The Chase building in downtown Elkhart cleared another hurdle toward becoming the city’s new public safety complex.On Monday, the city council took an important step to get the project going as they approved $3.125 million to buy the building.The full cost of outfitting the building to include space for the police department, fire administration and 911 dispatch center is estimated to be around $40 million.Elkhart’s police and fire headquarters are currently next to each other a few blocks east on Waterfall Drive, but administrators with both departments say the current space is cramped and needs to be modernized.Elkhart’s Director of Development Mike Huber has said publicly reoutfitting the West Franklin Street structure is cheaper than building from scratch somewhere else.“This would be about a 20% saving over going out and building something new with the same size and square footage,” Huber saidThe Chase building was first built in 1974 and got its name for being the national bank’s office for many years. The office building has been vacant since 2019 and is owned by TAG Holdings.The council’s vote to buy the building went along party lines with only Republican David Henke voting no.
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