City seeing redevelopment interest in historic property

Tyler Juranovich, Kokomo Tribune, Ind.
·2 min read

Jun. 28—The city of Kokomo is receiving interest from several private parties for possible renovation and repurposing of a historical building along the city's Industrial Heritage Trail.

Kokomo Mayor Tyler Moore, during a Tuesday morning Coffee and Conversation event put on by the Greater Kokomo Chamber of Commerce, said the city had recently put out a Request for Proposals for redevelopment of the old Warren's Auto Salvage building, located at 1105 Home Ave.

According to Moore, the city has already received "well over 20" inquiries and has scheduled five or six tours with potential developers.

"Fingers crossed something will come of that," Moore said.

As previously reported by the Tribune, the city is hoping the now-vacant building can be repurposed into a mixed-use development of residential and commercial aspects.

Late last year, the city hired Indianapolis-based engineering firm The Etica Group to conduct a "structural assessment services" and "analysis for possible redevelopment purposes" on the property.

The firm concluded that the property would need between $20 million to $25 million in repairs to the two main buildings and an additional $3.7 million to install proper parking, lighting, fencing and improvements to drainage just to get the property cleaned up and suitable for redevelopment.

The firm concluded that while some parts of the main concrete building are in relatively good condition and can likely still be used, such as the stairs in between floors, much of it is in need of a lot of work, both inside and out, in large part because of its decades-long exposure to the elements.

Originally used by the Haynes Automobile Company, the building was owned by Chrysler in 1937 to manufacture manual transmissions. In fact, it was the first plant Chrysler ever opened in Kokomo.

The property was most recently a longtime auto salvage yard owned and operated by Warren Pearce for nearly five decades before he retired and closed the salvage business in 2020. The property is currently for sale for $1.5 million.

Tyler Juranovich can be reached at 765-454-8577, by email at tyler.juranovich@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @tylerjuranovich.