Elkhart Mayor announces plans for new public safety center

 

ELKHART, Ind.-- Elkhart Mayor Rod Roberson announced the city's plans to purchase a vacant downtown building and create a state-of-the-art public safety center.

The proposed site is at the intersection of Franklin Street and 2nd Street. The building was originally designed and opened as a St. Joseph Valley Bank in the 1970s.

It's been vacant since 2019, but with about 90,000 usable square feet, it can house the Elkhart Police Department, 911 dispatch, and the fire department's administrative offices.

The project will cost the city roughly $40,000,000 to both purchase and renovate the space.

Mayor Roberson said the development will be an anchor to further revitalization in the downtown landscape as the city also plans a major transformation of the streetscapes and infrastructure. This includes making 2nd and 3rd Streets two-way roads.

"If we are going to transition Elkhart in an aspirational way, which is what we're saying that we're trying to do, we need to make sure that we start with the basic fundamentals, which is giving our public safety the opportunity to grow into what Elkhart is going to become," Mayor Rod Roberson said.

The plans must go through the city's redevelopment commission, but so far, it has support from both the fire and police chiefs, as well as 911 dispatch operators.