterated Wednesday evening that having a TIF around this area in Jasper is vital to the project and said after the meeting that her company would not have considered the development if the TIF option wasn’t available.
The proposed TIF district is roughly bordered by Third Avenue, the Patoka River, Main Street, Second Street and Mill Street. The segregated district will include the city-owned property, which does not incur taxes, including the train depot and property north of the depot to Third Avenue. It will also include properties in the flood-prone area that is the site of the proposed 200-plus-space parking lot.
“I’m thoroughly enthused,” Seitz said after the meeting. “We have a decrepit building that people would say is an eyesore and have asked the mayor to please tear it down. But we don’t own it. And it would have been hundreds of thousands of dollars to tear it down.
“Tonight we get a $26 million to $30 million investment with a hotel partner that’s been announced who owns the Crown Plaza in Union Station in Indianapolis and 44 other hotels,” Seitz said. “We are jumping for joy.”
The final step to creating the TIF district is for the Jasper Redevelopment Commission to hold a public hearing and then consider a confirmatory resolution to create the district. The next commission meeting is scheduled for 8 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, at City Hall, 610 Main St.