Huntingburg Council to clear path for multi-use building on Fourth Street

A property owner will be allowed to add apartments to the multistory office building across the street from the Huntingburg City Hall.

The property formerly known as the WTH Engineering building was purchased by Synergy Real Estate Partners in October of 2017.

The building originally housed the city offices until they moved across the street into the current city hall in 1996. It was sold to a private individual in 1997, and a covenant restricting it from being used for housing was attached to the deed. That covenant followed the property despite ownership changes.

As the covenant was put in place by the city at the time of the sale, the council was authorized to remove it.

The current building owners informed the council they would like to turn the third floor of the building into two upscale apartments, but with the covenant in place, they were unable to do so. When the current building owners approached the council about the covenant at the March 13 council meeting, the council decided to table the request to allow for time to talk with nearby residents.

In 2016, the council met a lot of opposition regarding a proposed development from Paragus Group that would have turned the building into a 40-unit apartment complex. Neighbors and business owners on Fourth Street stated the limited amount of space in the area for children to play as well as parking issues, water drainage and the impact on nearby property owners were reasons to reconsider placing the complex there.

Of the three councilmen present for Tuesday’s meeting, none had heard any negative comments or objections to the current building owner’s plans to add the apartments.

“With the amount of apartments requested, there were no objections from several of the neighbors,” Councilman Glen Kissling said. “They were just very much adamant against the housing that was proposed in the past.”

According to current building codes on Fourth Street, business buildings are allowed to have apartments/housing above the first floor. According to the ordinance regarding square footage for apartments, they need to be at least 650 square foot in size and include a bedroom and bathroom. This precludes the third floor of the building to be used for more than two apartments due to the square footage available there.

The council decided to have a resolution drafted to remove the covenant and allow the building fall under the ordinance regarding businesses on Fourth Street. There is about 2,900 square feet of leasable space on the building’s second floor, and the third floor is 1,800 square feet. Removing the covenant now allows the business to create apartments on the second and third floor although the owners have indicated only the third floor would be used for apartments.

To change the use of the building to include apartments, the owners will have to submit engineering plans to the state for approval.

“If we just remove the covenant, it would allow it on the second and third floor just like every other business on Fourth Street,” Councilman Jeff Bounds said. “Everybody I talked to about it said that seems fair. No one has called me about changing the covenant or removing the covenant either one.”