The Marshall County Commissioners discussed the purchase of an asphalt zipper to take care of some of the roads that aren’t in the best shape in the northern part of the county.
Several county officials viewed a demonstration of the machine last week and thought it could fit the county’s needs for asphalt maintenance. The one the county has now is old and parts are not available to repair it.
Interim Highway Superintendent Jason Peters explained what the asphalt zipper accomplishes.
The Marshall County Economic Development Commission (MCEDC) held a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday morning in order for the shell building project to begin. It will be located at 2910 Commerce Street in Plymouth.
The shell building will be built over the summer that will be available for an incoming business or industry to the area.
Dan Zuerner, Vice President of Garmong Construction, talks about the structure and the time frame in which it will be complete.
“This will be a state-of-the-art building made of manufactured precast concrete sandwich panels so they’re heavily insulated and have a very high energy efficiency rating,” explained Zuerner. “This building will be 45,000 square feet expandable to 135,000 square feet. We expect the precast to arrive on site in late June or early July, the steel will be set in July and August, we’ll put the roof on and the product will be 100 percent complete by early October.”
Garmong Construction is based in Indiana and crews from the company have built seven similar structures in the state with five more projects this year. He says they success rate in getting a company into a shell building is quite high.
“They’ve been very successful. Right now, out of all of the buildings that we’ve built, we only have one remaining for sale. We’ve done three for the county of Delaware in Muncie, Indiana, there’s one being done right now in White County and three projects in Vigo County. They’re scattered throughout the state.”
Marshall County Commissioner Deb Griewank said it will be beneficial for the county.
“It’s going to be bringing in a lot of economic development here” said Griewank. “People will be moving in, more business coming to town – I’m really excited!”
Plymouth Mayor Mark Senter said the new shell building will have a great impact on not only the Plymouth area, but Marshall County and the Northern Indiana region.
“Within the next year, we’d love to have a new manufacturing corporation here and bring 100 jobs or more!” smiled Senter.
The Marshall County Economic Development Corporation worked along with the Plymouth Redevelopment Commission, Plymouth Industrial Development Corporation, the City of Plymouth, and Garmong Development Company to make sure this shell building became a reality.
Plan Director Ralph Booker has been providing services to the City of Plymouth for the past year in an agreement that was approved for the first time last year. Booker provides help to the city for a fee. The help may include zoning issues and paperwork, GIS information or a host of other inquiries.
