Less than two weeks after the city of Warsaw revealed it had been awarded a $1.76 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration for the reconstruction of East Market Street, more good news was announced at tonight’s Warsaw Common Council meeting.

The Board of Directors of K21 Health Foundation recently approved a major investment in the Lake City Greenway with a 3-1 matching grant totaling $375,000. The funds will be used to begin the redesign and reconstruction of Market Street with a multi-use trail.

K21 President and CEO Rich Haddad told the council that the grant is to be specifically used for the Greenway connector, which will be a 10-foot wide side path on the south side of Market Street. The side path will ultimately run the length of Market Street from Hickory Street to the west to Argonne Road to the east.

The trail is a critical piece of the long-term Greenway master plan for the Warsaw-Winona Lake community.

City Planner Jeremy Skinner said the project will be completed in two phases with the federally funded part of the project to be a reconstruction of East Market Street from Hickory to Bronson streets in Phase II. The city will fund the reconstruction from Bronson Street to Argonne Road, considered Phase I, at a cost of approximately $440,000.

According to a press release, in the past 14 years, the Greenway has grown from an idea presented as a KLA White Paper project to a collection of trails that provide safe and enjoyable physical fitness opportunities for individuals and families in our community.

“Whether you prefer walking on the picturesque Beyer Farm Boardwalk, running along the shaded path of the Heritage Trail, or biking on the sunny Chinworth Trail, the Greenway offers something for everyone,” said the press release. “The Market Street trail will ultimately connect the Chinworth Trail on the west side of Warsaw and the Heritage Trail from Winona Lake.”

Haddad said the K21 sees the Market Street project as a major step forward in the process of connecting the various trails in our community. “This will take the entire community’s involvement to complete, so we hope the 3-1 match will encourage the community to support the first phase of the project, knowing that every dollar they contribute will turn into three.”

In the press release Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallmer further shared, “The Market Street project is ambitious, but is the primary east-west corridor to our master plan, and is critical to begin this redevelopment as soon as possible. I am grateful that K21 has stepped up to not only support the project, but also to provide an incentive for others in our community to help advance this enhancement for the long-term benefit of our entire community.”

Per the project, Market Street will be widened by 5 feet to accommodate on-street parking along the south side. A 6-foot sidewalk will be constructed on the south side of the street and run the entire length of the East Market Street. The south side will feature a 10-foot side path on the south side that will also span the entire length of the street from Hickory Street to Argonne Road. Green space will be utilized to separate the sidewalk and side path from the street and “street friendly” trees will be included in the reconstruction as existing trees are removed.

Engineering is already underway, but Skinner noted the city is not expecting to pursue any rights-of-way, as the existing access is all that will be needed. Construction on the first phase is planned to get underway by the end of this year or early 2015. Phase II will go under construction in late 2017 or early 2018.

Contributions to the Market Street project can be made to the City of Warsaw-Lake City Greenway and mailed to the Warsaw City Clerk at 102 N. Buffalo St., Warsaw, IN 46580.