Apartment Project to Rejuvenate Historic Kokomo Building

(rendering courtesy of the city of Kokomo)

A historic building in downtown Kokomo will soon have new life as part of a $6 million apartment development. The project, which will feature three new buildings and the restoration of the 1880s-era building, is expected to begin next month and be complete by February 2020.

The development, which will feature 58 apartment units when complete, will be located at 401 E. Sycamore Street in the city’s downtown. Developer Four Star Partnership says the location is ideal for workforce housing.

"This is a great opportunity for investment on the cusp of downtown," Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight, said in a news release. "It repurposes an underutilized, vacant property while complimenting other developments in the area. It helps us achieve key goals in our comprehensive plan as well."

The historic, two-story brick house was built for Civil War surgeon John F. Henderson in the early 1880s. Henderson would go on to become a real estate developer in Kokomo and built the Clinton House Hotel in the city’s downtown. He later founded and served as the editor for the Kokomo Dispatch newspaper.