Rensselaer Town Mall Fire

RENSSELAER, Ind. – On Sunday, November 17, Downtown Rensselaer experienced great tragedy. The devastating fire, which caused damage to the buildings located between Front St and Van Rensselaer St along the south side of Kellner Blvd, displaced approx. 20 local businesses. Although this is a major loss to Rensselaer and the community throughout Jasper County, JCEDO is amazed by how our community has come together in this time of need. We would like to extend a special thank you to the first responders from Jasper County and the surrounding counties who came to help save our historic downtown.

“What has happened to our business community as a result of this fire is dreadful and truly difficult to comprehend” said Rodney Urbano, Chairman of the Board of Directors for JCEDO. He continued by saying “while this is sad, Rensselaer and the larger community of Jasper County, is resilient. The community has already shown this with its powerful and positive response of support for the impacted businesses. This support will continue as we grow forward from this.”

Unfortunately, JCEDO has also been impacted by the devastation of this fire. What remains of our office is a mere handful of files and our personnel . While the extent of the damage caused by the fire will set us back, we are thankful that no one was seriously injured and that our staff members are safe and eager to get back to the work we love. We are currently sorting out several issues but are working on getting back to full strength as quickly as possible. This means that we are evaluating options for long-term space and will keep the community informed as we continue this process. We want to thank everyone who has reached out during this time to check on us as we recover from what has happened to Downtown Rensselaer. Our employees can still be reached through email or our direct line.

“It is difficult to take in exactly what has happened, both to us and the countless small businesses that are impacted.” Said JCEDO Executive Director, Stephen Eastridge. “I am thankful that we took the time to prepare ourselves in advance for emergency situations. Because of this, we will be able to recover quickly. All of us at JCEDO love the work that we do and continue to be dedicated to our mission and this community. Personally I am very optimistic about the future of our organization and our community.”

For more information, please contact the JCEDO office at (219) 866-3080, Fax is not currently available.