Jasper Council approves tax abatement for Indiana Furniture development

The Jasper Common Council approved a resolution for a tax abatement for the planned unit development in the former Indiana Furniture building at the corner of Mill and 13th Streets.

The 10-year abatement covers 100 percent of the entity’s property tax for the first seven years before stepping down by 25 percent each year for the final three years (e.g., 75 percent abatement in year eight, 50 percent abatement in year nine, and 25 percent in the final year before the abatement falls off).

Krempp Corporation and its partner, Flaherty & Collins, are planning an estimated $40 million project to develop the multi-story factory into workforce housing units with potential commercial space on the ground floor. Future phases could include the construction of another complex on the property.

You can read more about it at this link.

To accommodate the new development, the council also approved a rezoning request to convert the property from industrial to the Planned Unit Development (PUD).

They also approved designating the property as an Economic Development Target Area and an Economic Revitalization Area to allow the tax abatement to be implemented.

The council also took the following actions at Tuesday’s meeting.

–Heard an update from Josh Gunselman, Director of Community Development and Planning, on his department. Among the highlights, Gunselman reported the city had 102 new housing units developed in 2023. “34 single-family residence homes and 68 units were created through duplexes and apartment developments, much like University Heights,” he told the council.

Additionally, the total investment in the community for new homes, structures and businesses was about $36 million in 2023.

Gunselman also informed the council that they would seek approval for funding the update to the Impact Jasper Comprehensive Plan in 2025.

–Approved a resolution to support the development of a Northside Sewage Treatment Plant for the application for funding from the state’s revolving fund. The city is adding the additional plant to support the continued growth on the north side and the county’s efforts to provide sanitary sewers to Portersville and Haysville. The additional plant is the least expensive option with the most benefit compared to extending force sewage mains and creating the necessary infrastructure to update those areas with the existing facility.

–Approved annexing the North Ridge Subdivision area into the contiguous boundaries of the City of Jasper and assigning it to the Jasper Common Council District 6N (currently represented by Kevin Manley). This area is north of the Jasper Elementary School. The new development includes seven quad-plex units and 40 single-family units.