Groundbreaking ceremony for new apartment building held in Delphi

Hallie Gallinat, Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, Ind.
·5 min read

Sep. 20—As developers and stakeholders broke ground on a 68-unit multifamily project in Delphi, Carroll County, on Tuesday, Mayor Anita Werling knew the moment was big for her community.

"100 years ago, Delphi's population was just under 3,000. Guess what it is today? You're right, just under 3,000," Werling said during a speech at the groundbreaking ceremony. "So hopefully, that will begin to change just a little bit with this development, which we are very excited to break ground for today."

The project, developed by Iron Men Properties, is being built between Deer Creek and East Front Street. This new apartment building, called The Interurban, is biggest housing development in Carroll County history, according to Alex Blake, director of construction at Iron Men Properties. According to an email sent by the Carroll County Economic Development Corporation, this marks a $12.5 million investment in the area, and Tax Increment Financing, Indiana READI funds, redevelopment tax credits and partnerships with the city brought the project to fruition.

The groundbreaking ceremony was a true community celebration, featuring live music from the Delphi High School band and refreshments. Blake, Werling, Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski, president of the Delphi Redevelopment Commission Joe Mayfield, site property owner Dick Bradshaw, CEO of Carroll County Economic Development Corporation Jake Adams, and PE and LEED AP of Iron Men Properties Joseph Blake, all spoke about the project at the ceremony.

Shovels and boxes of dirt were also seen in front of the stage, which was "broken" by community members and officials at the end of the ceremony.

According to Werling, the city council set aside $2.5 million for residential development, and $1.5 million of that will be used for this project. Werling said the apartment building is named after The Interurban electric railway, which used to operate on the site of the new building 100 years ago. Before that, Werling said the site used to be home to Delphi's Waterworks in the 1800s.

Werling said the building is more than a 68-unit apartment building, pointing to the connection to the community and to their heritage. She said the project began about a year ago, and the first thing Iron Men Properties did was to involve herself and the community in the process, such as looking at possible names and options for designs.

"We studied the site, they learned about The Interurban, and as they got more and more into the history of that, that became the name," Werling said. "So, and now that's celebrating a part of the heritage of our community and... I think their vision is going to make this evolve into really more and more of a celebration of the past, while, you know, having an extremely modern apartment complex with all the amenities that you would expect. So, this is market grade housing and we're excited to welcome new people into the community as they decide to live here."

Alex Blake, who is serving as the project manager, said they were looking at projects in the region and were discussing with Werling for a different site. He said there was a previous developer who had the site planned for a project, but this project was unable to be executed.

"... and Mayor Werling approached us about partnering with them to develop this site," Alex Blake said. "So, we started working on this in January, or December last year... we're running full steam by January 2023 on the development."

According to Alex Blake, they typically run a 12-month build cycle and they plan to start construction in October. He said they would like to finish by the end of August next year.

While this is the biggest housing development seen in Carroll County, Alex Blake said they are not all about doing the biggest thing. He said they want to do the things that matter the most, and he said Delphi has desperately needed new housing. This development can help in a small way contribute to the growth of Delphi and Carroll County, Alex Blake said.

"I think this is a fantastic growth opportunity for Delphi, as was said by many of the speakers... one of the things holding Delphi back is the opportunity for new housing for people coming into the community. So, what we need to do is create housing so that more people can live here and work new jobs and create growth for the community," Alex Blake said. "So, the way we see this is what we do is multi-family development. So, this is an opportunity for us to come in and partner with them to create high-end housing and quality housing for new teachers, new managers, for retirees to free up existing home stock and allow for future growth in the community."

Werling said they have been hoping for residential development for decades and have been working to try to provide resources for making that happen with a lot of partners. She said the important part of that is without growth, you do not have the resources to keep communities whole. Without new people coming in and if a community has an aging population, the population is going to decline, Werling said.

"So, we're delighted to be welcoming new people into the community, into our school system, to share what we have, the wonderful amenities that we have to offer and it's going to be an exciting partnership...," Werling said.