Elkhart Foundry brownfield site shows presence of lead and arsenic, which could stall development efforts

ELKHART — A proposal to bring luxury apartments to downtown Elkhart has hit a snag because of the conditions of the old Elkhart Foundry, where the project would be located.

“This development isn’t dead, but at this point it is moving slowly,” said Crystal Welsh, the city’s community development manager.

The $25 million project is supposed to feature 200 luxury apartments and 5,200 square feet of street-front retail space along Elkhart Avenue. However, the city must work with the state to resolve contamination issues related to the site.

“Currently there would be no first-floor residential development allowed anywhere on the site,” said Ken Jones, president of JPR Engineering Services, the firm hired by the city to evaluate the problem.

The Elkhart Redevelopment Commission on Tuesday approved spending $44,500 to have JPR determine whether the brownfield site at 318 Elkhart Ave. can be made acceptable for residential construction.

A brownfield is an abandoned commercial site where redevelopment may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, according to the state.

“Hopefully, we can get the environmentally restrictive covenant altered,” said Jones. “We have a really good handle on what needs to be done.”

”That could be some fill dirt, it might include some negotiations with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management on some other ways to solve the issue, like paving or concrete. But there is some bad stuff that is in the ground that we just couldn’t afford to move.”

Samples taken by the state in 2013 showed the presence of arsenic, lead and numerous other chemicals in the soil.

Click here to read the Environmental Restrictive Covenant pertaining to the foundry site. 

JPR will work in three phases to help fix some of the environmental issues and spur the project along:

• Phase 1 will include a site check and survey update of the general foundry site; it will also include a geotechnical report.
• Phase 2 will involve development of site plans.
• Phase 3 will include the construction of the development.

Jones told the commission that the site could be ready for construction by the end of May if everything goes well. He said the only way an environmental covenant for residential development can be lifted is to develop final plans and actually start construction, something the developer might be a wary to do because of site conditions.

“The biggest hurdle is to get to the level where we can get a comfort level letter from IDEM,” said Jones. “So that would allow a residential developer to feel comfortable issuing a proposal for the site.”

At this point, however, the luxury apartments developer, Flaherty & Collins, has not submitted any further proposals or plans for the project. The company could not be reached for comment Tuesday.