Breathing New Life into a Downtown Jasper Landmark

Plans are moving forward to bring new life to one of Jasper’s historic buildings.

Woodworks LLC representatives presented their project for the rehabilitation of the former IFI manufacturing facility in the downtown area. The group submitted an application for an LEI grant, which they were approved for. The grant incorporated $1 million in matching capital from the City’s Central TIF to fund concrete, landscaping, sitework, utility upgrades, and rock and asphalt.

City Attorney Renee Kabrick said this amount would be paid through a conditional expenditure agreement, which was utilized in the University Heights project. She explained there is an approval process for the TIF funds as well as for amending the economic development plan that is connected to the Central Area TIF.

Woodworks representative Nick Lawrence provided a project summary to the RDC, which would be an adaptive reuse of the space into market rate apartments and commercial flex space. The red brick portion of the building will be residential, while the cinder block area will be commercial. This would leave approximately a third of the space platted for future development.

The LEI blight funds do require a local match component. Lawrence said they are trying to be respectful of the town’s limited funding by pursuing tax abatement. They aim to complete the underwriting design and financing by the end of the year to begin construction in early 2027.

The RDC approved Declaratory Resolution 2026-6 concerning the Economic Development Area, Allocation Area, and Amended Economic Development Plan for the Woodworks LLC. The resolution amended the Central Area TIF by adding the Woodworks LLC project to the Central Area Economic Development Plan for TIF funding, as well as removing some completed projects from the current list that no longer require TIF funds.

For more information on these and other updates, visit jasperindiana.gov or JasperGov-Indiana on Facebook.

- By Drew Hasselbring