(Richmond, IN)--Richmond Mayor Dave Snow talked about plans to convert the former Elder-Beerman building in Richmond into 150 apartments.  Snow told Inside Indiana Business that it would be an investment of $40 million.  "Our downtown has never had a single, one-time $40 million investment, and I truly see it as an economic engine," Snow said.  He predicted it's an engine that would have this effect:  "Once you put 150 market-rate units in a downtown like ours, you build in that audience.  People that will live there, shop.  They want to eat.  They need things.  They need clothes.  They want to go to small boutique stores.  They need places to hang out.  They need that third place, and they want to find it close to where they live." The Elder-Beerman building has been vacant for nearly five years.