ELKHART — A grand vision for downtown Elkhart is becoming clearer.
Labeled the Market District Plan, the gravity of projects involved is considered by many officials to be unprecedented in the city's history.
The target area is a historically industrial section of town – a peninsula of land between the St. Joseph and Elkhart Rivers just east of Main Street. Split in half by Jackson Boulevard, the land currently houses the former Elkhart YMCA, an older Martin's Super Market, a Pizza Hut, numerous other small businesses and a small portion of recently redeveloped property near the NIBCO Water and Ice Park.
A quick trip down Jackson Boulevard highlights the need for redevelopment in the area. Buildings are old and fading, as streetscapes are worn from years of use.
"This was home to industrial complexes due to the two rivers meeting, but more recently the identity of this section of downtown has become more confused," said Ken Jones, chief executive officer of JPR, a development firm spearheading the Market District Plan. "We are heading toward a period of transformation, though."
Seen as a central part of the downtown business district and an eastern gateway, city officials have a vision of building amenities along Jackson Boulevard that will both serve the people that already call the city home and attract newcomers who are looking for affordable housing as well as a wide range of activity offerings.
Parts of the plan include mixed-used developments for shopping and living, a redesigned Martin's Super Market, an ice hockey arena, luxury apartments on the grounds of the old Elkhart Foundry and a new aquatics center to replace the now ex-Elkhart YMCA building, now abandoned.