Elkhart’s city council approved a $14 million overhaul to infrastructure along Benham Avenue neighborhood this week, with city leaders saying it's the first step to attracting private investment to the historically underserved neighborhood.
On Monday, the city council unanimously passed a $14.5 million project to improve the area’s infrastructure. The construction aims to add new storm sewer drains and water lines as well as eliminate lead pipes and better connect the area’s water to other parts of the city.
Elkhart Mayor Rod Roberson’s said the infrastructure improvements are a necessary first step to attracting private investment in that area.
“The Benham Avenue piece is just the first piece that we absolutely need in order to do those things like make sure that we are connecting our downtown and have yielded proven results in other neighborhood strategies that we’ve had," he said.
In addition to the water line improvements, the project will also eliminate the “Y” intersection where Benham Avenue splits into 2nd and 3rd streets. Instead, that route will be consolidated to 3rd Street which could become a two-way road.
$9.5 million of the total cost is coming from American Rescue Plan funding while the rest will come from the city’s reserves. The council approved the project in two 8-0 votes.
The new infrastructure project comes as an initiative of the Roberson administration to revamp the Benham West neighborhood, which is historically Black and has been historically underdeveloped compared to other parts of the city. This past summer, the city held community meetings seeking feedback on how to move forward to improve the neighborhood.
Based on community conversations, much of the desired development to the area would be housing projects, though the infrastructure approved this week will lay the groundwork, city officials hope.
