Event center to add a strip mall; more storage units okayed
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The Kokomo Plan Commission enjoyed what director Greg Sheline called the shortest meeting it will have for the next two years when it convened on April 9. With just two items on the agenda and no one present to raise concerns, the meeting progressed quickly.
First, Tori Tripp of Tripp Engineering represented OKK, LLC. in its request to rezone the former Kokomo Event Center from IS (institutional use) to C2 (medium- to large-scale commercial use).
“(The owner) currently has several businesses already in the (former) Kokomo Event Center,” said Tripp. “He has an outlet furniture store, a Red Bull distribution warehouse, a place that sells barns, and the Republicans have their office there.
“What he's looking at doing is potentially subdivide the property into a couple of lots. He has a retail strip center that he is interested in getting a portion of the property, including possibly a bank and maybe some other small, commercial-type businesses.”
Tripp said that the owner actually is hoping to have enough space to subdivide the property twice, but she was skeptical about getting a third parcel out of the property.
“I don't know that we can get three,” said Tripp. “It's going to come down to what the setbacks are and just what the lot sizes are. I would expect no more than three.”
Kokomo Common Councilman Matt Grecu, who is the council’s representative on the plan commission, recalled that Ivy Tech Community College previously owned the building, which is why the property is currently zoned for institutional use. Plan commission director Greg Sheline confirmed this and noted that the zoning prior to Ivy Tech’s ownership was C2, the commercial zoning being requested due to its current usage.
The lot most likely to be sub-divided for use as a strip mall.
“They’re getting it back to what it was,” said Sheline.
With no questions or remonstrance raised, the commission passed the rezoning unanimously.
Tripp returned to the microphone to address the only other item on the agenda, a site development plan approval for RFC Enterprises as it builds a 410-unit storage facility on Touby Pike. Noting that all changes requested during a technical review were completed, the commission voted favorably for the development.
Both items will be heard by the Kokomo Common Council at its April 22 meeting.
A third item, development plan approval for the proposed 931 Bar & Grill at 2323 N. Elizabeth St., was pulled from the agenda and rescheduled for a later date.