The following is a report from The Elkhart Truth.
A plat adjustment was granted Tuesday for an industrial park at the east edge of Goshen, Indiana.
The Goshen Plan Commission approved a replat of the East College Avenue Industrial Park, which divides a large part of the park into eight individual lots. Five of the lots in the 114-acre section are currently occupied by buildings, including multiple Brinkley RV plants, and plans call for the other three to be occupied in the future.
Crystal Welsh, senior urban planner at Abonmarche, explained how plans changed since the industrial park started coming together in 2021. The park was formed with multiple lots on more than 300 acres north and south of East College Avenue, between the railroad crossing and C.R. 31.
“We are trying to get this thing organized. The intent originally was for it to operate as one large facility,” Welsh said. “I think that as they have been up and operating a little bit – they’ve got five of the buildings up – it become clear that for operational purposes, it made sense for each one of those buildings to be on their own lot.”
She said the subdivision of the 114-acre lot on the north side of College Avenue creates the opportunity for properties in the park to be separately owned, but it’s not a short-term goal.
Welsh noted that because the single large lot wasn’t designed that way, the division causes some issues that need to be worked out when it comes to right of way and emergency vehicle access.
“There’s lots of work going on during this platting process to establish legal rights of way, so that people can get to where they need to be,” she said. “A main concern as we’re going through the technical review process is that fire safety, making sure there’s adequate fire coverage and the internal driveways are large enough to accommodate the fire trucks that would be needed to fight a fire.”
City planners also recommended restrictions such as prohibiting fencing between the divided lots in order to keep fire hydrants accessible, according to Planning and Zoning Administrator Rhonda Yoder. Approval will also be needed from the city Board of Zoning Appeals for variances including perimeter fencing that would cross lot lines and a shared parking area that would serve four building lots.
The plat change follows a replat that the commission granted in May to add land to the industrial park which had been annexed by the city sometime after the initial plan was approved. The city last year granted industrial rezoning for 34 acres of land owned by Last Dance.
Under development agreements between the city and Last Dance, Goshen pledged tax increment finance district money toward the repayment of economic development revenue bonds, which funded more than $20 million in infrastructure improvements. Another agreement in 2023 allowed Brinkley RV to start operations even as the park was still under construction.
Read the full report from The Elkhart Truth here. Note there is a paywall.
