Broadwing foundation testing, ADM roof work, and water-line replacements

This issue covers October 2026 permit activity, with City Council context added to explain the projects and decisions behind it.

Broadwing's planned power plant has a new development to follow: an issued permit for foundation testing on North Brush College Road. Nearby, a $1.73 million ADM roof replacement is October's largest permit. Across existing neighborhoods, water-service replacements help explain a rise in plumbing activity.

October brought 248 permit, review, and related records totaling $7.26 million in stated project value. September had 197 records and $10.15 million. The record count rose about 26%, while stated value fell about 28%.

Those totals include consultations, plan reviews, and occupancy certificates alongside construction permits. Costs are amounts reported in the records, rather than a tally of money already spent or work completed.

Here is what is actually changing around town.

A $750,000 permit issued October 22 explicitly identifies foundation load testing for the Broadwing Energy Project at 2975 N. Brush College Road.

The permit description covers temporary testing equipment, hydraulic jacks, instruments, and supporting piles. It calls for testing how foundation elements respond to downward and sideways loads. Kiewit Power Constructors is listed as the primary contractor.

When I drove past the Broadwing site on October 29, a large drill was already in place.

In February, the City Council approved a development agreement with Broadwing for the planned gas-fired plant supplying electricity and steam. The agreement assigns Broadwing responsibility for the water-main costs and half the costs of a sanitary sewer pump station and force main, the pressurized pipe that carries wastewater. The city is responsible for the other half of those sewer-project costs.

The infrastructure work remained on the council agenda in October. The October 5 packet included a proposed railroad-crossing agreement for the Brush College Road pump station and force main, connecting that work to the area's development needs.

A separate $335,663 permit issued October 16 at the same street address covers a temporary reinforced-concrete foundation for a tower crane. Its description identifies the crane-support work without naming the project.

October's largest single permit is for a 55,455-square-foot roof replacement at 2550 N. Brush College Road, just south of the Broadwing project.

The $1,734,538 roof permit, issued October 6, lists ADM Bioproducts as owner and Centimark as the primary contractor. Its scope includes removing the existing roof, installing insulation and a cover board, and adding a new roof membrane.

This one project represents nearly 24% of October's total stated permit value.

Roofing as a whole accounted for 56 permits and $2.44 million, compared with 55 permits and $1.42 million in September. The permit count barely changed, but the ADM project pushed the category's stated value higher. The other 55 October roof permits total about $701,900.

Last month's issue followed major roof work at the YMCA and St. Johns Lutheran Church. The ADM roof shows a substantial amount of money going back into an existing industrial building.

October had 48 plumbing permits totaling about $253,600, up from 23 permits and $122,241 in September.

Part of that increase connects to a named city infrastructure project. Sixteen October plumbing descriptions reference Project 2025-20, the city's lead and galvanized water-service replacement project. Those records total a combined stated value of $112,000.

The city's project description calls for replacing existing lead and galvanized steel service lines with copper. Its scope allows for up to 380 installations, including work on the public and private portions of service lines, along with pavement and yard restoration.

The program appears repeatedly in October's records, including addresses on Packard, Marietta, Leafland, Edward, and Elm streets.

The city also reported, in its September Water Services update included in the October 19 council packet, that a separate cost-share program had helped replace 55 galvanized services during 2026.

Other October plumbing work includes water heaters, interior plumbing, and additional service-line replacements.

October included 13 demolition permits totaling $342,345, compared with five permits and $201,245 in September.

The largest is a $236,000 permit at 525 N. Church Street, the former Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. The City of Decatur is listed as owner. The permit covers demolition, debris removal, backfill, grading, and seeding.

The church's removal has already received local coverage. Herald & Review reported demolition activity on October 21. October's permit adds the stated cost and scope to that story, following the demolition and asbestos-removal proposals noted in last month's issue.

That one church permit accounts for about 69% of the demolition category's stated value. The other twelve permits total $106,345. They cover a mix of structures, including two descriptions that specifically identify detached garages and one small warehouse on North 22nd Street.

On November 2, the Council voted 7–0 to authorize legal action involving 29 unsafe structures. That allows staff to pursue court proceedings toward repair or possible court-ordered demolition. Those addresses are separate from October's thirteen issued demolition permits.

Together, the records show different points in the process: some properties have demolition permits, while others are moving into legal proceedings.

Near North 2 and Pershing Road/22nd Street: The Council approved feasibility studies and planning agreements on October 19 for two proposed tax increment financing (TIF) areas. This financing tool can direct future growth in property-tax revenue toward eligible redevelopment costs within a district.

Near North's existing district is scheduled to expire at the end of 2027. The proposed successor study includes a broader area. For readers following either corridor, the next useful developments will be proposed boundaries, eligibility findings, and opportunities for public input.

Lima Drive housing: The Council voted 7–0 on November 2 to approve an enterprise-zone amendment tied to the proposed multifamily housing development. Enterprise zones can offer development incentives under program rules. Unit counts, construction timing, and future permit activity are the next details to follow.

Search by street address or full parcel number to explore zoning, mapped financing and historic districts, and available Decatur permit records. Not all properties will show detailed information, but I'm working on expanding this over time.

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These are the city's record classifications. Reviews and other records without stated costs remain in the count.

October's activity connects preparation for a major energy project with continued investment in the buildings and services Decatur already uses. Broadwing's foundation-testing permit gives us a concrete next step to track. ADM's roof replacement accounts for a large share of the month's value, while water-service permits bring part of the infrastructure story down to the property level.

Demolition records show another kind of change, with the former Antioch church accounting for most of that category's stated cost. The redevelopment studies and Lima Drive proposal give us a short list of decisions to follow beyond October's issued permits.

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Until next time,
Jason Ferguson