Fort Wayne Development News [Archive]

Strate

November 19th, 2006, 06:09 PM

I was bored.... I'll try to get pictures into some kind order. Some of them are from the early 1900's, '70's, and then a couple current.

Another of Robison Park
http://img1.putfile.com/thumb/11/32210522882.jpg (http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=4028170)

Aerials of Downtown

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astyrrian

November 20th, 2006, 06:34 AM

Great pics. It's pretty weird seeing buildings in places like Headwaters Park and in front of the Courthouse.

For anyone interested, be sure to check out www.downtownfortwayne.com
There is going to be a lot of activities next week happening downtown for HolidayFest.

Strate

November 28th, 2006, 08:00 PM

"Invest Fort Wayne" at the Halfway Mark

Last year, Mayor Graham Richard kicked off "Invest Fort Wayne." It's a plan to bring in a billion dollars in private investments by 2008. The mayor says he is now more than halfway to his goal. As of Monday, the total investment is right around $560 million. "Invest Fort Wayne" was aimed at bringing in private dollars to specific parts of the city including Wayne, Adams, Washington and St. Joe townships. Mayor Richard says, "This is a wonderful opportunity for us to continue to encourage additional urban investments. The heart of the city is so critical for the life blood of the entire region and the entire area." The mayor expects to have another update with even more investments by the end of year.

http://www.wane.com/Global/story.asp?S=5734544

Strate

December 3rd, 2006, 05:23 PM

Bean there, done that

http://www.kpcnews.com/content/articles/2006/12/03/greater_fort_wayne/news/bw02.jpg

Bill Bean's plan to convert the downtown Fort Wayne Holiday Inn and Suites into a mix of upscale condos, apartments and office and retail space follows the same divide-and-conquer philosophy that's made him a leader in the area's commercial real estate market.

Bean has a tentative deal to purchase the 208-room hotel from Lodgian Inc., pending the results of a feasibility study being conducted by Design Collaborative. Although a primary focus on residential use is something different for Bean, the practice of finding diverse new, multiple-tenant uses for old properties has helped him build a large real estate portfolio in a very short period of time.

Bean and Ronda Hanning, his wife and business partner, now own and manage 14 buildings in addition to the 17 buildings in which he has an interest in conjunction with various investment groups. The office, warehouse, industrial and retail properties, totaling 5.9 million square feet of space, all were acquired in the last four years.

Among the buildings owned by Hanning and Bean are the old Tokheim complex, the former Frehauf truck plant, a portion of the International Harvester complex on Meyer Road, General Electric's old Winter Street plant, the Valspar building, the 1st Source bank building, the former Amcast Industrial plant in Fremont and the former Essex Electric building in Columbia City.

His more recent acquisitions include the Swiss Re building at Interstate 69 and Illinois Road, bought for $25.75 million, and the Safeco Corp. office building in Indianapolis, purchased for nearly $50 million,

"If you'd told me a few years ago we'd own all those, I wouldn't have believed it," Bean said.

Many of Bean's buildings housed single, large industrial tenants that have gone out of business. By dividing them into smaller spaces, he's succeeded in filling some of the buildings completely, while others have occupancy rates of 50 percent and climbing.

Not only has the demand for the smaller spaces been stronger, having multiple tenants involved in a variety of different businesses in each building spreads out some of the risk, Bean said.

"I think that works better. It makes you a moving target," he said.

The same strategy would guide the Holiday Inn project, which would include offices and retail on the lower levels and upscale condos and apartments in the remainder.

The question the feasibility study will answer is whether the extensive renovations needed - particularly in the residential portion - could be done in a commercially viable fashion.

"In the end, it comes down to a matter of finance," he said.

The purchase price of the hotel, which Bean declined to disclose, would only be about 25 percent of the total cost of the project. He has received tentative approval for Community Revitalization Enhancement District tax credits, "but that's only a credit against earnings, so you have to be able to earn something," he said.

Fort Wayne is not New York or Boston, where condos in a renovated building could be sold for $500 or $1,000 per square foot, Bean noted.

"It has to be able to work in this market," he said.

Bean's proposal for the hotel "is spot-on in terms of what we'd like to see downtown," said Dan Carmody, president of the Downtown Improvement District. The traffic counts on Washington Boulevard and the cross streets near the hotel make it a promising spot for retail and other commercial activity, Carmody said, and creating more residential units downtown is one of DID's primary goals.

The Holiday Inn project is one that wouldn't be possible without some sort of incentive, Bean said. But his plans aren't contingent on the city completing any other downtown projects, such as a baseball stadium or additional hotel.

If anything, taking the Holiday Inn out of the competition would help the city, giving a new hotel a better chance to succeed, he said.

Bean is critical of many of the downtown revitalization efforts the city is considering because they focus more on the "transient" population, people who come downtown for a special event or attraction.

"Everybody is looking for the silver bullet, the flashy project that's going to start the snowball rolling downhill," he said.

"You have to have a perception of what you want the future to be, but too many times what you have is the tail wagging the dog," he added.

Bean thinks a greater emphasis should be placed on the "permanent" population: people who live downtown or work downtown every day. Instead of the DID spending $500,000 for special events, the money could be used to subsidize office rents for businesses that move downtown, he suggested.

"In five years, you wouldn't have any empty space," Bean predicted.

The owner of Park Place on Main also thinks creating special liquor licenses to entice more restaurants to the downtown area is unnecessary. It's hard enough for the restaurants already downtown to survive, he said.

"We're not turning people away," he said.

Originally from the St. Louis area, Bean moved to Fort Wayne in 1989 at the behest of local leaders who urged him to start a recycling business here.

"Everybody was talking about it, but nobody was doing it," he recalled.

Bean later sold the firm, Care Recycling, to Republic, which was bought, in turn, by National Serv-All. Since he exited the business with a long-term noncompete agreement, he had to find something else to do.

Bean opened his first local restaurant, Bill's Bistro, on Spy Run Avenue in 1994. And in partnership with Omnisource, he created Superior Aluminum, which he eventually also exited with a noncompete.

"I guess no one wants to compete with me," he said with a chuckle.

That's when Bean turned to commercial real estate. He bought the old Patton Electric building, renovated it and filled it with new tenants. He later sold the building because he got an offer he couldn't refuse, but he started buying up others.

"Never let an opportunity go past," he said.

Bean is proud that many of the buildings he's renovated are on the southeast side of Fort Wayne, an area in need of revitalization. The businesses he's brought in collectively have created 1,000 jobs.

And unlike many other businessmen, Bean has made most of his projects work without the aid of tax breaks and other economic incentives.

"It either stands on its own or it doesn't," he said.

http://www.kpcnews.com/articles/2006/12/03/greater_fort_wayne/news/bw02.txt

Strate

December 3rd, 2006, 05:40 PM

IPFW students propose turning City-County Building green

http://www.kpcnews.com/content/articles/2006/12/03/greater_fort_wayne/news/bw15.jpg

Could Mayor Graham Richard do rooftop gardening on top of the City-County Building? A group of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne students thinks so. The City-County Building Green Roof Project is an in-depth research initiative taken on by three students in the school's Construction and Design program.

Professor and Construction Engineering Technology Coordinator Regina Leffers said the group's goal is to provide the Allen County Commissioners with high-quality research information and recommendations with the hope that the commissioners will decide to go "green."

A "green roof" is a type of layered roof that has the ability to grow and sustain plant life on it. Developed in Europe and widely popular in Germany, the concept is gaining momentum in the United States because of its economical, environmental and aesthetic benefits. City hall in Chicago is a nearby example.

Students Erica Lomont, Jennifer Bowman and Matt Muns came up with the idea for a green roof on top of the City-County Building after talking with Leffers.

The group is proposing the construction of an extensive green roof system. Lomont said the group's design of the 4,500-square-foot roof envisions a place for tables and chairs for employees to enjoy their lunch breaks. There also would be walking paths so people can walk around the entire roof.

Green roofs can be placed on top of an existing roof or be designed and built in new buildings. Since the City-County Building's roof still is in good shape, the IPFW group is proposing the green roof be placed on top of the existing roof.

"The City-County Building would set a wonderful example for other buildings in the area," Lomont said. "We are hoping to show Fort Wayne a better way."

Economically, green roofs make sense. The many layers serve as insulation to the building below. At city hall in Chicago, the temperature on its green roof is much lower in the summer than that of traditional tar roofs.

"Green roofs help lower heating, ventilation and air-conditioning costs because they pull away heat from the building in the summer and insulate the building from the cold in the winter," Lomont said.

She added that green roofs also protect the underlying roofing membrane, decreasing the need to replace it as often.

Environmentally, Leffers said, transforming the roofs of area buildings into green roofs is a win-win situation. As co-chair of the mayor's Green Ribbon Commission, Leffers was charged with developing a plan to improve energy conservation and air quality. One of the commission's suggestions is to encourage green development.

"Green roofs reduce storm-water runoff, which will help with the flooding that Fort Wayne experiences in areas like Eastbrook and Westbrook," Lomont said.

On a green roof, the storm water is collected and stored. A green roof can retain up to 75 percent of the rainwater that's fallen on it, releasing it back into the atmosphere through evaporation. Green roof systems also improve air quality by filtering pollutants out of the air and storm water.

Fort Wayne's energy and environmental services director, Wendy Barrott, said there is another environmental benefit to green roofs: They reduce the "urban heat island" effect.

Traditional building roofs retain the sun's heat and reflect it back as heat. This causes cities to be roughly 7 degrees hotter than nearby rural areas.

Aesthetically, green roofs provide a touch of beauty amid all the concrete, Lomont said.

"I don't think I know anyone who prefers to look at gravel over a garden," Lomont said. "Downtown areas have no grass or vegetation. This creates an outdoor usable space."

Barrott agreed. She said studies show that more trees make people happier.

So far, Fort Wayne city officials and the Allen County Commissioners have been receptive to the idea.

"One thing that we learned is that our city is very forward thinking in finding ways to achieve energy efficiency and has already done a lot," Leffers said.

The IPFW group was scheduled to present its findings to the Allen County Commissioners Dec. 2, after Business Weekly's deadline.

http://www.kpcnews.com/articles/2006/12/03/greater_fort_wayne/news/bw15.txt

Strate

December 3rd, 2006, 06:12 PM

Old becomes new again

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http://www.in211.org/enews/allencountybuilding.jpg

Renovating old buildings and making them "new," at least in their use, not only preserves Fort Wayne's heritage, but also gives the buildings another lease on life. That's exactly what two recent renovations, that of the McCulloch-Weatherhogg House at 334 E. Berry and the Emil Deister mansion at 529 W. Jefferson Blvd., have done for two early Fort Wayne homes.

For local attorney Tandra Johnson, renovating the former home of Emil Deister, founder of Deister Concentrator Co. and Deister Machine Co., and turning it into an office for her practice has been both hard work and a labor of love.

"My intent was a major renovation," Johnson said while sitting behind her massive wooden desk in the Victorian-style building. "I wanted it to be as much like the original home as possible."

Converting the house, which had been sectioned off into three apartments, into usable office space was no easy task, but one that Johnson is glad she took on. She bought the property in March and moved into her new offices in August.

"I'm pleased at how it all turned out. It's everything I wanted it to be," she said. "It makes a statement about me."

Johnson first became acquainted with the home through Realtor Paula Hughes when the office building where she leased space was put up for sale. Johnson thought it was a good time to look for her own space, and Hughes told her about the property that also included another home at 537 W. Jefferson Blvd., an empty lot between the two homes and a lot behind.

So in addition to the renovation of the Deister home, which Johnson said was built sometime between 1903 and 1905, she also renovated the other house, which she has leased to A Perfect Dress. In addition, there's a 2,800-square-foot garage, heated and complete with a bathroom, behind the Deister home that she hopes to lease, as well as an upstairs office inside the home.

"This is just a great location," she said.

She's named her spot Historic Jefferson Park, since the lots were once part of what was known as Jefferson Park.

Preserving the past

Just across downtown from Johnson's "new" office is another renovation that was much more extensive and time-consuming. The McCulloch-Weatherhogg House's renovation had a price tag of about $2 million.

Now home to the United Way of Allen County, which moved into its new quarters in September, the McCulloch-Weatherhogg House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was once one of the city's most endangered historic structures.

The duplex was built in 1883 and was under the ownership of the Historic Landmarks Foundation when Jerome Henry Jr. acquired it, undertaking the majority of the renovation that the foundation started. Henry invested about $1.5 million in the project, which not only refurbished the building, but also made it functional for the United Way. The Historic Landmarks Foundation had already invested about $500,000 in the building.

The Victorian gothic revival structure was originally built for banker J. Ross McCulloch, the grandson of Abraham Lincoln's treasury secretary and was designed by English architect Charles Weatherhogg to serve as a home for both men. Originally, each side of the duplex was a mirror image of the other.

While the duplex has been extensively altered inside to accommodate the office space needed by United Way staff, it still contains many historic pieces and identifies areas that still are historically intact. As part of the preservation of the building, architect Matt Kelty incorporated ways to show where original structures were.

An example is the front staircase that was enlarged after one of the two original staircases was removed during a former renovation, said Rick Farrant, director of marketing and communications for the United Way. A "staircase" border was added to the wall where the other staircase once stood. And a brick facade is shown throughout the building where the original brick wall that separated the two residences once stood and divided the building in two.

The interior could be designed to meet the needs of the United Way, as long as it historic elements were preserved, Farrant said. The design by Kelty allows for at least one window for each office, and three original fireplaces are focal points in offices and a meeting room in the basement.

"An added benefit was that United Way could be part of a project to preserve the downtown," Farrant said, adding that he loves coming to such a beautiful building everyday.

The restrictions on changes that could be made to the building were much greater for its exterior, Farrant said.

One of the most dramatic rooms inside the home — once a living room on the McCulloch side — is dedicated to the United Way's marketing office. A mural that had been darkened by smoke and suffered from water damage will be repaired and eventually returned to the top of the walls that it once embellished, Farrant said.

Behind the home, work continues on the carriage house, which contains United Way's 211 emergency telephone referral operation, as well as offices and a board room. Completion of the project is expected in the next few months.

http://www.kpcnews.com/articles/2006/12/03/greater_fort_wayne/news/bw14.txt

Indyman

December 4th, 2006, 12:40 AM

^^ I saw that months ago and had totally forgotten about it. Great to see the outcome.

Strate

December 14th, 2006, 01:16 AM

Old building gets new life

http://www.fortwayne.com/images/fortwayne/newssentinel/news/M1211GlassBlockHallway_12-12-2006_ED736V2.jpg
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Justice may be blind, but if she could see her new digs at the law firm of Van Gilder and Trzynka, she’d be pleased.

The firm of five attorneys and eight support staff moved into its newly renovated building at 436 E. Wayne St. over Thanksgiving weekend. It formerly occupied space on the second floor of the Metro building, 202 W. Berry St.

The smell of fresh paint lingers in the entryway as light flows through glass block inside and outside the building. In a conference room, a statue of Justice, a blindfold around her eyes as she holds her scales, faces a large window overlooking Clay Street near its intersection with Wayne. Pictures, diplomas and other items still need to be hung around the building.

The firm, which was founded in 1996, spent more than $500,000 purchasing and renovating the building, said Dustin Roach, administrative partner. In the 1930s the site was a Goodrich Silvertowns filling station and later a paint and body shop. A photo of the old filling station, with its service bays facing Clay Street, hangs in the reception area.

The former service bays can still be seen amid the restored exterior brickwork. The glass block and windows let in a lot of light, so Roach often doesn’t need to turn on the fixtures in his office. The neighbors include the Foellinger Foundation and the Early Childhood Alliance.

Four months after work began, the building provides 4,800 square feet of office space and another 1,000 in the basement for storage, Roach said.

The firm’s partners, who also include David Van Gilder and Ann Trzynka, were drawn to the historic nature of the building, Roach said. A large green sign outside lets passers-by know who’s inside. Concrete floors and hanging insulation, left over from when the building most recently served as a warehouse, have been replaced by yellow plastered walls with brick columns peeking through.

“Everything’s new; everything works,” said Jessica Gresham, a legal assistant who has been with the firm for four years. There’s no more waiting for maintenance to fix something. It’s handled by the staff.

Staff members had a lot of input into how the new office would look and operate, Gresham said.

“Our shelving is built so we can all reach without the stools,” she said. As the person in charge of the shelving, she helped decide how much was needed.

The only drawbacks? Things are a little louder with the partial walls around the open office spaces, and a glare from the glass blocks is being worked on.

But “everyone seems happier,” Gresham said.

astyrrian

December 14th, 2006, 05:03 AM

I remember seeing that building a little while ago driving by as it was under some construction. I was wondering what was going to be there and it's great to see that an old structure was chosen to be renovated instead of taken down :okay:

astyrrian

December 14th, 2006, 05:44 PM

Stadium Update
http://indianasnewscenter.com/Story.aspx?type=ln&NStoryID=4576

Dec 13, 2006 - Fort Wayne City officials are still negotiating an agreement with the new owners of the wizards to clear the way for a new stadium downtown. Some issues involved in reaching a final agreement include securing land for the new stadium and the amount of money both the city and the wizards owners would commit. Several members of the community have expressed they see no need for a new stadium. But, for the project to go forward, city officials say there would have to both private and public investement and still don't know exactly when a decision will be made.
"We're continuing to have nice discussion with Hardball Capital, we think those will continue. I really wouldn't want to pinpoint a specific date, but not that negotiations are moving forward," says John Perlich.

If an agreement is reached, City officials would then seek approval for financing and go about selecting a developer.

Strate

December 14th, 2006, 11:08 PM

Parkview announces plans for Fort Wayne campuses

http://wane.images.worldnow.com/images/5812121_SS.jpg
http://www.fwdailynews.com/content/articles/2006/12/14/greater_fort_wayne/news/today/story01.jpg

Parkview Health plans to convert its Randallia Drive campus in 2011 to offer mainly primary-care services after expanding the Parkview North campus.

Parkview plans to tear down the patient tower structure at State Boulevard and Randallia Drive, as well as the campus's parking garage, as part of the transformation. When completed, the facility will have 64 beds, a 24-hour emergency room, a helipad, outpatient services, obstetrics and surgery suites.

The 100-bed Parkview Behavioral Health Hospital on Beacon Street also will remain, as will the Parkview Eye Institute in the Carew Medical Park.

Parkview North will become home to all tertiary, or advanced services, including specialty heart and cancer centers and Parkview's Level II trauma center.

Construction is expected to be finished by late 2010. By then, Parkview North will have 1.2 million square feet and 524 beds.

Work at the Randallia Drive campus will not begin until work at Parkview North is completed, said Parkview Health President and CEO Mike Packnett.

The announcement today of the master plan for the two hospitals came after several months of work with neighborhood and city leaders. Many residents initially were worried the Randallia campus would close when tertiary services were moved to the Parkview North campus, located off Dupont Road near Interstate 69

Strate

December 14th, 2006, 11:12 PM

Historic look must also make financial sense

Ultimately, it’s more important for businesses to locate downtown than to bemoan their lack of attention to preserving their buildings’ character.

http://www.fortwayne.com/images/fortwayne/newssentinel/news/WOODSON_FINAL_12-14-2006_ED73L85.jpg
http://www.fortwayne.com/images/fortwayne/newssentinel/news/M1213WoodsonBuilding_12-14-2006_5R73LLA.jpg

Given Fort Wayne’s extensive, expensive efforts to revitalize downtown, you might think a flashy local business’s decision to relocate there would be drawing unanimous praise.

Thanks to the power of competing interests, you would be wrong.

Woodson Motorsports’ imminent move from its current location at 3710 Illinois Road to 436 E. Wayne St. may give the company and downtown a boost, but preservationists say something important will be lost, too: the original character of one of the city’s increasingly scarce historic buildings.

“They aren’t destroying the building, but it’s too bad they’re ‘remuddling’ it,” said Angie Quinn, executive director of the local historic preservation group ARCH. “It’s one of our more important brick buildings. It was on the Lincoln Highway and is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.”

Tracy Foster, however, is paid to think about far more than history.

“The brickwork is beautiful, but it just doesn’t go with the level of excitement we’re looking for. So we made the decision to go very modern,” said Foster, a former Homestead High School basketball standout who co-owns the company with Rod Woodson, who played at Snider High School before going on to stardom in the National Football League.

To generate the hoped-for excitement, the building’s ornate brick façade will be covered with multicolored signs and panels, helping create what Foster believes will be a “gateway into Fort Wayne.” Washington Boulevard is the most-traveled route into downtown from the east, carrying about 17,800 vehicles daily.

Founded in 2003, Woodson Motorsports has 15 employees and is Indiana’s only distributor of BMW motorcycles, in addition to selling a variety of other motorcycles and recreational vehicles. Although its current location is just off busy West Jefferson Boulevard and near Interstate 69, Foster is convinced the business’s unique product line will bring plenty of shoppers downtown when the new location opens early next year.

And that’s very good news to Dan Carmody, president of the Downtown Improvement District.

“It’s great they’re moving downtown. We’re trying to get more retail. The work that had been done to restore the building’s historical significance (by former owner John Tippmann Sr.) was well done, but Woodson had to create a look for their needs,” Carmody said. “This is better than having that building empty.”

And that, really, is a point that needs to be made. As important as historic preservation is, it also must make financial sense. On Tuesday, The News-Sentinel reported on the law firm of Van Gilder and Trzynka’s move into another historic brick building at 436 E. Wayne St. – just a few blocks from Woodson’s new address. But the firm spent more than $500,000 to buy and remodel the building because it believed a historic atmosphere was conducive to the practice of law.

Looking for a building to own instead of rent, Woodson Motorsports paid Tippmann $475,000 for the Washington Boulevard site in September, but ultimately decided a more modern look better fit its image. By investing their own money in empty buildings and boosting the downtown while meeting their own needs, both decisions are legitimate.

“Rod (Woodson) and I are both from Fort Wayne, and it would be nice to see people and retail coming back downtown,” said Foster, 42. “I hope others will follow suit.”

Even Quinn sees some good in that.

“It’s a good use of the building,” she said, noting Woodson’s new building was erected in the 1930s for use by a similar business – Schiefer’s Garage. Most recently, it was home to JJR Mobility Inc., which specializes in transportation for the disabled.

Ironically, because Woodson’s move allows the building to survive, all of that history is assured of surviving, too – even though it will be obscured by a more “modern and exciting” façade.

But if anyone ever wants to, “it could be removed with minimal damage to the brick,” Quinn said.

To which Foster replied: Not so fast.

“We plan to be there for a while.”

Strate

December 14th, 2006, 11:20 PM

Enhancing the city
Council members allocate their funds

When City Council President John Crawford, R-at-large, moved to Fort Wayne in 1976, he noticed the flowers.

“You remember things like that,” Crawford said of the flowerbed that welcomes visitors along Jefferson Boulevard in Swinney Park.

While it wasn’t the flower-bed that made Crawford decide to turn down his other offers and settle in Fort Wayne, he hopes other newcomers react similarly to another project, a Japanese-style pavilion on the west side of Swinney Park that will also create a gateway to the city.

Crawford, Sam Talarico Jr., R-at-large and John Shoaff, D-at-large, have allocated $100,000 toward the pavilion from their 2007 County Economic Development Income Tax (CEDIT) money. Last year, $200,000 was earmarked for the project from CEDIT funds. Construction likely will start sometime next year, Crawford said.

Mayor Graham Richard gives each district council member $450,000 annually to fund improvements to the district. The three at-large members of council receive $450,000 collectively for projects anywhere in the city.

This year, the at-large representatives selected seven projects to spend their money on, with the largest portion — $124,000 — going toward historic street lamps, benches, a waste container and some brick walk repair to the West Central Neighborhood between Jefferson Boulevard and the railroad viaduct. Councilman Tim Pape, D-5th District, is contributing another $25,000 from his CEDIT fund.

Also receiving $100,000 was the Lifetime Sports Academy in McMillen Park, which will use the money to help pay for construction of a clubhouse due to open this summer.

Crawford did not know how many projects the three of them reviewed before deciding which ones would get money, but estimated nonprofits, governmental agencies, neighborhood associations and residents requested $10 for every $1 actually allocated.

The Fort Wayne Educational Foundation’s “Brain Gain” program, which aims to keep college graduates working in technology fields from moving away, received $20,000 so two Fort Wayne residents, Margarita Jean-Baptiste and Davis Westrick, can repay student loans.

CEDIT projects

Here’s a list of projects Fort Wayne’s three at-large city councilmen will fund with $450,000 in County Economic Development Income Tax money:

♦Street-scaping the West Central neighborhood between Jefferson Boulevard and the railroad viaduct: $124,000. Councilman Tim Pape, D-5th District, also will contribute $25,000 from his CEDIT money.

♦Lifetime Sports Academy Clubhouse at McMillen Park: $100,000

♦Swinney Park pavilion: $100,000

♦New drinking fountain and restroom facilities along the Aboite New Trails: $40,000

♦Pond restoration in Lakeside Park: $37,500. Also contributing money were Councilman Don Schmidt, R-1st District, $25,000; and Councilman Tom Smith, R-2nd District, $10,000.

♦Streetlights in the Hanna-Creighton neighborhood: $37,500. Pape will pitch in another $28,980.

♦Fort Wayne Educational Foundation “Brain Gain:” $20,000

Unionstation13

December 15th, 2006, 12:10 AM

No way! Thats horrible, the city needs to take this into there own hands with zoning laws.
Thats a historical structure, I can't belive there doing that!
Egh, proves agian, historical preservation is need much outside of Indy.
I hope this shitty new facade is removed,
its horrible what there doing to that beautiful structure!

Strate

December 15th, 2006, 12:36 AM

Sorry but I'm gonna have to agree with the citys position on this one. At least it wasn't torn down.

astyrrian

December 18th, 2006, 03:15 PM

Parking myth hurts downtown
Information lacking, not spaces

People in Fort Wayne often use lack of parking as a reason to not go downtown, but officials say that belief is more perception than reality.

“Parking is a frequent and convenient whipping boy,” said Dan Carmody, director of the Downtown Improvement District. “Overall, there’s probably too much parking and not enough demand for it.”

A study commissioned by Fort Wayne city officials estimates 7,600 parking spaces are available downtown for the public.

The study, however, said there is a lack of knowledge about where the spaces are, a lack of marketing for the spaces and recommends parking rates and fines be examined. It also said the parking oversight and management is splintered.

The report was done by Carl Walker Inc., of Kalamazoo, Mich.

Cathy Overholt, owner of Downtown Cards & Gifts on Calhoun Street, said although most of her customers work downtown, parking is a problem for customers, and even friends, who come from outside downtown.

She was most concerned about educating the public about where parking is available.

“There’s a lot of parking garages,” she said. “I don’t think the everyday person coming downtown thinks they can park in them. That’s what I always thought (before working downtown.)”

Greg Leatherman, Fort Wayne deputy director of development, said the city will be working on those issues almost immediately.

The city is creating signs to not only direct people downtown from the interstates, Leatherman said, but also to guide them to available parking, public or private.

“We’re firmly convinced this is the best first step we can make,” he said.

Leatherman said the goal would be to have all of the signs up by the end of the winter. Many of the private parking garages have agreed to participate by paying for some of the signs.

City Councilman Tom Didier, R-3rd, said he would like to see another layer of information available for people about downtown parking.

Paying when it’s free

Of the 636 metered spaces downtown, the vast majority – 529 – are two-hour meters. Most of them are accompanied by street signs that read “Two hour parking 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.”

Didier points out, however, that parking enforcement ends at 4:30 p.m. weekdays and parking is free on weekends and city holidays.

Didier has seen numerous people plunk nickels, dimes and quarters into the meters when they didn’t have to.

“Wouldn’t it be an enticement (to come downtown) for people to know it’s free parking?” he asked. “You gotta do the little things.”

The study commissioned by the city also said Fort Wayne’s on-street parking rates and fines are low compared to parking garage rates, creating an “upside-down” parking rate structure.

The $5 parking ticket written at meters is less than the cost of parking in a garage all day, making it likely for employees of downtown businesses to take the risk of parking on the street.

Overholt said she knows of several employers who tell employees to park in metered spots all day and just pay the fines.

City Clerk Sandy Kennedy, who is in charge of parking enforcement, said drivers should know that vehicles can be ticketed every hour for violations.

Councilman Tom Smith, R-1st, said he likes the idea of creating a tiered fine structure, which was suggested in the report.

In it, first-time offenders would receive a warning citation, but people who consistently park illegally could be fined $50 or $75.

Overholt said a tiered fine structure would make sense and would benefit customers who come downtown infrequently.

“These people that abuse it should be fined more than someone who makes it downtown once in a great while,” she said.

Smith said the warning tickets would also help relations between downtown parkers and parking enforcement. He said he’s seen people yell at the enforcement officers, who were just doing their jobs.

A warning ticket could alleviate that problem, he said.

Smith, however, said paying 25 cents an hour at the meter is still an appropriate amount.

Didier even suggested removing some meters in spots that are seldom used to increase the number of free parking spaces.

Leatherman said on-street parking will likely never be free downtown during the workweek because parking places are in such high demand.

“If you go to larger cities than us, you’re not going to go to urban cores and find free parking,” he said. “You can’t be convenient, abundant and free at the same time.”

Controls in works

The top recommendation from the report was to create a unified parking system that controls all aspects of publicly owned parking and works with privately owned public parking entities.

Leatherman said this type of structure would be the best to address questions of parking rates, fines and additional information on meters

It would have a director and be overseen by a board of directors made up of downtown stakeholders.

Currently, the city clerk is in charge of enforcement, the redevelopment commission is in charge of management contracts and planning, and the City Council is in charge of setting rates and fines.

Leatherman said he plans to bring a proposal to the City Council by June to create a unified parking system. He said he believes the downtown parking authority could be self-sustaining from parking revenues and fines, and it would likely not need more than one new employee.

Even with the perception that there is a dearth of parking in downtown Fort Wayne, Carmody, of the Downtown Improvement District, said that can be overcome if people want to be downtown.

He said that was demonstrated when thousands of people flocked to watch the lighting of the giant Santa Claus sign on the side of the National City Bank building last month.

“We’ll never be able to compete with the suburbs (on parking),” he said. “We just have to do as good a job as we can.”

By the numbers

7,600: Estimated spaces available for public parking downtown

2,800: Public parking spaces owned by Fort Wayne and Allen County

636: Metered spaces downtown

19: The number of 15-minute meters; the rest are one- or two-hour meters

25 cents: Hourly cost to park at a meter

50 cents: Least expensive hourly cost for off-street parking

$3-$7: Range for daily maximum charge for off-street parking

$5: Price of a parking ticket for a metered space

Source: Fort Wayne Parking Management Review draft report

Strate

December 18th, 2006, 09:24 PM

For anybody that might be interested...
http://jordan.fortwayne.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=jgc_rants;action=display;num=1153762279

astyrrian

December 19th, 2006, 06:56 AM

Baseball Stadium Announcement Imminent
http://indianasnewscenter.com/Story.aspx?type=ln&NStoryID=4613

Dec 18, 2006 - An announcement regarding a downtown baseball stadium development in Fort Wayne will apparently happen later this week.
It's expected Mayor Graham Richard will provide an update on the effort to finalize a stadium deal on Thursday.

Indiana's NewsCenter has learned, Mayor Richard will provide specific details about the city's odyssey to try and bring a baseball stadium, retail shops, condominiums and other economic development components to the downtown area.

Deputy Mayor Mark Becker met privately today with several city council members.

We understand the city wants to locate the stadium somewhere on land north and west of the federal building, that the development would come in concert with construction of a hotel and a parking garage, and would involve retail and residential components to be built in phases.

No one is talking about how the project would be funded, but one elected official briefed on the details said there would be a sizable amount of city taxpayer money dedicated to the project.

Presumably the Mayor will also update what the future holds for the current Wizards Stadium near the Coliseum.

A consultant's report made public months ago, suggested that if a new stadium gets built downtown, it might be best if the current structure was demolished.

astyrrian

December 19th, 2006, 03:27 PM

Projects hatching downtown
Mayor set to announce update on stadium, hotel
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/16272455.htm

Fort Wayne officials look to be closer to bringing new developments – including a baseball stadium – downtown.

Mayor Graham Richard will make an announcement Thursday morning regarding multiple downtown projects, according to several sources, but the details were not disclosed.

City Councilman Don Schmidt, R-2nd, confirmed that Richard’s office briefed members of the City Council on the announcement. He said it was more of an update to downtown projects as opposed to a contract signing, but he hinted that the news was positive.

“Usually people don’t make announcements of bad news,” he said.

Denise Porter-Ross, spokesman for Richard, confirmed only that there would be an event Thursday.

City officials are working to bring at least two major projects to downtown: a third hotel and a baseball stadium complex. Schmidt said the mayor will provide specific details on several projects.

The new owners of the Fort Wayne Wizards want to play in a new downtown stadium, or a renovated Memorial Stadium, by the 2008 season. Fort Wayne officials previously said a preliminary agreement between the Wizards and the city on whether a downtown stadium is feasible would be reached by December.

Mark Becker, deputy mayor, has said the delay in a decision is not an indication of whether an agreement can be reached; the discussions are still moving forward positively, he said.

For the project to work, Richard has said it will take a major private investment, but he also said there would be a need for public financial support.

City officials have long touted a downtown baseball stadium as a catalyst project for downtown. A study commissioned by the city stated a downtown project including a stadium and retail and residential units would be one of the best ways to spark growth downtown.

City officials have been adamant that they were looking to do more than move the Wizards downtown, especially as many fans see Memorial Stadium as a suitable place for baseball. The study said that if a new stadium is built, Memorial Stadium would likely have to be demolished.

The city has also been looking for a developer to build a third hotel on the Belmont Beverage property across the street from the Embassy Theatre.

One city official said the announcement Thursday was important enough that staff on vacation would be returning to the office for the event.

Strate

December 19th, 2006, 04:24 PM

I'm completly for this even though we have a "good" stadium already. Its interesting to hear though that they want all of this biult all at once, and on the same property. It will be like a new DT.

Edit: The only area that I can see that is NW of the federal building, and actually a great area after looking at it is the areas bound by Ewing St, W Main St, S Harrison, and the railroad tracks to the north.

The bus station is a block away and night life on columbia street.

jpIllInoIs

December 19th, 2006, 04:35 PM

The city has also been looking for a developer to build a third hotel on the Belmont Beverage property across the street from the Embassy Theatre.

A new Hotel would be a great step in FTW DT redevelopment. A price point below the Hilton but a better facility then the Holiday Inn.

Strate

December 19th, 2006, 05:00 PM

The Holiday Inn is being sold. I hope to Bill Bean you wants to turn it into a mixed use structure with retail and condos.

astyrrian

December 19th, 2006, 11:22 PM

Edit: The only area that I can see that is NW of the federal building, and actually a great area after looking at it is the areas bound by Ewing St, W Main St, S Harrison, and the railroad tracks to the north.

The bus station is a block away and night life on columbia street.

I think when they say north and west of the Federal building they mean the Belmont/Montessori school location. The new hotel would likely be put on the same property as Cindy's Diner.

Strate

December 20th, 2006, 01:19 AM

Last I knew the city couldn't reach an agreement to purchase that parking lot and was gonna stick with the "Belmont Beverage property across the street from the Embassy Theatre."

astyrrian

December 20th, 2006, 04:34 PM

Wrigleyville in the Fort?
The mayor will announce details of a mixed-use downtown development plan on Thursday.
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/16282009.htm

The mayor plans to make an announcement Thursday morning about the future development of downtown, but officials are being tightlipped on discussing just yet what the development might entail.

John McGauley, spokesman for the Allen County Commissioners, said the announcement could be about recent talks of creating a mixed-use development, which could include a stadium, retail, housing and a hotel, similar to the Wrigleyville development at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

McGauley said the commissioners’ office received a short statement Monday about the announcement.

City council members have been meeting with city administrators since Monday about the project, but said they can not disclose details until Thursday.

“I don’t want to spoil what they’re going to say. The mayor is doing this, not council,” said Councilman Tom Didier, R-3rd District.Councilman John Shoaff, D-at-large, said the project will include public and County Economic Development Income Tax funds, and other money will need to be raised to complete the project. Shoaff said the biggest challenge would be balancing taxpayers’ money with the economic development and benefits the public would gain.

“We’ll all have to do our homework on this one,” he said.

Mayor Graham Richard gives each district council member $450,000 annually to pay for improvements to their district, known as CEDIT money. The three at-large members of council receive $450,000 collectively for projects anywhere in the city.

Downtown Improvement District President Dan Carmody said he doesn’t know the details of the project either, but knows it’s good news for downtown.

Denise Porter-Ross, substitute spokesman for the mayor, confirmed Thursday’s news conference, but said she didn’t have any more information on the project. John Perlich, the city’s spokesman, is coming back from vacation today to address questions about the project announcement.

astyrrian

December 20th, 2006, 05:06 PM

I hope the stadium will be located at the Belmont location, because I've been working on a 3D model of a stadium there using Google Sketchup :)

Here's a little preview:
http://img9.imagepile.net/img9/13610bp.jpg

If I get it done before any info from the Mayor's office possibly voids the effort, I'd like to make a blog with pics of the design and get people's responses and hopefully get some discussion about what a downtown stadium could be like for Fort Wayne.

Strate

December 21st, 2006, 01:11 AM

Removed : Double Post

astyrrian

December 21st, 2006, 03:02 PM

City rolls out stadium plan
Cornerstone of $125 million revitalization to be unveiled today
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/16289243.htm

Mayor Graham Richard’s plan to revitalize downtown Fort Wayne calls for a $125 million public-private investment that would include condominiums, shopping and a city-owned baseball stadium ready for opening day 2009.

The mayor plans to announce the details of the project, tentatively known as “Harrison Square,” during an event today. Deputy Mayor Mark Becker emphasized the announcement will be only an update on the project, as many steps must be taken before it becomes a reality.

The project would be in the area bounded by Jefferson Boulevard and Harrison, Brackenridge and Ewing streets. It would initially include a new hotel, 60 condominiums, 30,000 square feet of retail space, a 900-space parking garage and a $30 million minor-league baseball stadium. Becker said the stadium would have 5,000 fixed seats as well as additional seating.

According to the city, Hardball Capital, owners of the Fort Wayne Wizards, expressed interest in developing the residential and retail parts of the project. Becker said the city and Hardball are in “advanced negotiations” on terms of the occupancy of the baseball stadium.

“We have been talking to and working with the city for the last few months,” said Jason Freier, Hardball co-owner. “We are all hopeful the result will be something everyone will be happy with and proud of.”

Downtown plans made it clear the development is about more than just a baseball park.

“It needs to be part of a larger development,” Becker said. “With those other components, it’s truly a catalyst for other things to happen downtown.”

One of the keys for the project is finding a developer to construct a new hotel, Becker said. The city will request proposals from six companies that previously expressed an interest in building the hotel.

“Without the hotel,” he said, “we don’t have a project.”

The hotel is crucial because it will provide some of the tax dollars the city would use to finance other parts of the project. According to the city, of the initial $125 million, about half will be financed through private developers and half from public money.

Becker said Hardball has pledged $5 million toward the construction of the new stadium, which he said is rare for publicly financed stadiums. The city will borrow money for the project, including $16 million for the stadium. The debt will be paid back with tax money captured by special downtown taxing districts, he said.

The money generated by the downtown taxing districts can be used only in specific areas, Becker said, stressing the city will not be spending any general property tax dollars on the project.

The city also will likely borrow about $12 million that will be paid back from county economic development income tax revenues that are normally used for downtown investment. This part would likely happen even without the project, Becker said.

When all phases of the project are completed, Becker said, the overall spending would be 60 percent private and 40 percent public.

If Hardball does oversee the residential and retail portions of the project, the group would invest a total of $50 million over all phases of the project, Becker said.

Under the proposal, the city would construct a $10 million parking garage, which would likely be run by a new parking authority that manages all publicly owned parking spaces, Becker said.

The public-financing aspects of the project would have to be approved by the City Council. Becker said he has briefed its members and said they were excited about the project’s possibilities.

Councilman Don Schmidt, R-2nd, was one of the members briefed on the proposal but said he was concerned that the city would be paying for most of the baseball stadium.

“It appears to me the developers are well short on what they need to do for a baseball stadium,” he said.

Schmidt said the hotel, retail and housing parts of the project could be built without a publicly funded stadium.

Almost all aspects of the project would be built simultaneously, Becker said. If the city reaches all the necessary agreements, construction could begin next fall and the stadium will be completed by the 2009 baseball season.

This would require the Wizards to extend their lease by one year at Memorial Coliseum, but Becker said that shouldn’t be a problem.

Becker said the city hopes to have all agreements in place for the project – including the selection of a hotel developer – by the end of the March.

The city already has options or agreements to acquire all the property needed for the project, and Becker said the city has begun exercising those options. He said the city will likely take control of the site whether this development occurs or not, so it could be used for a major development in the future.

Becker said it was important to push downtown investment because of the lack of private investment there in recent years. Just adding baseball games alone would bring an estimated 300,000 people downtown each year, which is about three times the number of people brought in by Embassy Theatre.

He said the city was hopeful to find other uses for the stadium besides baseball but said it was unlikely it could be used for other sports.

blanka@jg.net

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harrison Square

This is the scope of the $125 million initial phase of the proposal Mayor Graham Richard is pursuing for downtown Fort Wayne:

•New $48 million hotel with at least 300 rooms on the site of Belmont Beverage

•60 new residential condominium units – valued at $12 million – with future phases anticipated to provide 120 more units

•30,000 square feet of new street-level retail – valued at $6 million – with future phases anticipated to provide an additional 60,000 square feet

•$30 million minor league baseball stadium

•$10 million, 900-space parking garage

Source: City of Fort Wayne

http://www.fortwayne.com/images/fortwayne/journalgazette/news/overall_12-21-2006_4E8OFCV.jpg
http://www.fortwayne.com/images/fortwayne/journalgazette/news/skyline_1_12-21-2006_4E8OF3G.jpg
http://www.fortwayne.com/images/fortwayne/journalgazette/news/skyline_2_12-21-2006_4E8OGD9.jpg

astyrrian

December 21st, 2006, 04:51 PM

Stadium plans unveiled
Mixed-use ‘Harrison Square’ would cost $160 million
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/16290239.htm

City officials today were expected to unveil long-awaited plans to bring a new hotel, shops, condominiums and baseball stadium downtown at a cost of about $160 million in public and private dollars. “Clearly, this is very significant – and very exciting,” said Deputy Mayor Mark Becker, who believes “Harrison Square” will attract even more investment downtown when its first phase opens, scheduled for early 2009. “But we know we still have a lot of work to do.”

No increase in property taxes will be needed to pay for the project, Becker said. Unlike most recent major downtown improvement projects – most notably the expansion of the Allen County Public Library and Grand Wayne Convention Center – half the cost of Harrison Square’s $125 million first phase will come from private developers.

Becker said Hardball Capital, the Atlanta-based owners of the Fort Wayne Wizards, tentatively has agreed to provide the $18 million needed to build Phase 1’s commercial and residential components, and will provide $5 million toward construction of the $30 million stadium.

Phase 1, which will include a hotel, 8,000-seat minor-league stadium, 1,000-space parking garage, park, 30,000 square feet of street-level shops and 60 condos, will be located on about 30 acres bounded by Jefferson Boulevard to the north, Ewing Street to the west, Harrison Street to the east and Brackenridge Street to the south. Agreements are already in place to acquire the necessary property, Becker said, although Bill’s Palace restaurant at 1202 S. Harrison St. has not agreed to sell and will remain.

The hotel would be built on land at Harrison and Jefferson now occupied by a Belmont Beverage liquor store, which the city acquired several years ago for more than $1 million after a two-year court fight. The city did not use its power of eminent domain to acquire any other property needed for Harrison Square.

Phases 2 and 3, extending south to Baker Street, would include shops and an additional 120 condominiums and would be built as needed. Greg Leatherman, deputy director of community development, said the city has options, or has had preliminary discussions, to buy land between Brackenridge and Baker.

That could include a downtown landmark – Powers Hamburgers at 11402 S. Harrison. Leatherman said early indications are its owners would be willing to negotiate. “They were not married to the site they are at,” he said.

Also today, the Fort Wayne Redevelopment Commission was expected to approve buying the Martin Luther King Montessori School at 333 W. Lewis St. for $1.5 million. Under the agreement, the school could continue operating through the summer.

Hardball partner Chris Schoen’s Barry Real Estate Co. already has extensive experience in downtown-improvement projects, having spearheaded the billion-dollar Allen Plaza project in Atlanta, among others. Becker said the city is working to finalize Hardball’s commitment, as well as a long-term lease for the Wizards to play at the new stadium.

The team’s lease in its current 13-year-old home, Memorial Stadium, expires after the 2007 season – and coliseum officials had considered making $5 million in improvements to the facility had the Wizards decided to stay. But those plans will not proceed if the downtown stadium becomes reality, said Coliseum General Manager Randy Brown.

Becker said, however, Memorial Stadium probably won’t be torn down if the Wizards move out. Indiana-Purdue University is considering using the facility for its baseball team, and the stadium may also be available for other community events. It costs about $1 million a year to maintain Memorial Stadium, Brown said, but that figure could be reduced if the Wizards move downtown.

IPFW Chancellor Michael Wartell said he believes an agreement can be reached on the university’s use of the 6,300-seat stadium, but “You really can’t predict what it will be used for unless you get a group of people together to imagine what it might be used for,” he said.

Before Harrison Square becomes reality, City Council will have to approve the plan, and the city will have to select a developer for the proposed hotel, which could include as many as 350 rooms. Six firms have already expressed interest, and the city will begin its search for a developer today, Becker said.

Although a poll commissioned by The News-Sentinel and News Channel 15 in October found just 36 percent of county residents favored using public money to pay for a stadium – 21 percent were undecided – Becker believes the public will be more receptive to Harrison Square once details are clear.

For one thing, he said, the project’s mixed-use nature will draw far more people downtown than a baseball stadium alone could – which could attract even more shops, restaurants and other attractions. The Wizards’ average attendance totals about 300,000 people per year. The Embassy Theatre, in comparison, averages about 100,000.

Perhaps more to the point: Property owners should feel little, if any, impact despite the project’s cost and scope, Becker said.

Making the project more attractive to private developers, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. has already approved $6 million in tax credits toward construction of the hotel, and another $4 million toward the project’s shops and condos. The city’s support will come from bonds to be repaid with economic development income taxes and property taxes collected within the area surrounding the project.

Five hundred spaces in the proposed parking garage would be reserved during the day for use by employees of Lincoln National Corp., which owns surface parking lots in the project area.

Becker hopes all the necessary agreements can be reached by March, with construction to start by the fall.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

‘Harrison Square,’ Phase 1

$48 million

New hotel with at least 300 rooms

$12 million

60 new residential condominiums

$6 million

30,000 square feet of commercial space

$30 million

Baseball stadium

$10 million

Parking garage

$125 million

Total cost (including fees and other “soft” costs)

jpIllInoIs

December 21st, 2006, 05:04 PM

:ohno: John McGauley, spokesman for the Allen County Commissioners, said the announcement could be about recent talks of creating a mixed-use development, which could include a stadium, retail, housing and a hotel, similar to the Wrigleyville development at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

OK That is blasphemy! There is no such entity or plan known as the "Wrigleyville development". And even so, putting up a hotel next to a ballpark is hardly going to recreate it. The entertainment area around Wrigley field grew organically over a 40 year period and often against neighborhood objections.

But I applaud FTW effort to get people back DT. Just leave it to some small time politician to make an assinine comment like that. To say that this develpment is "similar" to Wrigley is like overshooting the moon. Better to aim for what the Toledo and the Mudhens have accomplished. And that is a considerable goal. They have brought in a 6-10 new eating and drinking establishments since the new ballpark opened. There is also a great deal of warehouse rehab going on, but that had already started. Some artistic shops and boutique retail is also new to the area, but it is very limited. But so far the DT ballpark has not made a big impact on their hotel occupancy. Most of the big crowds are daytime fans, often school bus loads on field trips.

Again I am not critical of the Ball Park or the Hotel plan. But lets not get carried away with the Wrigley comparisons.

Thanks for keeping us up to date on FTW Strate and astyrrian. :)

ragerunner1

December 21st, 2006, 06:32 PM

Congrats to Fort Wayne. Lets hope this is just the beginning of a downtown rebirth. Downtown Fort Wayne has a lot of potential. Glad to see the mayor is working to make the downtown and city a better place.

astyrrian

December 21st, 2006, 07:03 PM

I was at the presentation today, it was pretty cool. I took some pictures but I forgot my USB cable, so I'll get them posted after work.

Strate

December 21st, 2006, 09:15 PM

The following link is to a video from the presentation this morning.

http://www.wane.com/global/video/popup/pop_player.asp?ClipID1=1133148&h1=Downtown%20Revitalization%20Plans%20Announced&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=172166&LaunchPageAdTag=News&activePane=info&playerVersion=1&hostPageUrl=http%3A//www.wane.com/Global/story.asp%3FS%3D5841388&rnd=71156698

astyrrian

December 22nd, 2006, 01:15 AM

The pictures can be seen on my new blog located at http://downtownfortwaynebaseball.blogspot.com/

Jeff_of_Dayton

December 22nd, 2006, 06:27 AM

This is one of the better stadium proposals Ive seen.

Some of these new minor league stadiums are turning into pretty durn good pieces of urban design, and I think this one will too, based on those renderings posted upthread.

Strate

December 23rd, 2006, 08:21 AM

New press arrives in U.S.

A new press to print The News-Sentinel and The Journal Gazette arrived in Baltimore this week aboard the freighter Tampa, which sailed from Japan through the Panama Canal. The press is part of a $34.8 million investment, including a new 47,000-square-foot building next to the newspapers’ existing offices at 600 W. Main St. that will house the 60-foot-tall, six-tower press. The 1,280-ton press is scheduled to print newspapers reaching doorsteps by late August 2007. It was manufactured by Tokyo Kikai Seisakusho Ltd. (TKS). Fort Wayne will have TKS’ only ColorTop 7000CDH in the United States, though several are in use in Asia. It will be capable of printing 90,000 newspapers per hour with 48 pages back-to-back in full color.

http://www.fortwayne.com/images/fortwayne/newssentinel/news/m1220pressshipone_12-22-2006_6F75BQ6.jpg

PDF that cover the design of the building:
http://www.dariodesigns.com/articles/2005%20Nov_FortWayne.pdf

http://fwnextweb1.fortwayne.com/press/grafix/drawings/thmb_press.jpg

Powerslave

December 23rd, 2006, 05:58 PM

Congratulations on the stadium proposal. Hopefully that thing gets built. It would be nice to see one of the cities in Indiana make some positive downtown progress in the near future.

Strate

December 27th, 2006, 11:08 PM

Plan for Holiday Inn falls through
Developer Bill Bean has decided not to renovate the downtown hotel.
By Kevin Leininger

A major downtown improvement project has fallen through – less than a week after the city announced plans for a new baseball stadium, shops and condominiums only blocks away.

Local developer Bill Bean, who last month said he hoped to turn the 208-room downtown Holiday Inn into apartments, condos, offices and shops, said Tuesday he will not exercise an option to buy the 40-year-old building.

“Based on our analysis, it didn’t appear the economics of the project would work at this time,” said Bean, who owns or partially owns more than 2 million square feet of commercial and industrial buildings in Fort Wayne.

The cost of buying and converting the building for other uses would have made the cost of buying or leasing space there greater than the market could easily bear, he concluded.

Bean’s decision came despite the Indiana Economic Development Commission’s offering up to $3 million in tax credits to renovate the Holiday Inn at 300 E. Washington Blvd.

Last week, Mayor Graham Richard announced plans for Harrison Square, a proposed $125 million development on about 30 acres at Jefferson Boulevard and Harrison Street, the centerpiece of which is a minor-league baseball stadium. Bean said his decision not to exercise his purchase option with Atlanta-based Lodgian Inc. had nothing to do with the city’s project.

Despite Bean’s decision, the Holiday Inn’s future remains cloudy. “A significant amount of money needs to be put into the building to keep it a hotel or to do something else,” said Greg Leatherman, the city’s deputy director of community development.

The city is seeking a developer to build a new hotel for the Harrison Square project, and had projected needing one with at least 300 rooms, believing the Holiday Inn would no longer be functioning as a hotel.

If the Holiday Inn remains, the size of the new hotel could be reduced, though Leatherman doesn’t expect its fate to deter would-be developers.

“They know what’s going on. And they know their business. Interest in downtown property is very strong right now,” he said. “Could downtown support three hotels? Probably. But the number of rooms would have to be adjusted.”

Last month, Lodgian announced plans to reduce its holdings from 71 hotels with 12,943 rooms to 43 hotels with 7,924 rooms. The company said it expected to receive up to $122 million through the sale of the properties. Lodgian, the second-largest operator of Holiday Inns, reported $78 million in revenues during the third quarter of this year, up 6.3 percent from 2005.

The Holiday Inn’s day-to-day operations are unaffected by Bean’s decision, company spokesman Jerry Daly said. “And we don’t comment on pending transactions.”

If anything, Bean said, Harrison Square’s success could increase the demand for – and the financial viability of – more housing and commercial activity downtown. In March, the city released the results of a $40,500 study by Zimmerman/Volk Associates of Clinton, N.J., showing up to 3,750 households in Allen County would like to live near downtown but can’t because of a lack of suitable housing.

“We left the door open (with Lodgian) to maybe do a different project,” said Bean, whose holdings include the old Tokheim fuel-pump plant, the former Fruehauf truck plant, the First Source building on Main Street, Park Place Grill and the former Lincoln National Corp. building near Indiana 14 and Interstate 69.

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/16327880.htm

cwilson758

December 28th, 2006, 12:58 AM

Great news for FTW with regards to Harrison Square. I agree that d/t FTW has tremendous potential. Its time that FTW starts acting like a big city!

Strate

December 28th, 2006, 04:52 PM

Hotel proposals are due Feb. 13
City has issued official requests to developers.
By Ryan Lengerich rlengerich@news-sentinel.com

Five major developers spread nationwide have until Feb. 13 to submit their concepts and financing strategies for a 300-room hotel in downtown Fort Wayne.

Last week, the city officially issued Request for Proposal documents to firms based in Atlanta, Detroit, Boston, Minneapolis and Greeley, Colo. The pitches are due in less then two months; city officials hope to have an agreement in place by April 1.

The city has hired C.H. Johnson Consulting Inc. of Chicago to assist in the process.

The 13-page proposal outlines in detail the parameters for the developers: The hotel must be chain-affiliated with at least 300 rooms and must be built on 1.5 acres at the corner of Harrison Street and Jefferson Boulevard across from the Grand Wayne Convention Center.

The pitches must detail how the hotel will be financially viable, with an emphasis on minimizing cost to the public.

The city is offering up the land valued at about $2 million, which it acquired via eminent domain, and a $1 million bond for infrastructure and street-scape improvements. The city also would pay for an approximately $10 million parking garage to be attached to the hotel.

The state is offering $6 million in Community Revitalization Enhancement District Tax Credits, half what local officials requested.

The hotel is part of the $160 million Harrison Square project, a public/private partnership that also includes shops, condominiums and a $30 million baseball stadium on 30 acres adjacent to the hotel site. The hotel is a crucial piece of the project — the developers’ proposals could set the tone for how the rest of it falls into place.

The developers will have to take into consideration Bill Bean’s decision not to exercise his option to buy the 208-room downtown Holiday Inn. The local developer had hoped to turn the 40-year-old building into apartments, condos, offices and shops before deciding he could not recoup his investment.

Greg Leatherman, the city’s deputy director of development, said the developers understand the industry and will be able to gauge how the Holiday Inn’s future could impact the new hotel.

astyrrian

December 28th, 2006, 09:07 PM

To revitalize downtown, capitalize on this city’s architectural heritage
A rebuttal by Jonathan R. Katz
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/16320369.htm

I was thrilled to read Kevin Leininger’s Dec. 14 column on Woodson Autosports’ relocation to a recently restored, historically significant brick building downtown. Leininger’s excitement about this revitalization boon to the city’s core is understandable.

With the green light now given to covering up ornately styled buildings eligible for the National Register of Historic Places with garish “multicolored signs and panels,” we can look forward to even more commercial operations that throw the city’s architectural integrity under the bus opening along highly trafficked downtown thoroughfares.

It’s just too bad Starbucks made the effort to preserve the character of the old Firestone Building when it located downtown on Jefferson Boulevard earlier this year. It turns out nobody, except some radical-fringe preservationist types, would have cared if they’d just leveled it and built one of their more standard strip mall-type outlets. How nice that when it comes to the city’s appearance, a vacuum of principled political and civic leadership, combined with the public’s too-busy-to-be-bothered indifference, makes it so easy for Fort Wayne’s rich physical heritage to be readily abandoned by the side of the road in the name of presumed progress.

Of course, it always helps that the town’s aesthetics always seem to be subordinate to the wishes of the local Chamber of Commerce. Any effort to restrict or modify commercial development based on presentation or whether it comports with the area and buildings nearby is unfailingly met with a Chamber cry that such anti-business attitudes are sounding the city’s economic deathknell, as if that deathknell isn’t already being heard. The Chamber has long fought design standards for downtown that would bring a more pleasing sense of civic coherence. So too, its proposals for the city’s new sign ordinance to be enacted early next year, including a call to double the number of large, free-standing billboards in certain zoning classifications, will hardly enhance Fort Wayne’s allure, especially when other quality-of-life-minded communities across the country are seeking to tone down both the amount and tawdriness of their signage.

Having vigorously advanced their demands the Chamber is, no doubt, counting on Fort Wayne City Council to agree to what will be termed “a reasonable compromise” that will largely give what the Chamber wants and ensure the city’s continued aesthetic defacement. The Woodson Motorsports enterprise that Leininger wrote about means streets like Washington and Jefferson boulevards will resemble Coliseum Boulevard and Illinois Road in coming years. Those patronizing businesses along them will do so not because they are going downtown, per se, but because they happen to be going through downtown on the way to somewhere else. As Leininger reported, Washington is already the most-traveled route into and through downtown from the east, carrying about 17,800 vehicles a day.

Co-owner Tray Foster hopes that Woodson Motorsports’ “more modern and exciting façade” will serve as a new gateway into Fort Wayne. If this is the kind of gateway Fort Wayne wants, it will surely get more of them soon. While some will hail Woodson Motorsports’ relocation as an example of a brighter downtown future, I think it speaks more to its demise. What functions to bring people downtown as a destination rather than a byway is hardly a secret. We know from other cities with successful downtowns that attractive, human-scale streetscapes, charming squares, stimulating public art, novel urban amenities, a manifest embrace of a community’s cultural heritage and a strong sense of place are what bring people downtown to truly experience it.

Commercial activity and housing will naturally follow the wake of greater downtown interest. Under these circumstances beautifully restored buildings, rather than standing empty, would likely be transformed into appealing condos, galleries, shops and restaurants. It is unrealistic and misguided to think that a new baseball stadium, while spurring some new business activity during the summer season, can be Fort Wayne’s definitive source of downtown revitalization.

Wasn’t this all underscored during visits to Greenville, S.C., and Providence, R.I.? How many more cities will we have to learn about before beginning the economically and culturally redemptive work that needs to done here ourselves?

Strate

January 3rd, 2007, 12:50 AM

Proposal for One Summit Square.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/28/53254315_97aa2985d6.jpg?v=0

Donnelly P. McDonald Jr. (l) president of Peoples Trust, and Robert M. Kopper (r) executive vice president of Indiana and Michigan Electric Company, with the model of the I&M-Peoples Bank building (Summit Square). New Sentinel 19 April 1974. This building was not built in this form.

Strate

January 3rd, 2007, 06:37 PM

The following photos are of the same road. I hope I have these in the correct order.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/143/344175063_e8a0304649.jpg?v=0

A little closer to the Randall Hotel.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/150/344175056_5e7de962b1.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/153/344175061_f6a668dff5.jpg?v=0
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/137/344176614_b3a0bc9287.jpg?v=0
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/135/344175058_8eedf395b4.jpg?v=0
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/125/344175047_94a347526b.jpg?v=0
http://www.preserveindiana.com/images/ftwayne/randall.jpg
http://www.preserveindiana.com/images/ftwayne/columbia.jpg
Current Day, the Randall Hotel was destroyed in a fire like most of the south side of Columbia Street. Many of the buildings on the north side (right) are in the 1880's pics.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/165/344175052_011b517379.jpg?v=0

Strate

January 3rd, 2007, 11:17 PM

Projects sprout up around county
New developments from retail to recreation to health care are under way
By Ryan Lengerich rlengerich@news-sentinel.com

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/16374127.htm

You might drive by the bulldozers every day on your morning commute. Sometimes you know what they’re working on. Sometimes not.

A number of major or otherwise intriguing developments are under way and scheduled for completion this year in Fort Wayne and Allen County.

Take, for instance, River City Links. Michigan State University graduate and Fort Wayne native Mark Slater is building an 18-hole natural grass putting green along the Maumee River at Tecumseh and Herbert streets, only minutes outside downtown.

The course, which will cost about $8 to play, is set to open in May.

“Actually, I think a lot of people are looking forward to using it,” Slater said. “Lower-handicap golfers commented on the challenges and the contours, and it is not going to be just an easy test of flat golf.”

Empire Center, on the city’s north side, is a once heavily debated and unusual project nearing completion. In late 2005, dentist Hal Atkinson proposed an unusual idea: building an office complex at 9005 Lima Road featuring a 55-foot-high likeness of the Empire State Building with a 15-foot-high American flag on top.

The Fort Wayne Plan Commission, however, declined to grant him a height waiver beyond the maximum 35 feet, so he modified the plans. Now the only semblance of the Empire State Building will be found in the 34 1/2 -foot sign. The 17,000-square-foot complex will still retain the look of an urban streetscape. Atkinson moved his practice into his portion of the building in November; the second phase is expected to be ready in March or April.

Last month, an Illinois development firm announced plans to build a 300,000-square-foot shopping center cater-corner to Jefferson Pointe at Illinois and Thomas roads. Gateway Crossing will not open until 2008, but construction should begin this year if the city planning commission approves a zoning change this month.

Here is a breakdown of other projects that made news in 2006 and likely will again in 2007:

♦The city’s $160 million Harrison Square project, a public-private partnership announced last month, will include shops, condominiums and a $30 million baseball stadium on 30 acres downtown across from the Grand Wayne Convention Center. The complex may not be complete for three years but is headed toward City Council consideration and public discussion.

♦ Feel safe knowing the city’s $27 million Regional Public Safety Academy is under construction at Southtown Centre with a November opening planned. The 132,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility will provide police, fire, emergency medical services, and homeland security training and education for professionals and students from northeast Indiana and across the Midwest.

♦Expect to finally see work begin on the 215,000-square-foot Wal-Mart at Dupont and Lima roads early this year. Wetland mitigation and access issues with an adjacent development have resulted in a more than six-month delay. The store likely would not open until early 2008, said attorney Jim Federoff.

♦A $25 million music building under construction at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne will be complete in July, and ready for occupancy by August, according to the school’s Web site.

♦ Fort Wayne Newspapers’ new 1,280-ton press is scheduled to print newspapers reaching doorsteps by late August. The project is part of a $34.8 million investment that includes a new 47,000-square-foot building next to the newspapers’ existing offices at 600 W. Main St. that will house the 60-foot-tall, six-tower press.

♦The Federal Aviation Administration expects to commission a new $9.7 million, 210-foot air-traffic control tower at Fort Wayne International Airport later this month. The current tower, built in 1976 for $2.3 million, stands 100 feet high and will be demolished.

♦Belmont Beverage is scheduled to complete a 12,000-square-foot warehouse expansion and a 5,000-square-foot office expansion in the 3300 block of North Anthony Boulevard by April.

♦A $6.3 million project set for completion around March, the Progressive Long Term Acute Care Hospital of Fort Wayne, 2626 Fairfield Ave., will serve patients who require critical care for an extended period of time.

♦Woodview Healthcare Inc. of Fort Wayne is planning to build a 57-unit assisted-living complex on about five acres adjacent to its nursing home at 3420 E. State Blvd.. Woodview Administrator John August expects ground to be broken sometime in March, with an opening as early as October.

♦Auburn Hills Development Corp. is developing “The Pie,” which will occupy 100,000 square feet on one or two outlots across from Glenbrook Commons, a strip center next to Glenbrook Square, the city’s largest mall. The retail project takes its name from its pie-shaped site inside Lima Road, Fernhill Avenue and Wells Street. Several businesses, including House of Honda & Yamaha, are relocating to make way for The Pie.

♦Sweetwater, the music instrument and pro audio retailer, finished Phase 1 of its new $30 million campus at 5501 U.S. 30 W. last fall. Sweetwater Productions, the company’s recording studios, will remain at 5335 Bass Road until construction of its new studios is complete this summer. Eventually, the campus will include a 225-seat auditorium and professional services offices.

♦ Work continues at Dupont and Tonkel roads on the Village at Oak Crossing, a 327,000-square-foot development to include a grocery store, large retailer and several outlots. The grocery store’s name has not been made public.

♦Downtown will get more Irish come spring. That’s when Scott Glaze, chairman and chief executive officer of Fort Wayne Metals, plans to open his Irish pub at 121 W. Wayne St. with condos above.

♦Early last month, Afdent Dental Services said it will build a 32,000-square-foot office at 4041 Parnell Ave., across from Memorial Coliseum. Construction could begin as early as March and be complete by December.

♦Looking for a new game to play? On Jan. 14, Debbie Stilwell of Fort Wayne will open a 14-court shuffleboard complex at Georgetown Square on the city’s northeast side. Players will rent the court and playing equipment for $12 an hour, or $3 per person for four people playing doubles.

♦Dirt is being moved on five acres along Coldwater Road near Glenbrook Square, once an environmental wasteland. No firm plans have been released by developer Martin Goldstine Knapke.

♦Smith Field will house a portion of Ivy Tech Community College’s airframe and power plant education program. A temporary building should be ready when the fall semester begins in August. A larger, permanent structure will come later.

♦Officials with Carriage House, 3327 Lake Ave., foresee opening Chad’s House in May. The 4,700-square-foot training and lodging facility for groups around the state and region seeking certification in the clubhouse model for treating people with mental illness will cost about $350,000.

♦Trendy furniture and design company Ethan Allen plans to relocate its West Washington Center Road store to Apple Glen near Jefferson Pointe. Developer Kerry Dickmeyer said paperwork delayed the 18,000-square-foot project, but that it should begin and be completed sometime this year, with construction taking about six months.

♦Calhoun Street between Washington Boulevard and Berry Street will be converted into a two-way street after the Three Rivers Festival in July. The switchover is expected to be complete by the end of construction season in the fall.

♦An ongoing $300,000 renovation to Engine House No. 5 at 1405 Broadway likely will be finished in March or April, said James Ridley, Fort Wayne Professional Firefighters Union local 124 president. The facility will serve as the union’s new headquarters.

♦ Three car lots are coming to Lima Road. Kelley Automotive Group is building a 2,600-square-foot used-car lot in the North Pointe Shopping Center at Lima and Dupont Road. A high-end dealership is under construction at the northwest corner of Lima and Cook roads. And Bob Rohrman Auto Group is building a used-car lot for up to 200 cars at Lima and Coliseum Boulevard, which could be complete by May.

♦ Parkview Family YMCA is building a 21,000-square-foot splash park at 10001 Dawsons Creek Blvd. Children should be playing in the water by the time the weather warms in the spring.

Strate

January 11th, 2007, 05:55 PM

Developer halts condo project
From staff and news services

Hartland Development has shelved plans for a $2.3 million condominium project north of downtown, the firm’s president said Wednesday.

The company had planned to renovate the former Colwell Inc. paint chip production facility at the northwest corner of Sixth and Harrison streets, President John McKay said. Hartland Development still wants to convert the plant into 19 condominiums as it proposed in March 2005, but the company has not been able to secure a construction loan, he said.

Hartland Development has not given up on the project, McKay said. The state pledged $580,000 in community revitalization tax credits for the project, which is good until the end of the year. McKay is still looking at options for starting the project with the help of those tax credits.

McKay originally expected to start selling the condominiums at prices ranging from $150,000 to $180,000. Plans called for the condominiums to have 12-foot ceilings with exposed brick walls and duct work. Seven of the condominiums would have been two stories. The rest were single-story units.

Condominiums also are part of Mayor Graham Richard’s revitalization project, Harrison Square, proposed for the area bounded by Jefferson Boulevard and Harrison, Brackenridge and Ewing streets.

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/16434967.htm

Strate

January 17th, 2007, 05:21 PM

Big shoes on the march for ‘Team Dreams’
Businesses will buy, decorate them to sponsor basketball tournaments.
By Ryan Lengerich rlengerich@news-sentinel.com

http://www.fortwayne.com/images/fortwayne/newssentinel/news/Picture1_01-17-2007_347BC9I.jpg

The city has big shoes to fill – and they’ll be covered with paint.

The Fort Wayne/Allen County Convention and Visitors Bureau is using a citywide art project akin to 2005’s successful “Mastodons on Parade” to attract sponsors for two major youth basketball championships coming to the city.

For the second straight year, the American Youth Basketball Tour and the United States Specialty Sports Association will hold their championships on various days from July 5 to July 30 at Spiece Fieldhouse and about 10 other area gymnasiums. The two organizations liked Fort Wayne so much they’re back with an expected 600 teams, 15,000 people and an estimated $6 million windfall.

The Visitors Bureau has dubbed the tournaments and art project “Team Dreams,” a play on the city’s new slogan, “Room for Dreams.”

“These kids are coming to pursue their dream, and Fort Wayne is enabling it,” said Dan O’Connell, president of the Visitors Bureau. “These kids dream to win a national championship.”

To fund Team Dreams, the Visitors Bureau is offering fiberglass and weatherproof shoes 7 feet by 4 feet by 3 feet to businesses purchasing a $7,500 tournament sponsorship package. To maximize visibility of the sponsors, each custom-designed shoe will spend time in various locales in the city, including Glenbrook Square, Jefferson Pointe and downtown.

The shoes will be moved to Spiece Fieldhouse for the tournaments.

In 2005, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne and United Way of Allen County organized the Mastodon project, resulting in a herd of 102 fiberglass mastodons around the city. IPFW, whose mascot is the mastodon, developed the project as part of its 40th-anniversary celebration.

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/16480315.htm

Strate

January 18th, 2007, 03:04 AM

Memorial Coliseum makes top 100 for ticket sales

The Allen County War Memorial Coliseum ranked 95th in the world for arena
ticket sales, according to the 2006 year-end issue of Pollstar magazine.
A total of 95,410 tickets were sold. The Memorial Coliseum beat out larger
market arenas such as the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn. and the Bradley Center in
Milwaukee, Wis. It was the only Indiana venue to finish in the top 100.
Madison Square Garden in New York City finished first with 1,181,486 tickets
sold. Figures are for tickets sold worldwide, as reported to Pollstar, for shows between
Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2006.

Last year, the Memorial Coliseum ranked 97th on the list.

http://www.kpcnews.com/articles/2007/01/17/greater_fort_wayne/news/today/1-17story5.txt

arenn

January 21st, 2007, 08:01 PM

Poll backs downtown, not stadium
Ballpark called crucial to plans
By Benjamin Lanka and Tom Pellegrene Jr.
Copyright 2007 The Journal Gazette

Seven of 10 Allen County adults believe it is important to revitalize downtown Fort Wayne, but a similar percentage thinks a downtown baseball stadium isn’t needed, according to a poll commissioned by The Journal Gazette and Indiana’s NewsCenter.

The telephone poll of 400 county adults, scientifically selected through a random sample, was taken Jan. 8, 9 and 11. It found more support for additional parking and shopping downtown than for more downtown housing, a third downtown hotel or a stadium.

The numbers didn’t come as a surprise to city officials, who said they must do a better job selling the Harrison Square project. The $125 million private-public downtown investment includes a new hotel, retail, housing and a city-owned minor-league baseball stadium. It would be in the area bounded by Harrison, Brackenridge and Ewing streets and West Jefferson Boulevard.

Deputy Fort Wayne Mayor Mark Becker said it was encouraging to know 70 percent of poll participants believe improving downtown is at least somewhat important.

“I think everyone understands the importance of downtown Fort Wayne,” he said.

The fact that 71 percent of respondents didn’t believe a downtown baseball stadium should be built also wasn’t surprising to Becker. He said the city does not support a baseball stadium on its own but believes the stadium – as part of a larger project – will be a catalyst for downtown.

“If all you plan to do is build a baseball stadium, don’t do it,” he said. “This is not just a baseball stadium.”

City Councilman Tim Pape, D-5th, questioned the validity of the poll, saying even he might oppose a downtown stadium with the way the question was phrased. If people were asked whether they support a private investor spending millions of dollars on new condominiums and retail, they would have been much more supportive, Pape said.

The poll carried a margin of error of plus-or-minus 4.9 percentage points, meaning that in theory, 19 of 20 similar surveys conducted at the same time would have found results within 4.9 percentage points of the correct answers.

The study was performed by Indiana Research Service Inc., of Fort Wayne, which used its Dilworth, Minn., call center to do interviewing.

Dan Carmody, director of the Downtown Improvement District, said he is aware of numerous concerns about the Harrison Square project, but they could be addressed by better explaining it to residents.

“I think we have to do a much better job of selling the project,” Carmody said.

Powerful numbers

In the survey, 15 percent of respondents said a downtown baseball stadium should be built, and 71 percent disagreed. The rest had no opinion or declined to answer. Even if another use could be found for Memorial Stadium, the home of the Fort Wayne Wizards on Coliseum Boulevard, about half of respondents would not support a downtown stadium.

The city is working with Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne to find a use for Memorial Stadium.

City Councilman Tom Smith, R-1st, called the results powerful and said they were more negative than he expected. He said in straw polls he conducts at events, usually 65 percent of people oppose the idea of the stadium.

“With those kinds of numbers, it’s going to take a Herculean effort to turn that around,” he said. “(Residents) have never asked for a baseball stadium, ever. That’s a consultant’s idea.”

Smith said he believed the cost of the project, especially the half to be paid with public money, is driving people against it. He said public opinion will sway how the council votes on a financing package for the project and said it will likely become a heated issue during this year’s city elections.

If the project moves forward, the council would likely be asked to vote on it this spring.

Smith said he believes the project would garner more support if it were proposed along the downtown riverfront area. Smith has long been a proponent for riverfront development and has even presented preliminary ideas to different groups of how the area could be developed.

Councilman Sam Talarico, R-at large, has been a vocal supporter for the Harrison Square project. He said he wasn’t surprised with the opposition to a stadium, saying the project is much more than just a ballpark. He said he believed many people would oppose the development, but that it shouldn’t stop the city from moving forward.

“There would be nothing ever done in Fort Wayne if we did it based on the poll results,” he said. “Leadership is about doing things in the face of opposition.”

In the poll, stadium proponents said the ballpark would help the economy, bring life to downtown, provide entertainment for children and bring Fort Wayne a higher-level baseball team. Opponents said the Wizards should continue to use the 14-year-old stadium they have now, adding that the project is a waste of money, would have limited uses and would harm downtown traffic patterns.

Among the improvements respondents suggested for downtown were a casino, a skating rink, an Olympic pool, a water park and a riverwalk. One survey respondent said downtown needs better public transportation. But one northeast-side resident acknowledged, “there is nothing they could do to draw me downtown,” and another said additional investment downtown was a “waste of money ’cause it’s too far gone.”

Three of four respondents said downtown needs more parking, and 68 percent said it needs more shopping. Forty-four percent said it needs additional housing, and 26 percent believe there is a need for another hotel downtown.

Selling and educating

For the Harrison Square project to succeed, Mayor Graham Richard has to be its lead salesman, Talarico said. The councilman said he is often faced with opponents to Harrison Square, but after he explains that no general property taxes will be used, opponents begin to soften their position.

“Immediately everyone thinks they’re going to be hit in their property taxes,” Talarico said. “We’ve got to do a better job explaining the background.”

Residents who responded to the survey agreed with Talarico. When asked how important it was that the downtown improvements be constructed without property tax dollars, 62 percent felt it was very important and 27 percent felt it was important.

Regardless of his dim view of the poll, Pape acknowledged the city does need better public education about the benefits of the entire project. He said the business community supports the investment but should more vocally express its support.

Jason Freier, CEO of Hardball Capital, the owner of the Wizards that would partner in the Harrison Square project, said he understands why some people would be reluctant to build just a stadium, as the survey question might suggest.

“To us, the stadium is a clear part in what will make this feasible,” Freier said.

Just building a stadium would not guarantee other development and revitalization would follow. Building in conjunction with the stadium – retail shops and condominiums are planned by Hardball – would take out the guesswork of whether a stadium alone would attract development and lead to the project’s success, he said.

Steve Brody, co-chairman of the city’s downtown task force, said the survey shows people want shopping and downtown improvements. To get those things as part of this package requires the addition of a baseball stadium as part of the overall development.

“This is truly a mixed-use development,” he said. “Each of the components is reliant on another.”

Brody said years have gone by without significant private investment downtown and this would be a way to get millions of dollars in one project.

He and Becker have already spoken to a number of groups about the project, all of which offered support after having it explained.

Becker said the speaking tour to city groups will continue.

“We are willing to speak to anyone, anytime, anywhere,” he said. “We’ve understood from the very beginning that we have a lot of work to do.”

Strate

January 22nd, 2007, 05:41 AM

Dungy is right they should meet halfway, in Fort Wayne!

Ok, not knowing since I've always lived in the area but do people outside of Indiana know of Fort Wayne?

MilwaukeeMark

January 22nd, 2007, 05:54 AM

do people outside of Indiana know of Fort Wayne?

no.

Strate

January 22nd, 2007, 06:04 AM

LOL, thanks that was what I thought.

astyrrian

January 22nd, 2007, 04:18 PM

It was very cool to hear Dungy mention Fort Wayne last night. I had to think "Did he really just say Fort Wayne?"
It's going to be an awesome Super Bowl this year.

Strate

March 1st, 2007, 03:57 AM

Glenbrook makes way for Barnes & Noble
By Cindy Larson clarson@news-sentinel.com

In case you noticed the demolition going on at Glenbrook Square this week, rest assured — the mall isn’t being torn down, just a small portion of it.

The destruction on the north side of the mall just west of the main entrance is necessary for the new Barnes & Noble bookstore going in where the Limited stores used to be, said Brian Cote, Glenbrook general manager. The 27,000-square-foot Barnes & Noble store is expected to open late this year or early 2008.

The store will sell books, movies, music and magazines and will include a coffee shop. It will have an entrance both from the exterior and the mall.

The demolition was necessary primarily because the existing structure didn’t have a high enough ceiling for Barnes & Noble’s requirements, Cote said. In addition, the front of the store needed more support for the masonry exterior Barnes & Noble uses.

Having a Barnes & Noble at Glenbrook is significant, Cote said. “I think it’s a huge thing. It really shows we’re trying to meet the customer’s needs.”

Glenbrook already has Waldenbooks and B. Dalton bookstores. Barnes & Noble owns B.Dalton. In addition, a Borders bookstore is located across Coldwater Road from Glenbrook. Borders owns Waldenbooks.

Barnes & Noble bookstores usually carry more than 200,000 titles and offer lounge areas and tables for shoppers. The company has another store in Fort Wayne southwest at Jefferson Pointe.

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/16804483.htm

"As the only enclosed super regional shopping center within 100 miles, Glenbrook Square services all segments in and around Fort Wayne, IN. The center receives over 15 million annual guest visits providing a wide selection of specialty shops and department stores including, H&M, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Banana Republic, Macy's, JCPenney and Sears."
http://www.glenbrooksquare.com/html/mallinfo.asp

175 stores, 19 Restaurants & Eateries, 3 current anchor stores was 4 the managment is currently looking for a fourth.

Strate

March 1st, 2007, 05:01 PM

Dirt to move on 5th Wal-Mart
After a yearlong delay to secure permits, construction at Lima and Dupont roads will start this month.
By Ryan Lengerich rlengerich@news-sentinel.com

Delayed more than a year, construction on Allen County’s fifth Wal-Mart will begin this month.

The county this week approved a permit allowing the world’s largest retailer to proceed with a 194,809- square-foot Supercenter at Lima and Dupont roads.

John Wolf, Wal-Mart district manager, said the company hopes for a January opening.

Wal-Mart hired Colcon Contractors of Sullivan, Ill., to build the store. Doug Shook, company superintendent, said equipment should arrive on site next week. Workers will begin installing an erosion-control system during the next few weeks. Machines will begin moving dirt, and walls will begin going up in June. The building is scheduled to be finished Dec. 3, Shook said.

The county approved the store in July 2005 after a spirited public hearing and petition drive. Wal-Mart officials first predicted construction would start sometime in 2005 and last nine months. But in October, the Allen County Plan Commission approved Lima Commons, a 196,000-square-foot retail center to be built adjacent to the store.

It took extra time to hammer out access agreements between Wal-Mart and developers Thompson Thrift Management Inc. Then, Wal-Mart realized it couldn’t avoid a patch of wetlands on site during construction.

It took several months to secure the proper permits and move the wetlands.

Tom Niezer, attorney for Thompson Thrift, said construction on Lima Commons will begin this spring. The total development will take three to five years to complete.

Wal-Mart in Allen County

Construction on the county’s fifth Wal-Mart Supercenter, at Lima and Dupont roads, is scheduled to start this month. The other four are at Southtown Centre, Apple Glen, Chapel Ridge and Coldwater Crossing. Construction on a store in New Haven – what will be the county’s sixth – has yet to begin.

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/16809979.htm

How many Walmarts do other medium sized cities have? Almost feels like walmart builds like starbucks.

Strate

March 12th, 2007, 06:16 AM

Parkview’s future points northward
But many on south side fear losing services, docs
By Michael Schroeder
The Journal Gazette

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Peering out floor-to-ceiling windows in his corner office near Dupont Road, Parkview Health CEO Mike Packnett imagines a day when the system’s cornerstone hospital – Parkview North, nearly a half-mile distant – is little more than a football field away.

He sees the hospital’s $500 million-plus, 900,000-square-foot expansion as an opportunity to build new from the ground up, incorporating elements such as natural lighting, private rooms and floor layouts that make access easier for doctors and patients.

But the view is somewhat different from the other side of town, where many fear the loss of doctors and medically based businesses as the focus shifts away from Parkview Hospital’s historic main campus on Fort Wayne’s near-northeast side.

That’s what happened when Lutheran Hospital moved from Fairfield Avenue on the south side to the city’s southwest suburban edge in the 1990s.

The same migration of medical offices is expected to some degree when – beginning in 2011 – Parkview moves beds and services from its Randallia Drive site to Parkview North. Even without Parkview’s move, the city’s south side already is federally recognized as lacking doctors and medical services.

Though Parkview plans to maintain a presence at Randallia Drive, including outpatient and inpatient services and an emergency room, its transition will make competitor St. Joseph Hospital the largest remaining hospital serving the populous inner city.

Parkview’s willingness to engage neighbors in deciding what stays on the Randallia campus and what goes farther north has helped smooth the process. Still, some worry that Parkview Randallia will eventually close altogether; Packnett says Parkview is committed to the area but stops short of guaranteeing that the hospital will never leave.

Looking ahead, he says, “There’s nothing on the horizon that we can see … (that) would change our mind about serving that part of the county.”

Hospital chasing

As someone who tends to the medical needs of low-income residents, Mary Haupert isn’t particularly concerned about the move of numerous hospital services from Parkview’s Randallia campus to Parkview North. Haupert is the president of Neighborhood Health Clinics Inc., 1717 S. Calhoun St., a private, not-for-profit community health center on Fort Wayne’s south side offering medical and dental care for the uninsured and underinsured.

She’s glad the hospital plans to keep a core presence near downtown, and she’s grateful for contributions Parkview has made to her agency’s $6.4 million budget, including $180,000 in medicine, supplies and medical services last year.

Still, Haupert is worried about the potential migration of doctors to the health system’s future hub.

“We are concerned about physicians following them out,” she said.

That would deal another blow to nearby southeast and south-central sections of the city, which are already medically underserved.

The move of doctors and medical services away from the south side – in part to be closer to Lutheran, Dupont and Parkview North hospitals – is exacerbating the problem and increasing the burden on agencies such as Neighborhood Health that serve poorer patients. And it’s the poorest residents who have the most trouble traveling to off-site locations to get care, Haupert said.

In 1990, before the Lutheran Hospital move, the 46804 ZIP code, where the hospital now resides, was home to 15 medical offices. By 2006, that number was 58 – from pediatricians to cardiologists to OB/GYN to ear, nose and throat doctors to psychiatrists, according to a Journal Gazette analysis of city directory and phone book listings.

During the same period, the 48607 ZIP code Lutheran formerly called home saw the number of medical offices drop from 29 to three.

“You really have a migration that way,” said John Dickmeyer, business specialist at the Allen County Public Library, surveying the pattern.

For its part, Lutheran Health Network member St. Joseph Hospital owns and operates Anthony Medical Center and leases space at Lafayette Medical Center. The medical offices are veritable islands of care on the south side where physicians are stretched.

“We definitely need more (doctors) here,” Dr. John Addo said.

Addo shares an office with his wife, Dorothea, at Lafayette Medical Center, at Pontiac and Lafayette streets. In a decade, he’s seen the number of physicians and medical personnel at the center drop from eight to five.

He blames a variety of factors, including economics. Generally, doctors tend to locate their practices in more affluent areas, he said.

But Addo echoes that doctors like to be close to hospitals and other medical facilities that offer X-rays and other complementary health care services.

James Medical Rents & Sales Inc. didn’t waste time moving to a more centralized location that takes the expanding Parkview North and Dupont Hospital into account. In 2004, the company moved away from its location near Parkview Randallia to 7821 Coldwater Road.

“A lot of doctors’ offices are moving this direction,” said Jeff Castator, manager of James Medical, which offers medical products such as wheelchairs, knee braces and hospital beds.

The business was previously at Lake Avenue and Anthony Boulevard with easy access to Parkview Hospital but farther away from other facilities.

“Clearly, there’ll be some movement of some doctors to the north,” Parkview’s Packnett said.

But he expects that many physicians near Parkview Hospital will continue to serve their patients from those offices. He owes that to plans for a continued presence at the campus and the trend for doctors to have multiple offices to serve various parts of the community.

Shifting and growing

In the 12 years since she moved to the Dupont area, Diana Parent has seen roads improve, surrounding land prices increase and many, many restaurants and retail stores open. While there’s no way to quantify the influence Dupont Hospital and Parkview North have had on growth – in many ways it is a chicken-and-egg equation – she is glad to have the hospitals in her neck of the woods.

Seven years ago, Fort Wayne was home to three hospitals. Now there are five, not including the VA Medical Center serving military veterans.

Medical services and medically based businesses aren’t just shifting their location in the city, they’re expanding overall, Parent said. Parent, president of Parke Group, a real estate organization that has many medical clients, has a high opinion of the community’s medical presence.

“We truly are a regional hub,” she said. That reputation is only growing as Parkview Health and Lutheran Health Network expand their footprint.

Expected to be done by the end of the year, a $25 million outpatient services and cancer center is one of several projects under way at Parkview North.

The 118,000-square-foot building will include an ambulatory surgery center, a cancer treatment center and outpatient diagnostic imaging services.

The cancer center is designed so that patients won’t have to travel to different locations for everything from chemotherapy to radiation to surgery.

Across both Parkview Randallia and Parkview North campuses the total bed count is expected to increase from 655 today to 695 after the expansion and subsequent transition of services.

For richer or for poorer

But the shift north takes Parkview from a neighborhood of moderate income only blocks from the population center of Allen County, according to a Journal Gazette analysis, to one more affluent nearer the population center of what Parkview Health considers its multicounty service area.

With easy access to Interstates 69 and 469 for doctors and patients and with land to expand, the Dupont Road area was an ideal spot, Parkview officials say.

Population growth and projected growth in the area also played a major role in the location of Parkview North, hospital officials said. Parkview’s future flagship hospital is perched in one of the fastest-growing census tracts in Allen County, with a population spurt of 130 percent between 1990 and 2000 to 6,435 people.

On average, its residents are some of the wealthiest in Fort Wayne and all of northeast Indiana. When Parkview bought property north of Dupont Road in 1999, the median household income was $77,505, compared with $42,671 for Allen County as a whole.

By contrast, the near-southeast side has the second-most populous ZIP code in northeast Indiana, home to 27,068 residents, according to 2000 census figures. But at nearly dead last in northeast Indiana in median household income at $28,123, it is void of any hospital.

Lutheran Health Network officials said that growth patterns and land to expand guided the decisions to relocate Lutheran Hospital to the southwest and open Dupont Hospital in 2001 to the north.

They point out that land for both hospitals was bought in the 1980s. Although income was still higher than average in those areas at that time, the difference wasn’t as pronounced as it is today.

Officials for both Parkview Health and Lutheran Health Networks insist that the location of their newer hospitals was not driven by the income of residents.

Though he could not speak for the specific motives of Fort Wayne hospitals, an expert in the health care field says that income is usually a consideration.

In determining where to move, hospitals typically consider demand for medical services in a given area, the financial profile of nearby residents, building new versus renovating, access to major thoroughfares and proximity to growing populations, among other factors, said Steve Witz, director of Purdue University’s Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering.

In considering the economic profile of patients, hospitals look at the potential drain of Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement rates on the operating budget, he said.

Although people should reasonably expect access to basic services, hospitals also need to recoup enough to cover expenses, Witz added.

A shade of doubt

Asked whether there were any factors that could change Parkview’s plans to keep the Randallia campus in operation, Packnett said that all hospital administrators must keep an eye on Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates. That’s especially true given the proposed program cuts recently set forth by President Bush, he said.

“In the case of Randallia, we certainly have a higher Medicare and Medicaid population than (some) other hospitals,” including Parkview North, Packnett said.

In 2006, about 60 percent of Parkview Randallia’s inpatients were covered by Medicare or Medicaid, compared with 40 percent at Parkview North.

Still, he says Parkview isn’t planning to uproot itself from the near-northeast side.

“I don’t know that we can ever guarantee, … (but) our commitment and our mission is driving us to a continued presence.”

Despite its stated intentions otherwise, Jim Tolbert expects Parkview to eventually mirror the move of its cross-town competitor.

“All the things that motivated Lutheran to move are still in place and will cause Parkview to move,” said Tolbert, former president of the South Side Business Group.

Though he is aware of potential consequences for those left behind, Tolbert believes it is the prerogative of a business to locate where it sees fit.

Organizations of all stripes must remain viable to serve the public, he said. He expects Parkview will come to see its Randallia campus as a drain on overall operations and close it.

Eve Bratton, director of A.S.K. Ministries, hopes that’s not true, but she also doubts that Parkview will keep a presence on the near-northeast side. A.S.K. Ministries, at 2513 S. Calhoun St. on the city’s south side, provides free medical care to homeless and low-income patients.

The growing number of uninsured and underinsured is causing the payer pie to shrink and putting the squeeze on hospitals and health care providers, Bratton said. That’s ultimately sending many hospitals and health care providers, such as Parkview, to the suburbs.

“It’s closer to the more affluent people,” she said. “I think you have less bad debt.”

But the head of another not-for-profit agency providing care to the poor and uninsured doesn’t think it’ll come to that.

“I have much faith in Parkview,” said Nancy Schenkel, an administrator at Matthew 25 Health and Dental Clinic, 413 E. Jefferson Blvd., which offers free medical, dental, and vision services to poor and uninsured patients. “They recognize the need of the uninsured and low-income.”

Last year, Parkview Hospital donated $837,722 in financial assistance and in-kind services to Matthew 25. (Lutheran Health Network hospitals donated about $175,000 to the charity in 2006, and the network donated $25,000 more for the building project.) Parkview’s gift included $500,000 for a $2.9 million expansion and renovation of the clinic; about $160,000 of the clinic’s $1.4 million operating budget; and more than $175,000 in in-kind services.

But as Parkview moves many beds and medical services north, it plans to leave more than money for local charities.

Hospital officials say Parkview Randallia, which now has 582 beds, will retain a 64-bed hospital and a 107-bed behavioral health hospital at 1720 Beacon St. that treats patients suffering from emotional, behavioral and chemical dependency problems. It will have a full-service emergency room, outpatient services, obstetrics and surgery suites. And it will keep the Parkview Eye Institute in Carew Medical Park at 1818 Carew St., near the Randallia site.

With the reduction of beds, the hospital expects to raze the patient tower and parking garage. That means it will be getting something back that it has been lacking: its park view.

“This is going to be a great campus,” Packnett said.

mschroeder@jg.net
The Parkview network

Parkview Health, developed by Parkview Hospital in 1994 and incorporated in 1995, is a non-profit health system with about 6,300 full- and part-time employees. It owns these regional hospitals: Parkview Hospital on Randallia Drive, Parkview North Hospital near Dupont Road and Interstate 69, Parkview Huntington, Parkview Noble, Parkview Whitley and Parkview LaGrange.

Parkview Foundation is the fundraising entity for Parkview Hospital and facilities licensed under the hospital. Those include Parkview North, Orthopaedic Hospital at Parkview North and Parkview Behavioral Health near Parkview Randallia. Area hospitals except for Parkview LaGrange have their own fundraising foundations.

Top five salaries (2005, includes bonus and deferred compensation):

•Chief executive officer, $574,390

•Chief quality officer, $415,486

•Executive vice president of strategic planning, $345,298

•Chief information officer, $333,599

•Chief financial officer, $316,914.

Note: names are not listed because most positions including CEO saw changes since 2005 when the salaries were reported by Parkview Health to the Internal Revenue Service.

jpIllInoIs

March 13th, 2007, 03:35 PM

Thanks to the contributions of Strate and others, this thread has grown into a general Ft. Wayne development topic. Maybe the Mods could rename it and we could look forward to some more regular updates and photos of Ft.W.

Strate

March 14th, 2007, 07:33 AM

agreed

astyrrian

March 16th, 2007, 01:15 AM

I agree also. It would be great to have a Fort Wayne development thread.

astyrrian

March 17th, 2007, 07:07 PM

Click the pictures for even bigger sizes

http://mycast.orb.com/orb/data/image?mediumId=OCKwG4CG&l=scott_dfwb&maxWidth=800&maxHeight=600 (http://bp1.blogger.com/_dU4PeM0ozQg/RflfIYL1HAI/AAAAAAAAAH0/Tyq2OZL-Yso/s1600-h/Site_Plan_MARCH_9_2.jpg)

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http://mycast.orb.com/orb/data/image?mediumId=OMFG8bL4&l=scott_dfwb&maxWidth=800&maxHeight=600 (http://bp0.blogger.com/_dU4PeM0ozQg/RflgLIL1HDI/AAAAAAAAAIM/0Ym66tVBjBo/s1600-h/Board_Charity_Social.jpg)

http://mycast.orb.com/orb/data/image?mediumId=OXRbLPYd&l=scott_dfwb&maxWidth=800&maxHeight=600 (http://bp1.blogger.com/_dU4PeM0ozQg/Rfld_YL1G5I/AAAAAAAAAG8/32E1Z4YzEWk/s1600-h/Board_Charity_Social_Fireworks_Final.jpg)

jpIllInoIs

March 20th, 2007, 04:55 AM

Nice capture Astyrrian!

This is exciting! I like the loft building as viewed frim the dining concourse. Is that an existing structure?

astyrrian

March 20th, 2007, 02:21 PM

Nice capture Astyrrian!

This is exciting! I like the loft building as viewed frim the dining concourse. Is that an existing structure?
No, it will be brand new. It reminds me of the B&O Warehouse building outside right field at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

Strate

March 30th, 2007, 04:18 PM

Pro basketball nearing return to Fort Wayne
By DERRICK GINGERY
derrickg@fwbusiness.com (Created: Friday, March 30, 2007 7:02 AM EDT)

It’s not a slam dunk yet, but professional basketball could return to Fort Wayne this fall.

An ownership group is in place to create a National Basketball Association Development League team to play at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. Some details still are being worked out, but Kent Partridge, D-League vice president of communications, said March 27 an official announcement could come soon, possibly in the next week or so.

“We don’t want to go into anything until we’ve closed on the thing,” Partridge said. “I think it’s just a matter of time.”

The team’s arrival would make it the second new professional sports team to come to Fort Wayne in more than four months. It also would be the first time in six years Fort Wayne has been home to a professional basketball team. The Fort Wayne Fury folded when the Continental Basketball Association collapsed in 2001.

The new team would be owned by a group that includes Fort Wayne attorney Dennis Sutton, former AT&T Wireless executive John Zeglis and Chicago attorney Jeff Potter.

Potter refused to comment on the status of the team being approved by the NBA.

“Hopefully soon, that’s all I can tell you,” he said of when the deal could be completed.

A lease with the coliseum still has not been finalized, said coliseum General Manager Randy Brown.

“We continue advancing,” he said. “Time will tell.”

A local marketing person has been identified for the team, and Asher Agency has a hand-shake agreement to handle advertising and public relations, said Tom Borne, the agency’s president.

Partridge said time could become a factor in getting the team up and running for the 2007-08 season. The season begins in November, and team officials need time to sell tickets and obtain corporate sponsorships.

He said it still is possible to get everything set up in time, and there is no set cut-off date at which playing in the upcoming season wouldn’t be allowed.

Ideally, minor-league sports teams want as many weekend dates as possible for home games because those dates offer the best chance for drawing larger crowds.

The D-League regular season and playoffs run from November through April, which coincides with Fort Wayne Komet hockey and Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne men’s and women’s basketball.

The Fort Wayne Fusion arena football season begins near the end of March, meaning that season, too, could overlap with the D-League team’s. Postseason games and non-sporting events in the arena could add more potential conflicts.

Brown said scheduling the arena for more basketball games is workable. Partridge said there are no D-League requirements for weekend dates.

“Obviously you prefer weekends,” Partridge said. “There are a lot of markets that share a building with hockey. I don’t think it should be a competitive thing.”

The NBA is positioning the D-League, founded in 2001, to become a full-fledged farm system for its franchises to develop talent. The league now is for first- and second-year players who are not ready for NBA competition.

The Fort Wayne Wizards baseball team is part of the Major League Baseball farm system and develops talent for the San Diego Padres.

Fort Wayne potentially is a good fit for the D-League because of its proximity to Indianapolis and the Indiana Pacers franchise, as well as Detroit, which is home to the Pistons. The Pistons were founded in Fort Wayne in 1940 and moved to Detroit in 1957.

The D-League has 12 teams playing this year. Seven are affiliated with three NBA franchises. Another four are affiliated with two NBA teams. The Los Angeles D-League team is affiliated only with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Pacers are affiliated with the Albuquerque, N.M., D-League team, and the Pistons are affiliated with the Sioux Falls, S.D., team.

Partridge said new team affiliations will be announced after the season ends, likely by mid-May or early June. With the addition of Fort Wayne and other planned expansion teams, there would be 16 teams playing in the 2007-08 season.

Partridge said that would nearly allow two NBA teams for each D-League team. The Lakers own their affiliated D-League team, which only uses Laker players.

Ultimately, the D-League would like to expand to 30 teams, one for each NBA franchise, Partridge said.

http://www.fwdailynews.com/articles/2007/03/30/greater_fort_wayne/news/doc460c1bc72665a761771418.txt

Strate

March 30th, 2007, 04:20 PM

Hotel deal taking longer than expected
BY DERRICK GINGERY
derrickg@fwbusiness.com (Created: Friday, March 30, 2007 7:33 AM EDT)

An agreement with the prospective developer of a downtown hotel may not be ready for City Council consideration when expected, but Fort Wayne leaders remain hopeful.

Greg Leatherman, Fort Wayne deputy director of development, said March 28 both sides are talking every day and a face-to-face meeting was scheduled for that week. But he said enough detail may not be available for the City Council to review an agreement by the mid-April time frame that had been discussed.

City officials had said in February they expected a memorandum of understanding to be negotiated by the end of March.

The 250-room hotel is a linchpin of the proposed Harrison Square project, which also would bring retail space, condominiums, a parking garage and a new minor-league baseball stadium to downtown near the Grand Wayne Center.

City Council members are divided. Those who support and those who oppose the project made their arguments at a meeting March 27.

Harrison Square is expected to generate $160 million in public and private investment downtown when all phases are completed, according to supporters. The council must approve the project for it to move forward.

No matter what happens, Leatherman said developers Acquest Realty Advisors Inc. and White Lodging Services Corp. said they are still interested in building the hotel. But he said there might be more pressure to accept a less upscale hotel than the full-service Marriott that has been proposed.

“Their answer was they believe Harrison Square will ensure a greater chance of higher profitability of the hotel in the area than if there wasn’t Harrison Square,” Leatherman said. “There was no indication that they would stop talking to us if Harrison Square died.”

Councilmen Tim Pape and Sam Talarico Jr. spoke in favor of the project during the council meeting. They said it is an opportunity that should not be ignored, a project that could draw young people and high-paying jobs back to Fort Wayne and also would fight urban sprawl.

They said jobs today are following people, rather than the opposite; and economic development policy now includes attracting young people, not just companies and factories.

“If we don’t take bold action in the community, this will not be a place where our children can come back,” Talarico said.

While the entire project was the subject of the presentation, a large portion of the discussion focused on the stadium, which has been the biggest source of contention.

“I really want people to recognize this is something we don’t have,” Talarico said of the proposed stadium.

Council President Don Schmidt and councilmen Tom Smith and John Shoaff offered the counterpoint.

Smith said the city should consider developing the Harrison Square concept — not including the hotel — along the downtown riverfront instead of near the Grand Wayne Center.

Shoaff cited several studies that indicated new sports stadiums do not lead to increased economic development. One study he cited concluded stadiums don’t generate additional revenue, they just shift revenue because people spend money at the stadium instead of somewhere else. The researcher also found that some stadium profits go to companies and workers outside of town rather than into the local economy.

Stadiums also had negative effects on local governments’ budgets because the public helped pay for them, one study said.

Given the amount the city will spend on the project, Schmidt questioned whether the money should go toward a type of facility the city already has.

“Certainly we can come up with something better than duplication,” he said.

http://www.fwdailynews.com/articles/2007/03/30/greater_fort_wayne/news/doc460cf127b196e259549629.txt

Strate

April 4th, 2007, 04:07 PM

Biting into downtown

Paucity of crowds at night, on weekend makes for risky move, but eateries are cooking

By Jenni Glenn
The Journal Gazette

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It seemed appropriate for Andrew Thomas and Peter Bobeck to discuss their plans to open a downtown restaurant over lunch in the city center.

But the future business partners couldn’t get in one restaurant and waited in line at another before finally sitting down to eat.

“We’re sitting there talking about (starting) a restaurant and we can’t even find a table,” Thomas said.

Bobeck and Thomas no longer have that problem. On Monday, they opened 816 Pint & Slice, which serves pizza by the slice, with partners Angela Twiss and Matt Thomas.

The Calhoun Street restaurant joins several other restaurants scheduled to open downtown this year, part of a spate of investment in the heart of the city. Developers are considering building a commercial building along Superior Street that could contain more restaurants. And an established downtown eatery, Club Soda, is investing $350,000 to add patio seating to its Superior Street building.

Based on their experience, the owners of 816 Pint & Slice think there is plenty of room in the marketplace for more downtown restaurants. The partners designed their concept to serve busy office workers pressed for time during the lunch hour, but they hope 816 Pint & Slice will evolve into a popular evening and weekend hangout as well.

The partners hope their $50,000 investment will create one more business to help draw crowds downtown, Bobeck said. Each successful restaurant and shop gives people another reason to spend time downtown.

“They kind of feed off each other,” he said. “It happens one little step at a time.”

Around the corner, another project is unfolding behind the boarded-up entrance to 121 W. Wayne St. An as-yet unnamed Irish pub is scheduled to open there in the summer, said Scott Glaze, who is opening the restaurant with his wife, Melissa, and other partners. Glaze is the chairman and chief executive of Fort Wayne Metals Research Products Corp. He and his wife drew inspiration for the venture from their trips to the company’s plant in County Mayo, Ireland.

The Glazes, who have no previous restaurant experience, and their partners are investing several hundred thousand dollars in the venture because they want to help revitalize downtown. Scott Glaze said he didn’t have a dream to open an eatery, but he thought the city could benefit from having additional restaurants and other destinations downtown. Local residents need to step up and create businesses to make the city center more vibrant, he said.

A local developer is eyeing another project that could generate interest in downtown. John McKay and his brother, architect Michael McKay, are considering constructing a commercial building with condominiums on Superior Street between North Clinton Street and Club Soda, said Dan Carmody, director of the Downtown Improvement District. John McKay did not return calls seeking comment on the project.

Preliminary plans for Superior Street Row call for stores and restaurant space on the street level of the building and condominiums on the upper three levels, Carmody said. The city would need to decide whether to sell its parking lot on the site to make room for the two-phase project.

If the project moves forward, Superior Street Row would be next door to an expanded Club Soda. The restaurant is building a second floor patio over its existing one, which would be enclosed with French doors and used for private parties, said Noelle Reith, general manager and owner. Then Club Soda will build a new street-level patio. The restaurant hopes to have the second-floor patio completed by May and the rest of the project finished next year, she said.

“The city’s really focusing on improving downtown,” Reith said, “and we thought we’d better jump on this right now.”

Club Soda’s $350,000 expansion will add 100 seats to the restaurant, Reith said. She already is looking to hire four additional servers and two full-time bartenders to help handle additional customers.

People fill downtown streets at lunchtime during the week, but it will take more effort to make the area a night and weekend hot spot, said Roque Calvo, co-owner of the Cancun Mexican Grille on Columbia Street. The Mexican restaurant has fared well since its Jan. 14 opening, but the owners want to draw more people to live band performances on Friday and Saturday nights. The area tends to empty out after office workers head home for the weekend, he said.

In an industry where nearly a quarter of businesses fail within the first year, a lack of nighttime traffic can be a scary prospect. A 2003 study done by the Plano, Texas-based Cline Group found that about 23 percent of restaurants in Dallas failed during their first year of operation. The study, which examined phone book listings for restaurants spanning six years, was done for Restaurant Start & Growth Magazine, an industry publication.

The possibility of failure is all too real for the partners in 816 Pint & Slice. The building where the restaurant is located formerly housed Julian’s Gourmet Pizzeria, which closed two years ago. But the owners’ vision and business plan gives partner Angela Twiss confidence that the venture will succeed.

“It’s not necessarily a scary thing because I have faith in these two,” she said, gesturing to partners Thomas and Bobeck.

Half of the partners also bring previous restaurant experience to the business venture. Twiss was assistant general manager of Mad Anthony Brewing Co. and the Original Munchie Emporium on Broadway. Bobeck owns the sports bar Buckets Sports Pub & Grub and Spoons Bistro on the city’s southwest side.

The Harrison Square project could prove to be a great catalyst for downtown restaurants, Thomas said. The proposed ballpark, a third downtown hotel, condominiums and a parking garage would help draw additional nighttime and weekend traffic to the area.

Some existing restaurants already are proving downtown can draw a nighttime crowd, Glaze said. Toscani Pizzeria, which opened 14 months ago, showed that an eatery in the heart of the city could support a thriving dinner business. That restaurant inspired several of the entrepreneurs who are opening eateries in the area, he said.

Toscani’s owners, Mike and Julie Harris, are welcoming the new additions to the neighborhood. The restaurants will compete for customers, but opening more eateries will help encourage people to eat and live downtown, Mike Harris said.

Developing a critical mass of restaurants downtown should keep pulling traffic into the area, Carmody said.

“The more storefront business we can get – retail, restaurants – makes for a more lively downtown,” he said.

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/17024810.htm

----------
Superior Street Row has been talked about for over a year now I think; I hope it turn out. It would, I believe, be the most distinctive building downtown. I hope this is just a start.

Strate

April 5th, 2007, 03:31 PM

Parts of sound wall on I-69 to go down
Sections to be moved to benefit businesses
By Benjamin Lanka
The Journal Gazette

A portion of the sound barrier wall along Interstate 69 in Fort Wayne will be moved from its spot in front of businesses to a new home shielding residents from noise.

The Indiana Department of Transportation Wednesday announced it will remove a 1,300-foot section of the wall south of the Washington Center Road bridge after numerous area businesses complained the wall blocked their visibility.

“We’re just glad to see them come down,” said Gary Osborn, owner of Osborn Part and Service for Harley-Davidson Victory Motorcycles and Polaris ATVs. “It’s the right thing to do.”

Osborn said his business saw a drop in sales after the walls were erected.

Ben Lawrence, environmental policy administrator for INDOT, said the decision was made because several business owners voiced concerns about a loss of visibility from the interstate. After being contacted by the businesses, the state reviewed the situation to develop a compromise.

The wall was the first to be built by the state and will be the first to be removed. The walls went up in conjunction with a $130 million project to increase the highway from four to six lanes.

The sound barriers were required as long as affected residents wanted them, the state reported. Residents requested the walls at meetings on Sept. 24, 2002, and Sept. 22, 2003, according to the transportation department.

Businesses that were affected by the barrier, however, were not notified of the public meetings. The state previously said businesses were expected to learn about the public meetings on their own. The state procedures have since changed to require notification of businesses that would be affected by sound barriers.

The barriers will not be disposed of but will be moved to the section of I-69 between Coldwater and Dupont roads which will be expanded over the next two years from four to six lanes.

The state will not know the cost of moving the walls until bids are received.

blanka@jg.net

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/17031716.htm

----
I had no idea these were the first walls in the state. :dunno:

Strate

April 5th, 2007, 03:37 PM

Parts of Calhoun to get makeover
Wider sidewalk, music among additions
By Benjamin Lanka
The Journal Gazette

This year, drivers will have easier access using Calhoun Street downtown, and pedestrians could even be able to walk with music along the street.

The Fort Wayne Board of Public Works on Wednesday approved granting additional space for a sidewalk along Calhoun and the use of a room in the Civic Center garage for a project to enhance several blocks of the street.

The City Council last year voted to open the section of Calhoun between Washington Boulevard and Berry Street to two-way traffic.

The section currently allows only northbound travel. The switch was to provide another north-south route for vehicles after the closure of Webster and Harrison streets.

Craig Berndt, the city’s community development administrator, said the city plans to enhance the stretch of Calhoun from Jefferson Boulevard to Berry.

In the block of Calhoun between Jefferson and Washington, the city is putting in new on-street parking on both sides of the street that would shrink the sidewalk to 4 feet wide on one side. The works board approved granting additional room to expand the sidewalk to 8 feet.

“We want it to be wide,” Berndt said.

The extra sidewalk will take away some of the concrete area in front of the Fort Wayne-Allen County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Berndt said he is hopeful the sidewalk will be made of brick pavers, but that will depend on cost.

While walking on those sidewalks, pedestrians may be graced with holiday tunes or other music during the year. Berndt said small speakers are likely to be placed on the street lights to play background music.

The city needed the room in the garage to house its control box for the street lights and speakers.

Berndt said the city expects to begin work on the Calhoun project immediately after this summer’s Three Rivers Festival.

He said it would likely take four to five months to complete, but he was confident it would be finished this year.

The city will present the plan for Calhoun at a meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Allen County Bar Association.

blanka@jg.net

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/17031723.htm

Strate

April 6th, 2007, 01:18 AM

City could purchase, redevelop OmniSource propertyBY DERRICK GINGERY (Created: Thursday, April 5, 2007 3:30 PM EDT)
derrickg@fwbusiness.com

City officials today announced they have an option to purchase the OmniSource property just north of downtown and are soliciting ideas for its development.

City officials paid $25,000 in January for an option to purchase the 29-acre property for $4.3 million. The option will expire Dec. 31.

Wendy Stein, of Stein Advertising, and attorney Rick Samek will chair a study group, which will have three to four months to give a recommendation for the property. An aquatic center, water park and ice rinks already have been discussed as possibilities, but Stein and Samek said "it's a clean slate" at this point.

A youth sports complex for the area was recommended as part of downtown improvement plans.

The OmniSource property could be linked with parts of the YWCA site and other areas to create up to 50 acres for potential development.

The north river development study comes as City Council members debate the Harrison Square proposal, which includes a new baseball stadium, hotel and commercial, residential and retail space south of the Grand Wayne Center. About $160 million in public and private investment is expected for that project.

Mayor Graham Richard said he is not worried the north river development, when considered along with the Harrison Square proposal, will be too much for residents.

"A bias for action is good in an economy where we competing around the world," he said.

Deputy Mayor Mark Becker said OmniSource officials have indicated the site is free of environmental contamination, but the city will conduct its own due diligence.

The task force is expected to have its 25 to 27 members selected by early next week and its first meeting by the end of the month. It will include Fort Wayne and Allen County officials.

Public meetings in which residents and developers will be able to present ideas are expected to begin sometime in May.

http://www.fwdailynews.com/articles/2007/04/05/greater_fort_wayne/news/today/4-5story1.txt

Strate

April 6th, 2007, 03:45 PM

North Anthony leads the way
Business owners, residents get together to revitalize the area
By Kathleen Quilligan
kquilligan@news-sentinel.com

Michael Woodruff says it best.

“We all like to look at pretty things.”

It’s because of that sentiment that Woodruff, the owner of Old Crown Coffee Roasters, 3410 N. Anthony Blvd., joined other business owners and residents on North Anthony Boulevard to revitalize the stretch of businesses between St. Joe River Drive and Crescent Avenue — an area that Mo Palmer calls a sea of concrete.

Palmer, a North Anthony homeowner, created the North Anthony Alliance in 2004 after she and her son tried to ride their bikes from their home to the Firefly Coffee House, 3523 N. Anthony Blvd. They discovered it was nearly impossible because curbs took a toll on their bikes’ tires as they tried to avoid cars entering and exiting the shopping plazas.

Three years later, the North Anthony Alliance is well on its way to making the corridor a pedestrian-friendly destination that will cater to the nearby campuses and homeowners.

Some residents might think “revitalization” is a word only associated with “downtown,” but the North Anthony Alliance is just one of many citizen-formed groups working to revive other areas of the city. Palmer calls it new urbanism.

“We don’t interact in our vehicles. You’re anonymous with no face-to-face contact. Walking around builds the community a lot more,” she said.

Palmer would like to see one lane removed and the area turned into green space with an 8-foot trail running along the side. She wants to see many of the parking lots consolidated, which might cost the stores a few parking spots, but points out that’s better than climbing over guardrails.

Working with the alliance is Bruce Johnson, a planner for the city. He helped the group secure Community Economic Development Income Tax money to fund an engineering study. The study by Fort Wayne-based DLZ Consulting, scheduled to be completed this summer, should give an idea of how much the project would cost.

Palmer estimated a cost of between $600,000 and $1 million, paid by property owners, the city, the alliance and donations. But property owners can get some help because of a recent change to Barrett Law.

City Council recently passed an ordinance that will allow businesses to borrow money from the city to help with improvements. Previously the option was available only to residential property owners to help finance new streets, curbs, sidewalks, alleys and sewers. The law was opened up because of projects such as the North Anthony Alliance’s.

“It’s no different than saying ‘Hey, let’s paint the house,’ ” Woodruff said. “Now we’ll see what we can actually do, what we can actually afford.”

Palmer looks forward to the day when she can make it from her home to the businesses down the street. “On a good day, I should be able to do all my business on my bike.”

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/17038339.htm

------
There was another story about this a couple months ago. It had a rendering of the area. Currently a stretch of it is six lanes.

Edit: I found a story with more background. http://www.fortwaynereader.com/story.php?uid=856
Couple quotes out of it follow:

"Palmer adds that there are 22 driveways on the west side; the plan calls to reduce those to seven, and have a winding multi-use path as opposed to a regular sidewalk."

One of the points of the North Anthony Alliance proposal calls for eliminating a third lane of traffic on the west side, and replacing about 50,000 square feet of asphalt with green space. “Right now, it’s virtually a sea of concrete and asphalt,” says Mo Palmer. “That entire west lane of traffic in the current plan will be removed, and that’s where the additional green space and a sidewalk will be put in. Lighting and benches and all that kind of thing will be installed.”

Strate

April 6th, 2007, 03:58 PM

Group maps fate of city land buy
By Benjamin Lanka
The Journal Gazette

http://www.fortwayne.com/images/fortwayne/journalgazette/news/0406_Riverfront_04-06-2007_G79P71Q.jpg

Fort Wayne residents and investors will help decide what should be downtown north of the rivers – be it a water park, natatorium or other project.

Mayor Graham Richard on Thursday announced the creation of the North River Downtown Task Force to look at developing land downtown just north of the St. Marys River.

The city revealed it had signed an option in January to buy 29 acres of land owned by OmniSource in the area west of Clinton Street, south of the former YWCA property and east of Harrison Street.

The city paid $25,000 for a $4.3 million purchase option for the land, Deputy Mayor Mark Becker said.

Richard said residents have been interested in developing the land north of the river for years and that the city has received interest from developers for multiple uses. City officials said those include a youth sports complex, an indoor water park, natatorium, more recreational ice or an expansion of Lawton Park.

Because the land area is so large, Richard said several developments could be in the area, and it would be up to the task force to prioritize the options.

Rick Samek, co-chairman of the task force, said he hopes the group begins meeting this month and will quickly invite people interested in developing the area. He said any ideas would be welcome and that he hopes to hear some new ones.

“It’s a clean slate in the way I see it,” he said.

Samek is an attorney with Carson Boxberger and is chairman of the Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Board.

Richard said the group should make a recommendation within 120 days.

Some critics of the mayor’s Harrison Square proposal have questioned why other developments were not considered instead of a ballpark.

Richard has said pushing the ballpark doesn’t preclude other developments, and he said this project should move forward regardless of the fate of Harrison Square.

Besides the city-owned baseball stadium, the $125 million public-private Harrison Square proposal would bring a new hotel, new condominiums, more parking and new retail to downtown.

Richard said it is appropriate for the city to move forward on both downtown projects to help revitalize the city’s core. He said it would be unwise to not continue taking bold steps.

“To limit our vision is to limit the potential future of our city,” he said.

Becker said the timing of the riverfront announcement wasn’t to appease critics of Harrison Square but that it is part of the city’s overall plan for downtown.

The 2005 Blueprint Plus downtown plan said the north-river core area represents a prime opportunity for transforming a near-river site into a lively, sought-out attraction.

But Wendy Stein, co-chairwoman of the group, said the area could represent a location for many of the ideas people have pitched to replace the baseball stadium in Harrison Square. Stein, of Stein Advertising, is president of the Young Leaders of Northeast Indiana.

City Councilman Tom Smith, R-1st, has long been a proponent of riverfront development, saying he would support Harrison Square if it were in the area the city now plans to examine.

Smith said he is pleased the city obtained an option on the land and hopes to see it developed.

“That land is some of the most important land in the downtown area,” he said. “I think it’s the key to any and all future development.”

The city’s decision does not allay Smith’s concerns about Harrison Square because they are two separate projects, he said.

The full task force is expected to be appointed next week and will have about 25 members.

Strate

April 6th, 2007, 04:05 PM

Mayor hopeful stirs buzz with Harrison Square poll
By Benjamin Lanka
The Journal Gazette

Republican Fort Wayne mayoral hopeful Matt Kelty on Thursday released information from a public opinion poll indicating a majority of residents oppose the Harrison Square project, but project supporters criticized the significance and methodology of the poll.

Kelty, an architect, has long been a critic of Mayor Graham Richard’s Harrison Square proposal. The $125 million public-private development includes a new hotel, new condominiums, new retail and a city-owned baseball stadium in downtown.

The poll – conducted by Zogby International – was based on phone interviews between March 27 and March 29 with 401 likely Fort Wayne voters. Kelty said his campaign did not commission the poll and he declined to reveal who ordered and financed the effort. He said the poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Of the poll’s respondents, 259 identified themselves as Republicans, 60 identified themselves as Democrats, two identified themselves as Libertarians and 80 were independents or had other party affiliation.

Two of the poll questions were released by Kelty, who said it contained other questions that didn’t involve Harrison Square.

The first question asked, “Do you support or oppose the Harrison Square downtown development as proposed by the City of Fort Wayne?”

About 32 percent of respondents supported the plan, 54 percent opposed and the remainder were undecided. The data showed Democrats favored the project more than Republicans.

Kelty said the poll results validated his beliefs about the project, which he says involves too much public money. He said he released the data because he doesn’t want to have to overcome the project as an obstacle should he become mayor.

“This matter is in the hands of the existing City Council,” he said. “If they are bound and determined to rush this ill-conceived idea through, then I will do the best I can as mayor in making it a success.”

The council is expected to vote on the financing for the project this month.

Kelty faces a strong challenger in the Republican mayoral primary, in Allen County Commissioner Nelson Peters, before he can begin a campaign for the November general election.

According to a breakdown of respondents, which was not provided, Kelty said people most likely to support Harrison Square either made more than $100,000 per year, were single, were younger than 34 or have lived in Fort Wayne for less than 10 years.

When asked about the poll, a visibly frustrated Mayor Graham Richard said the poll was naturally biased, as it only included people with home phones. He said many young people only use cell phones. He also said he sees a lot of energy and support for downtown development and believed polls can be done to justify any action.

“I’m not a believer that you lead by poll,” Richard said.

The second poll question asked, “Whether or not you support or oppose the project as a whole, which one of the following parts of the city’s proposed Harrison Square project are you most opposed to?”

The results showed 57.3 percent of respondents chose the ballpark, 18.4 percent chose the public financing and 14.4 percent were not sure. Kelty’s news release proclaimed that nearly 76 percent of the public opposed the ballpark and public financing of the project.

“The public’s already paid for one baseball stadium,” Kelty said, referring to Memorial Stadium on Coliseum Boulevard.

City Councilman Sam Talarico, R-at-large, attacked the wording of the question, saying it basically forced respondents to pick something they opposed. He said Kelty’s logic could have included all the responses to show almost everyone opposed the project.

“By its very nature, you are asking for a negative response,” he said. “It’s misleading to say the least.”

Talarico has been a vocal proponent for Harrison Square and a supporter of Kelty’s main primary challenger, Peters.

Peters said he was concerned with the fact Kelty wouldn’t release who commissioned the poll.

“If you won’t do that, you’ve got to question the poll in and of itself,” he said.

Peters said he supports a catalyst project to help grow the city’s tax base, but he does not favor directly replicating an existing community asset.

“We’ve got to have a catalyst to grow the core to help grow the region,” Peters said. “If we don’t grow the region, we’re dead.”

Kelty said he was grateful for the poll because it confirms feedback he’s received while campaigning. He said he likely would release more information from the poll next week after he’s further reviewed it.

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/17037847.htm

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This is crazy! I hope this poll just shot himself in the foot, doesn't get any more suspicious.

astyrrian

April 13th, 2007, 12:19 AM

St. Joseph to construct $7 million office building downtown
Plans to combine with existing offices for 65,000-square-foot site
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/17066995.htm

Officials from St. Joseph Hospital and the Fort Wayne Medical Education Program this morning announced plans to construct a $7 million, 29,000-square-foot medical office building downtown.

The new building is expected to benefit patients and provide a new home for 40 medical residents. Construction on the building, which will be on the plaza located between the hospital and current medical office building, both located on Broadway, is expected to begin by the end of May.

In addition, renovation of the existing 36,000-square-foot medical office building will transform the new and old buildings into one 65,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility.

When completed, the Fort Wayne Medical Education Program will relocate from its current home at 2434 Lake Ave. to a new home on the St. Joseph Hospital campus.

Fort Wayne Medical Education oversees 31 family practice and nine orthopedic residents during training that lasts between three and five years respectively. Physicians who are enrolled in the program care for patients at St. Joseph, Lutheran and Parkview hospitals.

“St. Joseph Hospital is proud to play a vital role in the continued reinvestment in downtown Fort Wayne and we look forward to a successful partnership with the Medical Education Program,” Kirk Ray, chief executive officer of St. Joseph Hospital, said in a news release. “This commitment allows both St. Joe and Fort Wayne Med Ed to continue to serve the communities in and around the heart of the city long into the future.”

Strate

April 13th, 2007, 08:40 AM

To follow up Astyrrian

Video:
http://wane.com/global/video/popup/pop_player.asp?ClipID1=1362391&h1=St.%20Joe%20Announces%20Plans%20for%20Downtown%20Medical%20Building&vt1=v&at1=Health&d1=124666&LaunchPageAdTag=News&activePane=info&playerVersion=1&hostPageUrl=http%3A//wane.com/Global/story.asp%3FS%3D6362709&rnd=27077734
Images:
http://wane.images.worldnow.com/images/6362709_SS.jpg
http://www.fwdailynews.com/content/articles/2007/04/12/greater_fort_wayne/news/today/4-12story1.jpg

rob_1412

April 22nd, 2007, 04:33 PM

Good work keeping the forum updated on Fort Wayne, folks. I'm cautiously optimistic about Harrison Square. I think it's the right thing to do, but as a long-time resident (West Central continuously since 1966), I'm familiar with the revered local tradition of arguing about a new idea until it withers and then doing about a third of it, and that really half-assed, and then saying, "See. I told you it was a bad idea."

I signed up on SSC about 3 years ago, but haven't spent much time here in a while.

I've been hanging out at sksycraperpage.com (http://www.skyscraperpage.com/) and urbanohio.com (http://www.urbanohio.com/) most of the time since then, but I'll probably swing by here more often.

hoosier

April 25th, 2007, 07:38 PM

Written by the AP but appeared in the 4/25/07 edition of the Indianapolis Star:

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The City Council approved spending $26 million from local income tax collections to support a downtown development plan that includes construction of a 250-room hotel and a new minor-league baseball stadium.

Council members voted 6-3 Tuesday night in support of the project, which received significant support from city business leaders.

“The reason you see so many business people coming and speaking for this project is because it’s a good deal,” said Mike Ottenweller, president of Ottenweller Co. “It’s a good business deal.”

Those who spoke against the project said they worried about how much public money would be spent on a private investment and that they were unconvinced that a new baseball stadium would attract other downtown development.

Councilman Tom Smith voted against the project, but encouraged residents to support it and said he will do everything he can to help make the development work.
The $130 million project has been touted by Mayor Graham Richard as a catalyst to bring investment to the city’s core. The project also calls for a 900-space parking garage, 60 condominiums and 30,000 square feet of retail space.

City officials say $67 million of the project’s cost will come from Hardball Capital, which owns the Fort Wayne Wizards baseball team, and the hotel developers, Acquest Realty Advisors and White Lodging Services. The remaining $63 million is to come from public money, including the local income tax revenue and property taxes derived from the project.

The new 5,000-seat baseball stadium would replace the existing 6,300-seat Memorial Stadium, which was completed in 1993 near Memorial Coliseum on the city’s north side.

City officials expect the new stadium, estimated to cost $30 million, to be completed before the 2009 baseball season.

LouisvilleJake

April 25th, 2007, 09:20 PM

Good for Fort Wayne! I was really hoping they would approve this.

cwilson758

April 26th, 2007, 08:15 PM

I like the idea for DT Ft Wayne, but the existing baseball stadium is only 14 years old??? Talk about poor planning.

hoosier

April 26th, 2007, 08:40 PM

I like the idea for DT Ft Wayne, but the existing baseball stadium is only 14 years old??? Talk about poor planning.

No kidding. But the existing stadium is set in a HUGE parking lot with nothing else around it. The Coliseum is sort of nearby, but there is a big parking lot between the two stadiums.

Ft. Wayne should have built the stadium downtown back in 1993.

Strate

April 27th, 2007, 12:23 AM

The old stadium was built for 6M at a time when others where being built for 15M, from the get go this was a bare bones concrete bunker, no improvements have been made to it since '93. In 2001 the city started exploring the relocation of the stadium to the DT area, both of the studies follow.

BlueprintPlus, 2005
http://www.cityoffortwayne.org/images/stories/community_development/redevelopment/files/blueprintplus%20finala.pdf

ENABLING DEVELOPMENT IN DOWNTOWN FORT WAYNE --
AN EVALUATION OF THE MERITS OF BUILDING A DOWNTOWN MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL STADIUM
http://www.cityoffortwayne.org/images/stories/fort_wayne/city_of_fort_wayne/files/report_full.pdf

Hardball Capital (HC) owns the Wizards. Barry Real Estate (associated w/ HC) has agreed to develope retail and living space downtown due to the ball park being downtown. If both the retail and living meet the preset agreement they (Barry Real Estate) are under contract to complete two more phases of retail and living.

The city will own the ball park. HC will manage (and pay for) the parks operations. For the investment they made in the retail and condos they must have activity at the ball park daily.

Strate

April 27th, 2007, 03:25 PM

Strate

May 10th, 2007, 10:12 PM

Ground broken on new hotel
Holiday Inn on Coliseum Boulevard will also be working lab for students.
By Kathleen Quilligan

http://www.fortwayne.com/images/fortwayne/newssentinel/news/hotel1_05-10-2007_ST8994E.jpg

http://wane.images.worldnow.com/images/6496759_SS.jpg

Fort Wayne’s newest Holiday Inn won’t be your average hotel.

True, once construction is completed in 2008, the new Holiday Inn on Coliseum Boulevard will have 150 beds, a restaurant, a pool and meeting rooms like other hotels. But one of the features that makes it unique is a laboratory that can be used for cooking demonstrations, a dining room and a lecture hall – and even turned into a makeshift casino.

A groundbreaking was scheduled for this morning at the construction site next to the American Red Cross of Northeast Indiana.

John Knight, a professor in the hospitality and tourism management program at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, said the laboratory is just one way having a hotel affiliated with the university will help strengthen his program, which serves about 125 students.

“Rather than study the theoretical, students will be able to connect to the community and get hands-on practice in the subject matter,” said Knight, also the president of the Northeast Indiana Hospitality Association.

The site of the new hotel is owned by Allen County but leased by the IPFW Foundation, a nonprofit group that raises money for university-related activities. Under terms of a sublease between the foundation and Focus Development Inc., the Valparaiso-based hospitality company will pay the foundation 2 percent of the total revenue generated by the hotel. The deal could be worth $100,000 per year.

Although the land under the hotel is owned by the county, the lease requires Focus to pay all taxes and assume all costs of liability insurance.

Memorial Coliseum officials began talking about a hotel several years ago, claiming they were losing business because of the lack of adjacent lodging. Original plans called for a hotel on coliseum property, but the project moved across Coliseum Boulevard after university officials proposed use of 3.5 acres owned by the county but leased by the foundation.

With the addition of the hotel, IPFW and the Northeast Culinary Arts program at Ivy Tech Community College will join Cornell University, the University of Houston and the University of Delaware in having a working hotel affiliated with their management programs.

While the hotel will be run by a professional staff, a steady stream of students will filter in and out of the hotel daily, completing internships, going to class and doing research in areas such as pool management, housekeeping and marketing concepts, Knight said.

The tourism and hospitality management program began at IPFW in 1976 as a two-year degree program. It became a four-year degree in 1999 when IPFW reached an agreement to have its students participate in Ivy Tech’s culinary arts program. Knight said in the 15 years he’s been with the university, his program has grown from 20 students to 125, and he expects that number to double in the next decade, partly because of the addition of the hotel.

“I want students to look at (hospitality management) as a career rather than just flipping burgers,” he said.”

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/17205771.htm

Holiday Inn timeline

♦March 2005: IPFW announces a new Holiday Inn on county-owned land under long-term lease to the nonprofit IPFW Foundation will be built across from the Memorial Coliseum with private money.

♦October 2006: The Allen County Commissioners vote to ask the Board of Zoning Appeals to waive a height restriction of 35 feet on the hotel. The planned hotel is six stories, making it 76 feet high.

♦May 2007: Groundbreaking ceremony

♦Summer 2008: Construction scheduled to be complete

Strate

May 22nd, 2007, 03:22 PM

Granite City chooses Summit City
The microbrewery and restaurant will open near Glenbrook this year.
By Ryan Lengerich
rlengerich@news-sentinel.com

It’s like The Cheesecake Factory meets Gordon Biersch.

Minneapolis-based Granite City Food and Brewery plans to build an 8,550-square-foot restaurant and microbrewery at Coldwater Road and Fernhill Avenue in front of the new Target store near Glenbrook Square.

“Our concept kind of fits major metropolitan and midsized cities,” said Tim Cary, the company’s chief operating officer.

Due to break ground in the next month and open later this year, Granite City will seat 340 inside, with additional outdoor seating. It will have 10, 42-inch flat-panel televisions, but won’t be a sports bar.

Cary said Granite City puts more emphasis on the dining experience than the drinking experience. The menu has more than 80 options, from $5 burgers to $21 pork ribs. The restaurant’s interior will feature stone, granite and rich wood, Cary said.

Founded in St. Cloud, Minn., Granite City opened its first restaurant in 1998, and now has 18 in eight Midwestern states. Publicly traded on NASDAQ, the company is pushing east, with three openings planned for Illinois in 2007 and one each in Arkansas, Missouri and Toledo, Ohio. South Bend is on for 2008.

Cary said the Granite City experience is comparable to The Cheesecake Factory or P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, only the microbrewery adds a different element.

Cory said the company builds in high-traffic areas around malls. The company originally considered building in the area of Jefferson Pointe on the city’s southwest side, but couldn’t find the right location.

The company has no restaurants in downtown locations and did not consider one here. Cory said 90 percent of them are in smoke-free cities, so the smoking ban to take effect June 1 is not a concern.

The company has no intentions to distribute its beer here.

The restaurant will be Fort Wayne’s second major restaurant/brewer. Warbird Brewing Co. does not have a restaurant, but Mad Anthony Brewing Co., 1121 Taylor St. near downtown, is a staple hometown brewpub.

“That is great news,” said Mad Anthony co-owner Jeff Neels. “The brewers of Indiana welcome other microbreweries when they come in town.”

He does not consider Granite City to be a competitor.

“Anything we can do to educate the public on hand-crafted beer is a good thing,” Neels said. “It makes another stop for the beer enthusiast.”

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/17263072.htm

--------
First location in Indiana, and suburbia in design. I've never heard of the place but was wondering what anyones opinion is?

Strate

May 22nd, 2007, 03:26 PM

Babicz Guitars expands to Fort Wayne

Babicz Guitars, a manufacturer of high-end acoustic and electric guitars, will establish a guitar production and distribution facility in Fort Wayne.

The company is expanding from its current location in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Its new facility in Fort Wayne will focus on product assembly, order fulfillment and research and development.

The company is purchasing a building in the Fort Wayne Urban Enterprise Zone, at 435 Brackenridge St.

The company will invest approximately $839,000 in the building and improvements, production machinery, and IT hardware and software. It plans to employ 11 locally by the end of the year and 19 by the end of 2009.

The state of Indiana, through the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and the city of Fort Wayne, and the Fort Wayne Urban Enterprise Association, through the Fort Wayne-Allen County Economic Development Alliance, are providing an incentive package for Babicz Guitars.

State incentives include up to $15,000 to train Indiana resident employees and up to $44,000 in tax credits for qualified equipment investment. The city’s incentives include property-tax savings of approximately $80,889 on eligible real and personal property and a performance-based grant of $21,500 payable at the end of 2007 to assist the company with facility improvement expenses.

http://www.fwdailynews.com/articles/2007/05/22/greater_fort_wayne/news/doc464cacadc8534039951358.txt

Strate

May 22nd, 2007, 03:28 PM

Fort Wayne's Delegation to Japan Hopes To Bring Home More Business

A different language, a unique culture, and some very unusual food. At first glance, Fort Wayne doesn't seem to have much in common with its sister city Takaoka in Japan. But, the two cities are actually more alike than you might imagine.

The partnership between Fort Wayne and Takaoka celebrates its 30th birthday this year. That's the oldest relationship of Fort Wayne's three sister cities, dating back to 1976. For the past three decades the affiliation has been mostly cultural, but this trip the delegation focused on brokering more business connections.

Taking a look around Takaoka, you'll see the equivalent of Fort Wayne in Japan. It's a city of about equal size and like Fort Wayne, it's the second largest city in its state. While it's only a few hours from the big city of Osaka, it's also seen as being a bit country.

"To me, Takaoka is the backside of Japan," said Fort Wayne Sister Cities translator who is from Tokyo, Toyoharu Tamura.

Takaoka is mainly known for its metal work. One of the town's defining features is a large Buddha that watches over the city. At 52 feet, it towers above the town. Takaoka is one of Japan's major manufacturers of bronze, supplying statues to temples throughout the country.

"Maybe we have different products, but the manufacturing basis is similar," said Deputy Mayor Mark Becker.

And like Fort Wayne, that base is changing to more modern industries. Kitamura, based in Takaoka, makes machines that help produce other products. The company already has several customers in Fort Wayne, but both its president and our deputy mayor would like to see more business connections.

"I think there are opportunities to establish between Fort Wayne and Japanese businesses in Takaoka," said Becker.

Touring the tour of the town, the delegation of eighteen got a taste of not only of Japan's cuisine, but also of its public transportation. Trams and trains connect it to the rest of country, allowing many citizens to forgo using cars.

"I'd like to see high speed trains happen in the Northeast. With high gas prices, three, four, five dollars, there will be more demand for them soon," said City Councilman Tom Hayhurst.

It was the similarities between the two towns the struck many in the delegation.

"People are courtesy and polite. Those are characteristics of the Midwest," said Hayhurst.

For several, it was their first time to Asia.

"Trip out of my comfort zone," said President of the Sister Cities organization, Bob Anweiler. "You're not even working with the same alphabet. I can look at a character all day and not know what it means."

Standing out, and standing taller then many Japanese, got the delegation a lot of attention.

"Everywhere we went people took pictures. We were in the paper everyday. We felt like celebrities," said Sister Cities delegate Dorothy Kittaka.

The visit ended with a toast to friendship.

"It's a heartfelt moment of saying good-bye," said Kittaka. "It was like leaving family."

The two cities bonded using a universal method of communication: Karaoke. As distances between countries seem to shrink, the delegates believe the personal contact with their sister city will help foster global understanding.

"Everyone wants people to come together in a world apart. In this time of war it's nice to have a moment of peace," said Kittaka.

It was a chance to see first hand the similaries between people even in the farthest corner of the world.

http://www.wane.com/Global/story.asp?S=6547640

araman0

May 24th, 2007, 01:18 AM

After seeing that cultural trail that is planned for downtown Indianapolis, I started thinking about how that is EXACTLY what Fort Wayne needs to help bring pedestrian traffic, and subsequently shops, to downtown. Especially with the addition of the stadium and hotel, something like that might be all visitors need to feel more at ease and welcomed in downtown, both on the narrow streets and the wider ones. Have there been any ideas tossed around for a simliar trail in the Fort? If not, maybe the success of Indy's trail will be enough to convince city planners to build a trail through downtown Fort Wayne.

rob_1412

May 24th, 2007, 05:25 AM

I think that idea has a chance under the current administration; they're big on trails and seem to have gotten the message on pedestrian-friendly design.

Fort Wayne does have a Heritage Trail with markers in front of various historic buildings, and it's promoted from time to time on WBNI (Public Radio), but I think most people don't know about it. I appreciate Public Radio; it's about the only broadcast medium I listen to, but when it comes to civic matters and cultural awareness, it's sort of like preaching to the choir. The people who listen to Public Radio probably comprise most of the folks who care about such things, and most of them already know about it.

rob_1412

June 15th, 2007, 07:58 PM

Last night I attended one of three community workshops on North River Now (http://www.northrivernow.org), a proposed project to develop the former OmniSource scrap yard just north of downtown. It's 30-acre site much of which was the New York Central Fourth Street Yard, on the Fort Wayne - Jackson (MI) Line before it became a scrap yard.

It's west across Clinton Street from Science Central (the former City Light generating plant) and Lawton Park and just north of Headwaters Park. The only remaining railroad structure is a decent brick freight house at Clinton and Fourth Streets. I tried to make my best pitch for turning it into a public market incorporating a railroad-history theme.

Fort Wayne has two public markets now, and neither one is prospering. The Barr Street Market, an on-again, off-again affair on the downtown site of the old city market, doesn't really offer much and lacks any permanent structures; the original market arcades were razed fifty years ago after years of neglect.

South Side Market, on Warsaw Street, has a nice traditional character with rambling single-story frame buildings that can be opened up in the summer and closed and heated with coal stoves in winter. There are some long-time vendors who sell produce, poultry, flowers, and various food items, but over the years a number of vendors more likely found at a flea market have come in. Business is dwindling because it's an out-of-the way location in a neighborhood that some people get apprehensive about. Fort Wayne needs a new market in a location close to downtown for lunchtime traffic, with easy access and high visibility, and the freight house would be perfect in terms of location and structural type.

The city has options on the property through the end of 2007, and brownfield remediation has been figured into the possible deal.

Strate

June 15th, 2007, 10:11 PM

The following link shows the building Rob is talking about, and I agree with the way that building opens up a market would be perfect.

http://photos.aroundfortwayne.com/Railroads/NYC.htm#freight

Strate

June 22nd, 2007, 06:06 PM

The multiplier effect
School construction would boost local economy; not surprisingly, trade unions endorse FWCS plan

BY LINDA LIPP
lindal@fwbusiness.com (Created: Friday, June 22, 2007 7:38 AM EDT)

Debate over the proposed Fort Wayne Community Schools renovation program has focused primarily on its cost, estimated at $500 million plus interest on the bonds that would finance it.

Discussed less often is the substantial shot in the arm the program would give the local economy — wages and benefits paid to construction workers that could total more than $100 million over the program’s five-year implementation period.

“With the construction industry here (as slow) as it is, it couldn’t come at a better time,” said David Dilts, a professor in the economics department at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.

“It has tightened up quite a bit, work-wise and project-wise,” agreed architect Steve Park, of Moake Park Group.

The costs for the actual construction are estimated at $350 million, not including adjustments for inflation and other factors. The other $150 million in the budget would pay for “soft costs,” including architects, engineers, construction management, fees associated with the bond issue, etc., said Steve Parker, head of facilities at FWCS.

Typically, labor costs account for 20 to 30 percent of construction costs, noted Jim Moore, business manager for Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 166.

That would mean the construction wages and benefits, paid over five years, would be expected to total anywhere from $70 million to $105 million.

“The impact of the wages, on all the building trades, would be significant,” Moore said.

The economic effects of the building program wouldn’t end with that, however. Economists use multipliers to calculate the total impact of wages and benefits on spending in the community. Each dollar paid to those construction workers would be turned over an estimated 2 to 2.8 times as they spend money for goods and services. And the workers and businesses they patronize spend their income, and so forth.

Generally speaking, the higher the wages paid, the higher the multiplier effect, Dilts said.

As a public project, the schools program would be subject to Indiana’s common-wage (known elsewhere as prevailing-wage) law. That means wages probably would be set at or near union levels, perhaps $50,000 to $60,000 or more per year for many full-time construction workers.

That’s significantly higher than both the average wage for northeast Indiana, $37,213, and the average for Allen County, $41,066.

So the total impact on spending in and around Fort Wayne and Allen County likely would be closer to the high end of the range, $294 million, than the low end, $140 million.

Workers also would pay various county, state and federal taxes on their earnings. But the sales taxes they would pay on their purchases probably would be even more significant, Dilts said.

Construction materials suppliers in the area could also be expected to get some business from the renovation program, as could contractors and architectural and engineering firms.

The five-year program includes projects at 42 of the school system’s 53 schools. The least expensive, at Anthis Career Center, has an estimated price tag of $3.4 million. The most expensive, at Snider High School, is expected to cost $40 million.

“None of them are small projects, when you talk about construction work,” Parker noted.

Although there are no guarantees, Parker would prefer to have local architects and engineers doing as much of the work as possible.

“Because of the heavy work required, we think we would be best served with somebody who is right here. Plus, they have a sense of our community, our district. They know what we expect. They know what we require,” Parker said.

Contracts would be awarded separately for each project.

“We have a number of good architectural and engineering firms in Fort Wayne. I think it would be best if we spread the work out,” Parker said.

When the construction work itself is bid, the district is bound by law to choose the general contractor making the “lowest and most responsive” bid.

The local construction industry is very competitive — “too competitive,” said Michael Kinder, of Fort Wayne-based K & H Construction. A number of local contractors could be expected to bid on portions of the program.

“We’d definitely look at it,” he said. “If it does happen, it’s a very big project. You’ll also get people coming in from other states.”

Regardless of where a general contractor is based, local subcontractors and local workers probably would end up performing most of the labor.

It’s no surprise, then, that the Plumbers and other trade unions have endorsed the school renovation program and have contributed money, time and/or volunteers to the Write Yellow, Right Now campaign to collect property taxpayer signatures to support it.

The group Code Blue Schools filed a remonstrance to halt the district from issuing bonds to finance the program and is collecting signatures of property taxpayers opposed to it. The side that collects the most signatures by the July 2 deadline wins.

“Our stance isn’t that we shouldn’t do it, but we think that this is a little bit much,” said Evert Mol, spokesman for Code Blue Schools.

Code Blue had offered to compromise with the schools on a $300-million renovation program, and Mol personally believes the work really needed should cost no more than $200 million.

The group has considered the potential impact of the project on local businesses and workers, Mol said.

“I’m not against those guys making money. It’s great for them, but it’s going to be hard on taxpayers, particularly those on a fixed income,” Mol said. “It’s not that the community can’t afford $500 million, it’s that Joe Jones and Mary Smith can’t afford it.”

The building program is an ambitious one, Parker agreed. But aside from the improvements to the schools, “we think it will do a good thing for the city by pumping those dollars into the building industry,” he said.

Strate

June 22nd, 2007, 06:08 PM

City, county partner for downtown forums

The city of Fort Wayne and Allen County have formed a partnership to meet with developers on a monthly basis to discuss and answer questions about downtown development ideas.

The first meeting will be held at 3 p.m. Tuesday on the eighth floor of the City-County Building. Those interested in renovating a downtown building or constructing a new facility downtown are encouraged to attend to learn more about the process for downtown development and redevelopment.

The Allen County Building Department, Fort Wayne Fire Department, Allen County Board of Health, City Land Use Management, City Redevelopment, City Right of Way and City Utilities will participate in the meetings.

The Downtown Improvement District and the Fort Wayne-Allen County Economic Development Alliance also are supporting the meetings.

The monthly forum complements the city's Downtown Blueprint plan to revitalize the downtown.

http://www.fwdailynews.com/articles/2007/06/22/greater_fort_wayne/news/today/6-21story1.txt

Strate

June 22nd, 2007, 06:12 PM

St. Joseph wants burn, wound care on same level

BY DERRICK GINGERY
derrickg@fwbusiness.com

St. Joseph Hospital’s Regional Burn Center already is recognized throughout the tri-state area. By combining its staff and space with the St. Joseph Regional Wound Care Center, Sheryl Mourey hopes that clinic will attain the same status.

The wound center, which provides outpatient treatment of burns and nonhealing wounds, has operated mostly incognito since opening in 1990.

Mourey, St. Joseph’s burn and wound center nursing and service-line director, said her job when the two centers are moved to the same area in the hospital is to bring the wound center up to the burn center’s lofty standard of excellence.

That includes exploring all the possible reasons that prohibit patients from healing, she said.

“We’re looking at opportunities with surgeons working together in the same clinic, a multidiscipline approach,” Mourey said.

The burn center now is on the hospital’s fifth floor and the wound care center is on the sixth. The two centers will be relocated to a renovated second floor to provide better access for patients, improve efficiency and allow physicians and staff to collaborate. The $6-million project is expected to begin in a few weeks and be completed in May 2008.

It marks the first time the wound center will be housed in an area created specifically for it. While the current space is adequate, it is inefficient, said Dr. Phil Rettenmaier, a wound specialist at the center.

“We’ve always sort of been in spaces in the hospital that were used for other purposes,” he said. “We’re in a large space, but it’s not really a clinic.”

No staff cuts will be made because of the relocation, said Lutheran Health Network spokesman Geoff Thomas. If patient volume increases, especially on the wound-care side of the new clinic, more staff could be added.

The combined burn and wound center will have more than 5,000 square feet of additional space. The hospital’s huge hyperbaric oxygen chamber will remain on the sixth floor.

The new burn center will have three more patient rooms, bringing the total to 12. That will include a three-bed pediatric wing with an activity room. About one-third of the 200 to 225 inpatient admissions to the burn unit are children, Mourey said.

“We’re trying to make it as comfortable for them as possible,” she said.

An education room where first responders can be trained and more office space also will be added.

The laboratory now is located on the second floor, and will be moved to the seventh floor as part of the project. The outpatient rehabilitation, biomedical engineering, registration and central scheduling departments will be temporarily relocated for the rest of the year while construction is under way.

“I think we have an opportunity to become a national center for excellence in burn and wound management and be a national resource center for that,” said St. Joseph Hospital CEO Kirk Ray.

St. Joseph also is looking to enhance its emergency and surgery departments as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen what the hospital already does well. And Ray wants to bring more attention to the hospital’s cardiovascular services, which are comparable to those offered at Lutheran Hospital. The only procedure not available at St. Joseph is a heart transplant.

Many of those projects are in flux until Triad Hospitals Inc., the Plano, Texas-based owner of the hospital and Lutheran Health Network, is acquired by Community Health Systems Inc. St. Joseph’s burn and wound center project was one of a few to be approved.

Ray said it is unclear what future expansion projects will be possible when Triad’s buyout is completed.

“Until we go under the new ownership, I don’t know what is eligible,” he said.

The project comes on the heals of the April announcement that the St. Joseph medical office building will be expanded. Another 29,000 square feet of space will be added as part of the $7 million project. Fort Wayne Medical Education Program, a local organization that helps train resident doctors and runs its own family practice, will move there from its Lake Avenue location.

The existing medical office building also will be renovated.

http://www.fwdailynews.com/articles/2007/06/22/greater_fort_wayne/news/doc467ace3ef2bca390315839.txt

Strate

June 22nd, 2007, 06:14 PM

WWII museum will undergo $22-million facelift
National Military History Center in Auburn will honor ‘the real heroes,’ says Dean Kruse

BY JENNY KOBIELA
news@fwbusiness.com

The National Military History Center planned for Auburn will be a “living legend and living institution,” said Dean Kruse, founder of the Dean V. Kruse Foundation.

“I feel that it will be a one-of-a-kind in the nation, and maybe in the world,” he said.

Kruse unveiled plans June 14 for a $22-million expansion that will double the size of the current American Heritage Village south of Auburn. When expanded, the building, which now houses the World War II Victory Museum, will be home to exhibits about every American military conflict, as well as a Veterans Hall of Honor.

“The real heroes … don’t have a hall of honor or hall of fame” now, said Bob Krafft, executive director of the Kruse Foundation.

The Kruse Foundation will partner with the American Veterans Institute (AVI) for the Hall of Honor project.

AVI president Mike Jackson said the Hall of Honor will commemorate regular soldiers who contributed to the United States during and after their military service.

“They will be recognized for the contribution they made for society as a result of their military service,” he said.

Jackson said the organizations have not yet decided who will be featured in the hall of honor, but somebody such as the late Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s restaurant chain, would be a good candidate. Jackson explained that Thomas, an orphan, learned to cook in the military. He later used profits from his restaurant chain to help other orphans.

The AVI also will partner with the Kruse Foundation to create the American Veteran’s Research Library.

“We’re going to have the firsthand history,” Jackson explained, including oral histories and accounts written by the veterans themselves.

“History gets rewritten, unfortunately,” he said.

Jackson, a Vietnam War veteran, said he often sees portrayals of Vietnam veterans as men with ponytails living under bridges, using drugs.

“I never saw anybody do drugs,” he said. “They were some of the finest men.”

He blamed the media and Hollywood for perpetuating those stereotypes, but said the research library is a way to fight those portrayals.

Kruse said not only the research library, but the entire complex, will be a way to help rid Americans of some of the false notions they hold about the military.

“This is going to be real stories that go with those artifacts,” he said.

The museum complex, in addition to the Hall of Honor and research library, will house artifacts from American military conflicts and tell the stories of them from the people directly involved or the generations that followed.

Kruse said in the past few years, the volume of donated artifacts has become overwhelming.

“There were many, many people that had items they wanted to donate,” Kruse said, “and we’re full.”

People also have donated artifacts from other wars.

But Kruse said something that really sparked him to action was when he read an article stating that half of high school graduates believe that the United States and Germany were on the same side during World War II.

“We have a story to tell,” he said. “There needs to be a story of military history told.”

Planned areas of the complex include:

• “The American Experience: Birth of a Nation,” which will spotlight the birth of the military and its evolution through the Civil War era;

• “Those Who Serve,” which will include a photo wall of pictures shot by GIs from World War I to the present and an exhibit of excerpts and vignettes from GIs;

• “World War I: The War to End All Wars,” which will address the war itself, as well as the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations;

• “The World War II Victory Museum,” focusing on the European and Pacific theaters as well as the home front;

• “The Cold War Museum,” which will focus on the Berlin Airlift, communism, the space race, the Korean War and the Vietnam War; and

• “The War on Terror Museum,” which will include information on Operation Desert Storm, Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Kruse said he hopes people in Auburn and around the country will get involved with the center.

“We’re interested in military items that people want to donate,” he said, including uniforms and medals to put on display.

He even hopes someday to procure an authentic Revolutionary War uniform.

Kruse said he also wants to use the Internet to reach out to educate people. He hopes to have a Web site running in a year or two that will have the stories and artifacts from the museum available to look at online.

There is no target date yet for the entire complex to be completed.

A more firm date will be set when fundraising is complete, according to a Kruse Foundation spokesperson.

http://www.fwdailynews.com/articles/2007/06/22/greater_fort_wayne/news/doc467bc2292f02a254417750.txt

Strate

June 22nd, 2007, 06:15 PM

‘Sweet’ new crib

Sweetwater Sound’s $30-million, 150,000-square-foot campus construction project at 5501 U.S. 30 West is a work in progress. State-of-the-art office and meeting space, a new store and a distribution warehouse have been in use since last fall, while work crews continue construction of other parts of the campus. If the Sweetwater store doesn’t have an item in stock, employees just walk over to the warehouse to retrieve it.

Sweetwater’s new headquarters will be one of the first buildings in the area to seek LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, a program by the U.S. Green Building Council that promotes sustainability. The headquarters will have a food court, private health club, racquetball courts and space for professional services.

Sweetwater projects it will have $180 million in sales and 450 employees by 2010.

http://www.fwdailynews.com/articles/2007/06/22/greater_fort_wayne/news/doc467acac279834467544997.txt

rob_1412

June 25th, 2007, 04:44 PM

Exciting times in the area. There are a lot of proposals/projects for Fort Wayne, and the museums in and around Auburn have to be included in the mix because it's such a short drive away. I hope we can keep the momentum and bring a major part of these to completion.

On Saturday (23rd) I showed a visiting friend around town, and it was good for me too as a refresher on how much really good stuff we have. We need to keep it going.

Strate

June 26th, 2007, 04:17 AM

Thanks for joining me in this thread Rob it's a lonely place, lol.

I wish they could use the Kruse complex for a "replacment" to Verizon if it closes its doors. They have great experience at handling LARGE crowds, and it is in the center of three large cities.

rob_1412

June 26th, 2007, 01:56 PM

Thanks for joining me in this thread Rob it's a lonely place, lol.

Ain't it the truth!

There have to be more people in Fort Wayne who are interested in urban affairs and the future of the city.

I think that on a professional level the city and county have done quite a lot to catch up with contemporary thinking; at the public workshops that I've attended, I've been pleased to hear planners talk about density, walkable neighborhoods, mixed-use development and mixed-income housing. I'd like to see more attention given to transit-oriented development, but Hoosiers in general seem to be pretty transit-averse; they regard it as a safety-net program for people who can't afford a car or who can't drive because of mental incapacity.

For the past two or three years, for lack of a hometown alternative I've hung out quite a lot at urbanohio.com. It's an active site, and the forums are well-moderated and contain a lot of give-and-take and a lot of good photography. A few other Indiana residents and former residents take part from time to time, and I've attended several of the meet-up events. I'd like to see a similar on-line community take off for Indiana.

cwilson758

June 26th, 2007, 04:48 PM

I read this thread often, I just don't post too much.

Strate

June 27th, 2007, 12:19 AM

On my way to work today I noticed that they're moving dirt to the north of the Victory museum, far enough north that I believe that it's for the Ford museum.

Strate

June 27th, 2007, 12:20 AM

Event celebrates start of Renaissance Pointe

A groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday will mark the beginning of construction on Renaissance Pointe.

Fort Wayne Mayor Graham Richard, representatives from Delagrange Homes, Lancia Homes, Ideal Builders, Mansur Real Estate Services and National City Bank, and city, community and neighborhood leaders will participate in the event, which begins at 1 p.m. in the 2400 block of John Street between Creighton Avenue and Pontiac Street.

Renaissance Pointe is a development that includes plans for 400 new homes, the rehabilitation of 100 existing homes, a new greenway trail and a new YMCA facility.

Strate

June 27th, 2007, 12:21 AM

Ivy Tech program taking flight

BY TERRI HUGHES-LAZZELL
news@fwbusiness.com

With two airports and several companies that are either part of, or depend on, the aviation industry, Fort Wayne has opportunities for those who know their way around an airplane.

Beginning this fall, it will have a training program aimed to help others’ careers take flight.

In a few months, Ivy Tech Community College Northeast in Fort Wayne will start its aviation maintenance technology program, in which students can earn an associate degree and potentially certification from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Students may gain certification from the FAA with an airframe rating and/or a powerplant rating. After earning their degrees, students can attempt to receive the ratings by taking a written test and an oral and practical examination, which can be done through Ivy Tech.

The airframe rating is for those who work on electrical systems, instruments, wings and other parts of the aircraft, while the powerplant rating is for those who work on airplane engines.

“This program opens the doors for many opportunities,” said Bill Terhune, the program’s chairman.

Terhune said an associate degree in aviation maintenance technology opens doors to the industry, including airlines, corporate aircraft and general aviation. But it also presents opportunities in the racing industry and as quality-control inspectors in a variety of industries, including petroleum.

“Because aviation mechanics are trained in a multitude of mechanical aptitudes, they can apply those to many industries,” Terhune said. “And others like aviation mechanics because they are trained to be careful. If you have a repair on an airplane, it has to be right. You can’t pull over on a cloud and take it back to be fixed.”

“This degree transcends aviation,” added Kim Pontius, executive director of work force and economic development for Ivy Tech. “There are so many fields they can work in outside of aviation, including power-generator companies, elevator technicians, the GPS fields — so many opportunities.

“This is so exciting.”

The program will be offered to Ivy Tech students in addition to a program operated in conjunction with Anthis Career Center, in which high-school juniors and seniors from Fort Wayne Community Schools receive dual credit while enrolled in the program. A comparable program was operated previously at Anthis with another company. The Ivy Tech program will replace that.

In addition, Ivy Tech is working with Purdue University to make it possible to transition into Purdue’s aviation programs.

For students who want to start in the field upon receiving their associate degrees, the job possibilities are plentiful, Pontius said. And the program is already proving popular.

Many inquiries have been made to Ivy Tech about the program. The Anthis program for juniors had a full class of 25 signed up with three students on a waiting list.

Pontius said it’s not just the students who are excited, but local industries, too, that will employ the new crop of workers.

“We’ve had a lot of interest from airports who want information on our program, but also companies are asking about it because they’re interested in people coming through the program.”

The aviation maintenance technician program will be operated out of Smith Field Airport, 426 W. Ludwig Road, where Ivy Tech is constructing a 10,000-square-foot facility. A larger facility is planned for the future — up to four times the size of the building under construction, Pontius said.

The fall program will begin with the powerplant portion of the training, Terhune said. Class will begin Aug. 20.

rob_1412

June 29th, 2007, 04:18 PM

From this morning's Journal Gazette (http://fwweb.sv.publicus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/JG/20070629/LOCAL/706290311/-1/NEWS05):

2 ineligible for Harrison Square vote

Tourism panel mulls funding

By Benjamin Lanka
The Journal Gazette
[Advertisement]

Two of the Allen County commissioners’ appointments to the board overseeing Grand Wayne Center will be ineligible to vote today on whether to provide $2.5 million to Harrison Square.

Commissioner Bill Brown on Thursday said the commissioners will replace Ed Rousseau on the Allen County Convention and Tourism Authority board because he does not meet residency requirements. Fellow board member Paul Shaffer won’t participate in the vote because of questions regarding his residency.

“I don’t think those guys are in play tomorrow for the vote,” Brown said.

Brown said the commissioners learned this week that their appointments have to live outside the Fort Wayne city limits. Both Rousseau and Shaffer live in the city. While Rousseau will have to be removed immediately from the board, Brown said, Shaffer’s case isn’t as clear.

Shaffer said his home was part of the Aboite Township annexation, which took effect Jan. 1, 2006, the same day as his most recent appointment to the board began. Brown said Shaffer has argued that because he was informed of his appointment before the annexation, he is eligible to complete his term.

Brown said the argument is “foggy” and said he doesn’t want appointments from the commissioners to create legal problems for the Harrison Square development.

Brown called the situation an oversight. The commissioners’ third appointment, Ben Eisbart, remains a valid appointment as he lives outside the city.

The convention and tourism board today is scheduled to discuss a proposal from city officials to contribute $250,000 a year for 10 years to help finance a part of the $130 million Harrison Square project. The project includes a downtown hotel with parking garage, new condominiums, new retail and a $30 million city-owned baseball stadium.

The money from Grand Wayne Center will help pay for public portions of the hotel project, including possibly the connection to the garage, according to city officials.

Grand Wayne officials have long said a new downtown hotel is critical to maximize the potential of the expanded convention center.

Both Shaffer and Rousseau said they still plan on attending today’s meeting.

Rousseau, a former county commissioner, said he would be disappointed to be removed from the board but he would comply with the law. He said his 30 years working in county government should prove he can fairly represent all residents.

Mary Hitchens, public information officer for the commissioners, said the county learned of the residency issue when it was contacted by former state Rep. Mitch Harper.

Harper, a Republican running for the Fort Wayne City Council, said he learned of the rules when doing a broader review of the laws governing the board. He said the county commissioners need to bring geographical diversity to their boards, but they also need to have good people, and Harper thought Shaffer and Rousseau were well qualified.

Marvin Crell, board attorney, said he believed the two members could serve on the board until they were replaced but that they should likely abstain from voting.

Another member of the tourism board, Steve Brody, has said he will abstain from voting on the issue because he is working as a consultant for the city on Harrison Square.

Because the board has seven members, it could still take action if the four other members attend the meeting.

Brown, who supports using Grand Wayne money for the hotel, said he is hopeful to have new board members appointed within a month.

blanka@jg.net

rob_1412

July 22nd, 2007, 04:53 AM

I'm still hyped about the idea of a public market in the old NYC freight house at Clinton & Fourth Streets, as a part of the North River Now proposal.

There will be charettes on July 23, 25 and 28 to discuss, refine and present proposals, and I hope to attend them.

To help people visualize what I've been talking about, last week I went to Dayton and took photos of the 2nd Street Public Market. It's a good example that seems to be gaining momentum. It probably would do even better if the city publicized it more effectively.

Here are a few photos:
http://www.robertpence.com/20070713_dayton/20070713-177.jpg

http://www.robertpence.com/20070713_dayton/20070713-178.jpg

http://www.robertpence.com/20070713_dayton/20070713-168.jpg

The rest of the photos of Dayton's public market are here (http://www.robertpence.com/20070713_public_mkt.html).

Strate

July 25th, 2007, 04:07 AM

Harrison Square has surpassed all major hurdles now including public financing. Looks like construction starts this fall.

I'm excited about this. Interest in DT has changed ALOT with it on the drawing board. Now that it's gonna happen I can't imagine how things will be.

rob_1412

July 25th, 2007, 08:25 PM

I'm eager, too, to see demolition and site preparation under way. I've walked through the development area several times, and although I've seen a few significant houses, most of it is parking lots and low-grade blighted residential rentals.

It should be a catalyst for revitalization of the business district and a big visual improvement for downtown and for the residential areas to the west, and maybe eventually boost the once-vigorous commercial strip along Broadway.

On Monday night, I attended the charrette for North River Now (http://northrivernow.org/), at North Side High School. The consultants, ACP, did a good job of conducting it. They were well-prepared with an attractive location, an impressive snack buffet, and capable facilitators for each of the five small groups. It moved along without getting mired by any individuals' personal agendas, and yielded an interesting mix of diverse ideas.

This afternoon/evening from 4-7 p.m. at an open house at the Arts United Center, they'll present a proposed consolidation of the ideas from the charrette. I'm looking forward to it.

Strate

July 25th, 2007, 09:48 PM

You don't have to wait long Rob, their not wasting any time, demolition starts tomorrow (Thursday).

rob_1412

July 26th, 2007, 01:16 AM

I'll try to be there with my camera.

The demolition started unofficially a few weeks ago, when a drunk drove a pickup into the front of the former Mexican restaurant on Jefferson and brought down part of it. They had to knock down the rest of the facade immediately to make sure it wouldn't collapse into the street.

The North River Now project, so far, has been mostly preaching to and hearing from the choir. At Monday night's charrette the attendance was rather thin, considering the potential impact of the project on downtown and the near-north neighborhoods. In addition to the consultants and facilitators, there were something like fifty people, and many of those were people with a professional interest in the subject matter; architects, traffic engineers, water-quality experts, etc.

Tonight's open house drew a rather small crowd, too, mostly during the first hour of the three-hour event. Many of the people there were the same group that attended Monday night's charrette, with a few others from the Convention and Visitors' Bureau and people who have an interest in economic development. There were few lay people in attendance.

I guess it's easier for a lot of people to say, "It's a waste of time; nobody ever listens to me anyway." Later, after it's a done deal and the renderings are published in the newspaper, they can write letters to the editor complaining about how this thing was railroaded through without any opportunity for the public to have a say in it. They can then organize neighborhood protest groups to circulate petitions and try to stop the project with injunctions and lawsuits.

I'm not a cynic; I'm a cautious optimist. That goes along with a realistic outlook, which comes from having lived here for more than 40 years. It's just the way things work in a lot of communities, and serves to dampen the impulse for runaway civic spending. Once the project is complete, some of the people who griped will eventually love it. Or at least, their kids will.

When the flood control reservoirs on the Wabash, Mississinewa and Salamonie Rivers were proposed in the 1960s, folks fumed and stewed about the land-grabbin, gol-darned tax-and-spend polititicans. After they had big, beautiful lakes nearby, many of them bought boats.

Nimbys who protest rail-trails as an intrusion on their property rights and an avenue to bring inner-city crime to their neighborhoods often end up buying bikes and listing the trails as amenities when they list their properties for sale.

I'll stop babbling now.

Strate

July 26th, 2007, 08:10 AM

Some of the things I'd like to see in North River:

A dense residential component. Something with a small footprint near the current residential with a trolley (that requires rail) connector to downtown.

If a water park is on the site it must be indoor and directly across from Science Central.

A kinetic energy sculpture in the water would be neat. Some kind of night time lighting of Science Central, the new bridge, and of the river, that can be controlled from a point in North River, by children. To basically create an extension of Science Central to draw people in.

The amount of water that is in NR is quite small so making a grand use of it is very limited. If the "podium" was in the grass lot to the west of Clinton and south of Fourth Street the user would be able to see and play with the lighting that is cast out over the river, on the bridge, and up Science Central. The sculpture should be placed on the same side as the "podium". Maybe the sculpture could be a low power type of water cannon, that is at a angle so that it can hit the child playing with the lights but not hit anybody on the river.

If I drove across the bridge and seen all of that, I'd wanna go back. The reason for the lighting is that since the area is SO large it could tie the north end to the south end, helping to create one area because I doubt the city is gonna have design guidelines in place, and be strict about them.

link is to the purchase option. The building at the top right is Science Central.
http://northrivernow.org/images/stories/pdfs/northriver_purchase_option.pdf

rob_1412

July 26th, 2007, 04:22 PM

A natatorium in Lawton Park was among the ideas discussed at the charrette on Monday night, along with recreating part of the old feeder canal in a way that would assure flow and avoid stagnation.

A proposed consolidation of these and other ideas will be presented at a public showcase this evening from 6 - 8 p.m. at the North Side High School cafeteria. I'm looking forward to seeing something pretty impressive; the folks who have been directing the process are pretty energetic and have the knowledge and technical tools to turn out quality professional presentations on a short turn-around schedule. They've put a lot of emphasis on community interaction, too.

rob_1412

July 30th, 2007, 04:22 PM

This just in (press release):

---------------------------------------------------------------

Harrison Square Partners to host Community Open House
Public invited to see latest design renderings and provide feedback

Hardball Capital and Barry Real Estate will host a community open house to provide the public with an opportunity to see the latest design renderings and provide feedback on the Harrison Square development.

The event will be held from 5:30-8 p.m. Thursday, August 2 in the Harrison Rooms at the Grand Wayne Center, 120 W. Jefferson Blvd.

Hardball Capital and Barry Real Estate are investing over $20 million toward the construction of the new ballpark, condominiums and retail for Harrison Square.

“This is a unique opportunity for the community to meet with our private sector partners that are committed to developing a wonderful downtown initiative for our city and region,” said Mayor Graham Richard. “We encourage public participation and anticipate positive feedback that will benefit the development.”

“We are excited to share some of the new and innovative ideas that will be incorporated into the ballpark, condos and retail components of Harrison Square,” said Jason Freier, Chief Executive Officer for Hardball Capital. “We especially look forward to receiving input from the community. We have learned a lot during our previous public forums and our discussions with community leaders. The suggestions and ideas we have and continue to receive from the community will help make this project the best it can be.”

Strate

August 2nd, 2007, 04:54 PM

http://jgimg.sv.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=JG&Date=20070802&Category=LOCAL&ArtNo=70802001&Ref=ARMaxW=450

New Harrison Square details roll out today
Bejamin Lanka

People wishing to get a closer look and offer their opinions about the newest Harrison Square details will have their chance tonight.

Hardball Capital and Barry Real Estate, two of the private investors in the $120 million public private project, are having an open house to present the latest conceptual drawings for the ballpark, condominiums and retail.

The entire project includes a $35 million Courtyard by Marriott with parking garage, condominiums and retail space and a $30 million city-owned baseball stadium.

Hardball is the owner of the Fort Wayne Wizards, and its partner, Barry, is the development arm building the condominiums and retail.

Jason Freier, Hardball CEO, said the meeting is intended to give residents a chance to see what the project will look like and offer opinions on how to improve it.

Hardball is investing $5 million toward construction of the stadium and an additional $500,000 to expand the number of suites from 12 to 16.

"It's important to us to keep people informed about the project," he said. "You all know Fort Wayne better than we do."

He said the plans for the stadium haven't changed much since they were presented in June. It will still include a public park area, luxury suites, a club area and indoor batting cages.

Freier said designers have worked to find a way to better integrate the proposed parking garage into the ballpark. The garage will be built beyond right field, and they

proposed putting the scoreboard on the side of the garage so fans' views would not be blocked.

The biggest updates, however, will be for the condo and retail structures, Freier said. He said the groups presentation tonight will include floor plans of a typical condominium plus an animated fly-through of the condo building. Barry is investing at least $15 million to construct about 60 condos and 30,000 square feet of retail space in the same building.

The building is planned to be built along Jefferson Boulevard with half of the condominiums having views into the stadium and the other half looking over downtown.

A rendering of the condo/retail building provided to The Journal Gazette shows four floors of condominiums over one floor of retail outlets. The condominiums offer balconies overlooking the stadium and the possibility of a roof terrace.

Freier said because they are early enough in the design work, suggestions for how to improve the look of the project can be incorporated.

He said the meeting won't offer people a chance to sign up for condominiums

because it is too early in the process for that.

Although he expects most of the people at the open house to be interested

in the projects design or living in the condominiums, he said it is open to everyone.

The formal presentation will begin not long after 5:30 p.m.

blanka@jg.net

Strate

August 2nd, 2007, 09:33 PM

http://www.designcollaborative.com/News/harrison%20square/View-from-Jefferson-Street.jpg
http://www.designcollaborative.com/News/harrison%20square/View-from-Condo-Living-Spac.jpg
http://www.designcollaborative.com/News/harrison%20square/View-from-Grand-Wayne-Cente.jpg

Strate

August 3rd, 2007, 02:04 AM

http://www.designcollaborative.com/News/harrison%20square/Ballpark-Concourse-and-cond.jpg

hoosier

August 3rd, 2007, 03:37 AM

Awesome project. The renderings are great!

Strate

August 3rd, 2007, 08:48 AM

http://wane.images.worldnow.com/images/6880464_BG4.jpg

Strate

August 3rd, 2007, 06:09 PM

A desire for street cars
Proponents say it could spur economic development
By DERRICK GINGERY
derrickg@fwbusiness.com (Created: Friday, August 3, 2007 7:58 AM EDT)

A new idea to expand Fort Wayne’s public transportation system includes an old way of getting around.

Building a network of street-car routes throughout the city eventually could lead to more family disposable income, a new report suggests. The proposal is intended to entice residents to stop driving their cars to work, which could cut household gasoline and other transportation costs and leave more income for other purposes.

With the state’s average wage below the U.S. average and gasoline still pricey, this is a way to improve the city’s affordability, said Wendy Barrott, Fort Wayne director of energy and environmental services.

“As we move forward in a world of high gas prices, we want to provide people with choices,” Barrott said. “Driving takes part of our income. We’re kind of driving ourselves into the poor house.”

A new street-car system would complement the Citilink bus system, but could resemble what was in place in the early 20th century. In 1929, street-car use in Fort Wayne peaked at 22 million trips, according to the report “Reconnecting Fort Wayne: Building a Sustainable Future on an Innovative Past.”

Consultants Scott Bernstein and Stephen Perkins, of the Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology, envisioned street cars connecting college campuses, neighborhoods, shopping and other attractions.

The consultants are expected to present their findings, which include recommendations on bus use, links to Fort Wayne International Airport, hourly car rentals and improvements in energy efficiency, to city civic and business leaders at an event later this month.

Any formal street-car proposal is far from being finalized. The consultants’ report lists no costs and suggests gauging feasibility first.

A new street-car system would require rails to be installed and electric wires to be strung over roads to power the cars.

Barrott said she did not expect streets to be widened to make room for the system, but some existing lanes could be used by street cars. Street cars also were part of discussions of the proposed “north river” redevelopment.

“It would reduce the need to drive across town,” Barrott said. “You could go from the Embassy (Theatre) to the north river (development). It would reduce the need for people to move their cars downtown for distances that are too far (to walk).”

A street-car system also could promote economic development. Businesses that depend on walk-in traffic tend to spring up near street-car stops, according to the report.

Kenosha, Wis., spent $5.2 million installing its street-car system in 2000 as part of a downtown development effort. The city purchased refurbished street cars and built a 1.9-mile “starter system” that connects downtown Kenosha, its Chicago commuter rail station, a 70-acre redevelopment project on Lake Michigan and several local museums. The fare is 25 cents a ride.

Rails and power lines were installed along existing streets, and street cars share them with automobiles.

Len Brandrup, Kenosha director of transportation, said ridership is not spectacular — about 21 passengers per hour — but averages the same number of riders as the city bus service.

The system is not oriented to move people during rush hour to and from the commuter train station and was not designed to take people to and from work in town.

“Right now, it’s a distribution system for downtown,” Brandrup said. “If we can encourage people to use it instead of getting in cars and going three blocks up the street, it keeps us from making additional investments in parking.”

Development is beginning near street-car stops, Brandrup said, and tourists are coming to Kenosha just to use the system. He also said an expansion is being considered.

“It provides a sense of permanence that bus lines don’t,” he said. “Developers will write checks for permanent investments.”

Brandrup said an investment in street cars is more of a policy decision that involves development goals. “It’s just one of the tools in your bucket. You have to make land-use decisions and have to allow density also.”

Dan Carmody, president of Fort Wayne’s Downtown Improvement District, said city development strategies have to encourage higher-density housing, not single-family homes on large lots.

“You’ve got to have density to make transportation effective that is not cars,” he said. “We have to think about it as a system, not adding street cars.”

Carmody envisions a street-car system with two major lines: a north-south line connecting Glenbrook Square Mall and Jefferson Pointe; and an east-west line connecting Indiana Tech and the University of Saint Francis. Both would run through downtown.

David Gionet, general manager of Citilink bus service, said street cars have not been researched. He said development today is much different than when street cars were the primary mode of transportation, but developers tend to follow mass-transit systems.

“If we make such an investment, we will find the type of development that occurs in the community would be more in tune with the transit network, which is a good thing,” Gionet said. “The difficulty would be connecting up all the possible (destinations).”

In 2005, less than 1 percent of Fort Wayne workers said they commuted via public transportation, not including taxis. Even fewer said they walked to work.

More than 95 percent said they commuted to work by car. About 86 percent drove alone, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2005 American Community Survey.

An attempt to expand public transportation likely would not reap benefits in the near term, Gionet said. But a well-placed street-car line could attract riders who would normally take a car.

“‘If you build it, they will come’ does happen to some extent, if they are planned well,” he said. “If you put it in the proper location and it is useful to people, you’ll get the ridership for sure.”

----------------------------

If they connected Jefferson Pointe And Glenbrook, the route would be success. I would ride almost every weekend. It's very common for a day of shopping to include both of these places.

Strate

August 3rd, 2007, 06:21 PM

Awesome project. The renderings are great!

Since I wasn't there that's all that I could find. But the following link is for a local blog that is gonna be able to tell you even more about the entire project.

The link is to an article though that has 55 more photos and a nice fly through of the Harrison Square concept.

http://downtownfortwaynebaseball.blogspot.com/2007/08/from-open-house.html

rob_1412

August 3rd, 2007, 07:35 PM

The open house yesterday evening at the Grand Wayne Center drew about 300 people, and most were supportive, even enthusiastic about the project. The presentation was upbeat and confident and the presentation was well-done. At least one realtor spoke up about the large number of requests he gets for downtown condos.

Only one persistent opponent stood out. An older woman, strident and somewhat dissheveled, kept trying to put the presenters on the spot with questions based in her own mentally-rehearsed worst-case scenarios. It appeared that she hadn't bothered to confuse herself by reading any publicly-released information or listening to what had just been said, and Jason Freier did a masterful job of defusing her efforts to provoke a confrontational exchange.

This morning's Journal Gazette, quoted Councilman Tom Smith; "It's beautiful, he said," It has to be. Failure is not an option. This has to work." Smith has been one of the most vocal critics of the project, and it sounds like he may climb on board.

cwilson758

August 6th, 2007, 05:53 PM

WOW...hopefully Ft. Wayne moves full-speed ahead with the streetcars. If we can get Indiana's two largest Cities back on the train, this would be AWESOME.

Strate

August 7th, 2007, 04:36 AM

More renderings:

http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p7/overall-view-1-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p7/overall-view-2-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p7/View-from-GWC-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p7/View-from-Concourse-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p7/Plaza-View-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p7/View-from-Ballpark.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p7/Jefferson-St-Retail-1-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p7/Condo-community-space-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p7/Fitness-Area-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p7/View-from-Upper-Level-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p7/View-from-Living-Space-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p7/Parking-Deck-Elevation-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p6/HomePlate-Entry-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p6/HomePlate-Entry2-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p6/NW-Entry-aerial-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p6/NW-Entry-Down-Ewing-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p6/NW-Entry-Down-Jefferson-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p6/NW-Entry-street-Level-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p6/OF-Entry-Ext-Aerial-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p6/OF-Entry2-Ext-Aerial-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p6/OF-Entry-Interior-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p6/Suite-Inside-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p6/Suite-Outside-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p6/Suite-Lounge-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p6/Club-Looking-In-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p6/Bar-and-Outfield-Deck-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p6/Seating-Options-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p6/Site-Plan-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p6/Concourse-Level-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p6/Suite-Level-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p6/Clubhouse-Level-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p6/Building-Sections-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p6/Concert-Layout-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p6/Test-Home-Elevation-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p6/Test-1B-Elevation-300.jpg
http://www.fortwaynewizards.com/images/p6/Test-3B-Elevation-300.jpg

cwilson758

August 7th, 2007, 03:05 PM

WOW...those looks nice and are a great thing for downtown Ft. Wayne. The new ballpark, Marriott and these will be a lot for the Fort.

ragerunner1

August 7th, 2007, 07:37 PM

I am really glad to see this type of development starting to happen in downtown Fort Wayne. Lets hope this is just the start of many more projects.

rob_1412

August 12th, 2007, 02:23 PM

My apologies in advance; some topics push my buttons, and it's hard for me to stop.

< :speech: >
The streetcar fantasy raises its head every twenty years or so. The last time I remember it getting some attention was in the eighties when some major street resufacing involved milling the asphalt down to the underlying brick and exposing still-in-place tracks. The rail and ties were removed and the rail probably was sold for scrap. Much of it was worn out from deferred maintenance dating to before WWII anyway.

I'd like to see streetcars running again, and I expect that they'd attract more riders than buses do. Reality, though, says that capital costs of starting a streetcar system from scratch are staggering, and in a city where possiby the majority of commuters live in suburbs and have no memory of transit or any experience using it and regard it as a safety net for the unemployable and undesirable, and where taxes are regarded as theft, getting public support for such an expensive undertaking is unlikely.

The bus system (Citilink) seems to be on a steady path of improvement since the city outsourced its management to McDonald Associates a few years ago. The general manager, David Gionet, came here from Bloomington, Indiana, which has an impressive system for a city its size and where the public transit system is effectively coordinated with the Indiana University Campus Bus system. Ridership, frequencies and hours of service have improved and there seems to be a less contentious relationship between management and labor than before.

We still have a long way to go before there's sufficient ridership and support for transit to support investment in a streetcar system. I once read that in a system with existing ETB (electric trolley bus) service, conversion of a diesel route to ETB reaches breakeven when the route runs full buses every 10-15 minutes for at least ten hours per day. Given the much higher cost of streetcars because of the need to tear up streets, build a railbed and buy and install rails and buy streetcars, I thnk the ridership requirements to justify it exceed anything that will happen here in the near future.

I'll stop now.
< /:speech: >

Indyman

August 13th, 2007, 10:10 PM

I am really glad to see this type of development starting to happen in downtown Fort Wayne. Lets hope this is just the start of many more projects.

I really agree. Its nice to know some change is coming. I plan on coming back to Fort Wayne after college because I think it is a great city with awesome potential for a nice lil hub.

jpIllInoIs

August 19th, 2007, 04:52 PM

So much of FW growth is through annexation of cornfield subdivisions... It is nice to see some focus on the city core. What are the current population figures for FW and Allen County?

rob_1412

August 20th, 2007, 03:54 AM

According to the 2000 census the city has 205,727 people.

According to Wikipedia's info on the Fort Wayne MSA: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Wayne-Huntington-Auburn,_IN_CSA)

"As of the 2000 Census, the total population for this region was 502,141 but had a household population of 504,000 - 256,000 (51 percent) females and 247,000 (49 percent) males. The median age was 34.3 years. Twenty-eight percent of the population were under 18 years and 11 percent were 65 years and older."

Strate

September 3rd, 2007, 04:19 PM

Suites sold out at baseball stadium

Negotiations to sell the naming rights for the new downtown baseball stadium are moving forward, and all of the luxury suites available for long-term commitments have been sold.

Jason Freier, CEO of Fort Wayne Wizards owner Hardball Capital LLC, would not talk about the details, but said there is some idea where naming-rights talks are going.

“We are pleased with the response,” Freier said. “We would like to have something in place sooner rather than later.”

The city will receive 50 percent of naming-rights revenue, up to $300,000 per year, after inventory and sign costs. All revenue beyond that also goes to the city.

The Harrison Square project will include retail, housing and a Courtyard by Marriott hotel across Jefferson Boulevard from the Grand Wayne Center in addition to the stadium. The cost of the project is estimated at $120.4 million.

Demolition at the site is under way, and construction is expected to begin soon.

The $30-million stadium is scheduled to be ready for the start of the 2009 baseball season. Hardball is paying $5 million toward the stadium’s construction.

Freier said long-term agreements have been signed for 15 luxury suites, and one suite will be left open for single-game rentals. The team owner initially planned to build 12 suites, but increased the number to 16. The suite commitments range from five to 10 years, and there already is a waiting list.

“We’re trying to work in a couple additional companies that have come and expressed interest to be on the suite level after we were committed,” he said.

The luxury suites will include access to a club lounge that will not be available to other fans at the game.

The stadium is expected to have about 6,000 seats, but with outfield berms and other areas for fans, it will have a capacity of 8,000 to 9,000. There will be 98 club seats on the suite level that will be available for those not interested in suites.

Condominium and retail-space sales at Harrison Square have not started yet.

hoosier

September 6th, 2007, 02:47 AM

Great renderings. Great project.

I really hope Ft. Wayne develops its DT as successfully as Indianapolis did.

LouisvilleJake

October 6th, 2007, 07:49 AM

State approves funds for Fort Wayne development
The Associated Press

A $120 million development project in downtown Fort Wayne to be built around a new baseball stadium has cleared a major financing hurdle.

The Indiana Department of Local Government Finance approved a $45.9 million bond for the Harrison Square project Wednesday, city officials said.
The approval allows the city to back the bond with property taxes, which city officials say should help the city get a reduced interest rate on the debt.

Deputy Mayor Mark Becker said to win state approval, the city had to prove it would not use general property taxes on the project. Becker said the project instead would rely on revenue from other sources, including economic development income taxes.

The downtown development includes a new hotel with parking garage, a combined condominium/retail building and a $30 million city-owned baseball stadium.

The city plans for the Fort Wayne Wizards to play in the new downtown stadium on opening day of 2009.

The city already has taken out an $18 short-term loan so construction could begin before the bond issue is completed, though groundbreaking has yet to be scheduled

Strate

October 12th, 2007, 01:34 AM

Harrison Square construction date set

The city announced in a legal ad Wednesday that construction on Harrison Square will begin Oct. 30 and be finished by March 9, 2009.

The $125 million-to-$160 million downtown revitalization project includes a $30 million baseball stadium, a $35 million Courtyard by Marriott hotel, a parking garage, and $14 million in retail development and condominiums. The baseball stadium is expected to be ready by the beginning of the 2009 Wizards season.

The city began acquiring properties for the development last year. Demolition of those properties began in July.

jpIllInoIs

October 12th, 2007, 03:25 PM

Wow! I kept expecting someone to drop the ball-pun intended. I can't believe FTW will have a new ballpark downtown. This is a great day in the Fort. :)

rob_1412

January 11th, 2008, 05:23 AM

This morning I took a walk downtown to shake off cabin fever and check out progress on Harrison Square construction. I grabbed a couple of shots that caught my eye along the way.

New copper shingles for Trinity English Lutheran. Them ain't cheap!
http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-002.jpg

Allen County Public Library west entrance
http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-005.jpg

Allen County Public Library plaza entrance
http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-006.jpg

http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-019.jpg

Not a lot going on with Harrison Square today because of the mud from the sudden thaw and heavy rains. Some work was going on around the periphery of the site, but anything that had tried to drive on the construction roads would have gotten mired immediately.
http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-042.jpg

http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-011.jpg

http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-041.jpg

http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-015.jpg

http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-008.jpg

http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-009.jpg

http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-010.jpg

http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-024.jpg

http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-013.jpg

I found a gap in the barricades big enough for my skinny ass to slip through. What I thought was a crushed-stone surface turned out to be a thin layer of stone over deep, sticky, sucking mud. I 'bout lost my shoes!
http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-014.jpg

http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-017.jpg

http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-020.jpg

http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-021.jpg

http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-023.jpg

http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-025.jpg

http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-026.jpg

http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-027.jpg

http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-028.jpg

http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-030.jpg

Sloppy tinkering with Photoshop
http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-035.jpg

How 'bout some more water? We're runnin' out of mud over here!
http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-033.jpg

http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-037.jpg

http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-038.jpg

http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-039.jpg

http://robertpence.com/fort_wayne/20080110-040.jpg

UrbanTom

January 11th, 2008, 06:35 AM

NICE MUD!! That's great to see the new stadium and the related projects underway. I was looking for Powers Hamburgers. Couldn't find it. Did it get moved or am I just missing it? That is the best little place to get those onion burgers. That place must have been on the historic register - it is such a classic little place. I thought it used to be right there across from the old Lincoln Life headquarters. Please tell me it hasn't been lost. Hopefully I just couldn't see it or it was picked up and moved and will be put back when the construction is done. That place couldn't have been much more than about 12' x 12' square. Go WIZARDS

rob_1412

January 11th, 2008, 06:47 AM

NICE MUD!! ... I was looking for Powers Hamburgers ...

Powers is still there, in its original location. It's just a block south of what shows in the photos. While I was slipping and sliding around in the mud, I could smell the burgers with onions frying! Had me salivating!

Depending on the wind direction, the Harrison Square experience will be enhanced by the aroma of burgers fried with onions at Powers, or BBQ from King Gyros. Both good!

rob_1412

January 12th, 2008, 06:18 PM

Latest Harrison Square info and renderings are on the city site:

http://www.cityoffortwayne.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1049&Itemid=1168

UrbanTom

January 12th, 2008, 11:33 PM

Great. Glad to hear Powers is still there. That place will have lines down the street when its baseball season at the new park.

thehoss257

January 13th, 2008, 06:01 AM

I'm coming to Fort Wayne from Indy tomorrow to see Bryan Reagan at the Embassy. Can someone suggest a good place to eat downtown.

astyrrian

January 13th, 2008, 06:49 AM

I'm coming to Fort Wayne from Indy tomorrow to see Bryan Reagan at the Embassy. Can someone suggest a good place to eat downtown.

J.K. O'Donnell's (http://www.jkodonnells.com/)

rob_1412

January 13th, 2008, 05:23 PM

Or for Italian, Toscani's is just across the street from J.K. O'Donnell's.

The food and service are good, decor is attractive, and atmosphere is cozy.

Both are on Wayne Street between Harrison and Calhoun.

Henry's is good, too. Sort of a neighborhood bar but a little more than that, it has a comfortable, nostalgic atmosphere plus good food and service. It's at Main & Fulton, just east of Fort Wayne Newspapers.

Strate

January 25th, 2008, 05:19 PM

More Harrison Square Condos Coming?

(Fort Wayne - WANE) Construction just began, but Fort Wayne's largest downtown development project ever could soon get even bigger.

While Harrison Square is nothing more than a big pile of dirt right now, just about a year from now, people will call it home.

City leaders broke ground in November of 2007 for the project, which includes 62-condominiums.

"Right now, 56 are reserved," Mike Brita of Martin Goldstine Knapke told Newschannel 15's Matt McCutcheon. Those reservations should turn into contracts next week, and that's when an expansion announcement could come.

"There is room around Harrison square to keep going," said Brita.

Keep going... to the tune of more than 100 additional condos. The good news comes during a less-than good time for the economy.

"We're in kind of a tough market right now... a lot of houses for sale," said realtor John Sullivan.

But there's that old saying: ‘location, location, location!' That may explain why these condos appear to be doing so well.

"It's a new project, it's downtown, and we haven't had anything downtown for many years in housing," said Sullivan.

"I think a lot of young people could be enticed to come back to Fort Wayne if they've left, or at least stay here," said realtor Diane McCammon.

Living downtown appears to be attractive and marketable to people. Take for example The Midtown Crossing Condominiums. It was nothing more than an idea more than 20 years ago. Now, it's virtually full, and it's hoped that energy will spill over to The Harrison.

"We love being able to walk everywhere! we love the restaurants and all the activities downtown," said Midtown resident Judy Mahoney.

Mahoney says she's is looking forward to the stores Harrison Square could bring. Developer CB Richard Ellis is in charge of that, and says it's talking to dozens of tenants

"Many are recognizing this as a very unique project that they rarely come across, which is helping gain the attention of some great potential tenants," said Brad Sturges.

Those tenants include night clubs, to high end restaurants, and convenience stores... but none of the names of those tenants will be announced until a contract has been signed.

Wane.com (http://www.wane.com/global/story.asp?s=7430010)

Strate

January 25th, 2008, 05:26 PM

Looks like phase two is gonna happen if everyone buys; from the agreement:

(b) Commencement of Phase 2. Subject to mutually acceptable property of
approximately one (1) acre in size, to be designated as Phase 2, being made available for
purchase by Company, and timely receipt of all permits and approvals from the City, the
Company shall commence Phase 2 of the Project no later than the earlier of (i) three (3)
years from the date of substantial completion of Phase 1, or (ii) two (2) years from the
date that Phase 1 of the Project is 90% occupied, leased or sold, and shall in all material
respects complete Phase 2 within eighteen (18) months of commencement thereof. Phase
2 shall consist of the items and/or parameters indicated in Exhibit C attached hereto,
subject to the terms and conditions described in Section 3.07 hereof.

(c) Commencement of Phase 3. Subject to mutually acceptable property of
approximately one (1) acre in size to be made available for purchase by the Company,
and timely receipt of all permits and approvals from the City, the Company further shall
commence Phase 3 of the Project no later than the earlier of (i) three (3) years from the
date of substantial completion of Phase 2, or (ii) two (2) years from the date that Phase 2
of the Project is 90% occupied, leased or sold, and shall in all material respects complete
Phase 3 within eighteen (18) months of commencement thereof. Phase 3 shall consist of
the items and/or parameters indicated in Exhibit C attached hereto, subject to the terms
and conditions described in Section 3.07 hereof.

http://www.cityoffortwayne.org/images/stories/news/harrison/Condo%20Retail%20Agreement.pdf

rob_1412

January 26th, 2008, 12:22 AM

An item in the Journal-Gazette related that Mayor Tom Henry and his wife are contemplating buying one of the condos and downsizing from their present 3,800sf house.

rob_1412

January 31st, 2008, 05:42 AM

rob_1412

February 1st, 2008, 11:27 AM

From the Journal Gazette:

http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080131/EDIT07/801310373/0/SEARCH

I think they should include Berry Street west of Van Buren to Thieme Drive, too, leaving the parking in place on both sides. Residents would have easier access to and from their homes, and two-way traffic would provide an impediment to the many people who drive too fast there.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Published: January 31, 2008 6:00 a.m.
Having it both ways

Mayor Tom Henry is right to ask the City Council to reconsider converting several downtown streets to allow two-way traffic. Examining ways to improve downtown traffic patterns is prudent given the flourishing development downtown.

Henry wants the council to revisit converting Wayne Street to two-way traffic between Van Buren and Clay streets, as well as Berry Street from Clay Street to Broadway.

The priority for city leaders, however, should be converting the one-way section of Calhoun Street. Council members last year approved making Calhoun a two-way street between Washington Boulevard and Berry Street, but that plan was ditched because the cost of converting it proved to be higher than expected. The project was expected to cost $2.4 million, but the lowest bid for the project was 3 percent higher than the estimate.

The Henry administration should re-examine the bid specifications and try again. The closing of Harrison Street for the Grand Wayne Center expansion and Webster Street for the Allen County Library project has created an urgent need for another uninterrupted north-south route downtown, a void that a two-way Calhoun Street would fill.

In 2006, the council defeated a request to convert Berry and Wayne streets downtown from one-way to two-way in a vote that split according to party affiliation. Republicans were looking at the costs then. Since then, the Harrison Square development has begun, creating a need to re-examine downtown traffic patterns, and four council members have been replaced.

Change has both advantages and drawbacks.

The series of one-way streets can be difficult for visitors to navigate. Advocates of traffic “calming” say the two-way streets slow traffic down, encouraging motorists to stop at neighboring businesses, and encourage more pedestrian traffic. Slowing the traffic down, of course, would be a disadvantage to motorists who want to get moving quickly.

How would two-way streets handle the traffic generated by baseball games and other Harrison Square-related activity? With Washington and Jefferson boulevards remaining one-way, would it make sense to change Berry and Wayne?

These are some of the questions city officials should ask.

While council members should indeed examine the cost implications, they should give strong latitude to the city administration regarding the effect on traffic patterns. After all, it will be the Henry administration that runs the Street Department, is in charge of traffic signs and assigns police officers to traffic control.

City officials are right to revisit converting Wayne and Berry to two-way streets, but they should first concentrate on Calhoun Street.

rob_1412

February 4th, 2008, 04:08 AM

I don't know for sure where this cam (http://www.oxblue.com/pro/open/?webPath=bc/harrison) is located, but the view looks like it must be One Summit Square.

hoosier

February 6th, 2008, 12:56 AM

I am very happy for Fort Wayne. Indiana needs its bigger cities to revitalize their downtowns and follow in the footsteps of Indy.

I hope to be able to catch a game at the new ballpark in a couple of seasons!

:):banana::cheers:

IndyTampaTom

February 6th, 2008, 01:11 AM

Rob - Thanks for the great picture of Powers! I do love those little burgers and, like you said, its easy to get an imaginary whiff of the onions in my mind just by thinking about them frying on the grill. I tried looking at the picture on the aerial cam on Tuesday afternoon around 6:00 pm, but the picture was all steamed up and had raindrops on it. I'll have to try again some other time.

IndyTampaTom

February 6th, 2008, 01:28 AM

Somebody needs to find some articles about the detrimental effects of converting business streets to one way traffic and show them to Mayor Henry. Just as things are starting to get going downtown, the last thing he should want to do is kill off the restaurants and other retail businesses along those two way streets by converting them to one way corridors. There are examples all over the country showing how streetlife is killed by turning pedestrian friendly, two way streets into one way speed-traps focused on getting people in and out of the downtown area as quickly as possible. Actually, I just found this article that was in the Louisville Courier-Journal a few days ago:

Oped | Matt Hanka and John Gilderbloom
Time to end one-way thinking
By Matt Hanka and John Gilderbloom
Special to The Courier-Journal

A key strategy to renewing downtown historic neighborhoods is converting one-way to two-way streets. Oppressive four-lane downtown one-way streets help kill neighborhoods and small businesses. We need to convert these one-way ghetto makers into two-way streets with parking, trees and bike lanes to calm traffic and make neighborhoods more livable for families, young urban pioneers and the elderly, who want to live closer to medical care downtown.

One-way streets pose many threats for pedestrian and motorist safety, make city streets seem less safe, disproportionately impact poor and minority neighborhoods, hurt downtown businesses, reduce the property values of homes and negatively impact the environment and contribute to global warming. Conversions to two-way have already happened in more than 100 cities around the United States.

These one-way streets also constitute a kind of "environmental racism," where speeding motorists on one-way streets increase the levels of exhaust, noise and pollution. One-way streets are predominately located in older downtown neighborhoods in minority, poor and working-class areas.

Engineers claim that "one-way" is the best way because it moves traffic quicker, but they don't understand the sociological, ecological and economic impacts of a one-way street.

One-way streets have hurt downtown commercial businesses. For instance, on Vine Street in Cincinnati, 40 percent of the businesses closed after conversion from a two-way to a one-way street. One-way streets have a negative impact on storefront exposure, which is lost when one direction of travel is eliminated and traffic is speeded up.

One-way streets also create greater opportunities for crime in urban areas. Having one-way traffic reduces overall use, allowing for negative vacuums to be created. One-way streets are the gun, drug and sex distribution centers for a city.

Why? You need a two- or three-lane one-way street where you can pause to negotiate the deal and get out of there quickly. You can't do that on a two-way street because it slows down traffic. That's why the one-way two/three-lane street works best for pimps, drive-by shootings and drug dealers. If you break the law, it's better to drive 50 mph on a one-way with no obstacles.

If the streets are converted to two-ways, the traffic will slow down, giving a greater balance of traffic flow in the morning and afternoon. Slower traffic increases people activity on and around the street, and enables pedestrians and motorists to safely interact with the streetscape and activity around them.

One-way streets also lower property values. Identical historic homes are valued less if they are located on busy one-way streets where traffic goes faster and lacks the steady flow of a two-way street. Real estate 101 tells us location, location, location, or more plainly don't buy the house across from the X-rated movie house, the glue factory or fast and furious one-way street.

We know the positive impact of Oak Street in Old Louisville going from one-way to two-way with businesses coming back and housing doing better in this area. But where Oak Street reverts to one-way at Floyd Street going east, immediately, housing and business activity dramatically declines through low-income Smoketown and working-class Germantown.

Many downtown neighborhood groups are demanding conversion of one-ways to two-ways as part of their neighborhood plans. Similar efforts can be made on Muhammad Ali and Chestnut streets from Phoenix Hill to Shawnee, where a lot of urban revitalization has taken place, as well as on Brook and First streets in Old Louisville and Mellwood and Story avenues in Butchertown, and Main Street through downtown to spark or maintain urban renaissance.

Why is planning aimed at enhancing suburbs but hurting downtown neighborhoods? You cannot find three- and four-lane one-way streets in suburbia, as it decreases housing appreciation and quality of life.

We are not arguing that two-way streets alone are the panacea for all our urban ills. Indeed, there are one-way streets that work, such as the world famous crooked Lombard Street in San Francisco. However, it is undeniable that transforming one-way streets to two-way streets is one of many proven ideas within a new urbanist agenda that revitalizes and reinvents our historic downtowns and neighborhoods.

The cost of going from one-way to two-way streets would easily be recaptured in increased taxes on homes and business growth. This would reinforce the movement from the suburbs to downtown, and also would move people to invest in these neighborhoods as places to live. Reduced crime also saves the city money in police expenditures. It would also significantly reduce the foreclosure rates in these neighborhoods.

Two-way streets should be at the heart of a city's downtown development strategy. Neighborhoods become more sustainable, livable and prosperous because of two-way streets. Cities like Miami, Dallas and Minneapolis are reverting back to two-way streets, which have resulted in a larger influx of upwardly mobile residents to their cities, yet Louisville has not taken proper action to use this planning tool to help save and enhance our downtown neighborhoods. This strategy fosters the reinvention of the downtown by converting empty factories into loft housing and a creative economy of art and computers, while convincing people in the suburbs to "live, work and play" in downtown. Downtown one-way streets are bad one-way thinking.

Matt Hanka and John Gilderbloom are with the Center for Sustainable Urban Neighborhoods at the University of Louisville: www.louisville.edu/org/sun. Gilderbloom's newest book, "Invisible City," will be released next month.

rob_1412

February 6th, 2008, 09:29 PM

UrbanTom

February 7th, 2008, 05:37 AM

OK good! I'm glad Mayor Henry knows what he's doing. I guess I interpreted the article wrong when it said Mayor Henry was asking the council to "reconsider converting several downtown streets to allow two way traffic". I thought he was saying he wanted them to reconsider converting them to two way traffic, meaning he didn't want them converted to two way traffic. OK--- -well then - I guess the people that need to have the problems with big one way streets in downtown explained to them are those certain members from the one party that didn't seem to understand livable urban streetscapes the first time this issue came up for a vote. Hope they get it right if it comes up for a vote again.

rob_1412

February 7th, 2008, 05:48 AM

You got it! Converting Wayne and Berry to two-way was discussed last year and rejected. Now we have some new council members and with some salesmanship the idea might pass this time around. Reconsidered in the sense of re-considered.

The expansion of the Grand Wayne Center took a block out of Harrison Street between Washington and Jefferson, and the library expansion took out a block of Webster Street between Wayne and Washington. Navigating downtown has become more difficult, especially for out-of-towners, and getting rid of some one-way streets is one approach to improving the situation.

Strate

February 12th, 2008, 03:56 PM

Planners investing in Metro Building
By Kimberly Peterson
The Journal Gazette

Hanning & Bean Enterprises Inc. has big plans for the Metro Building downtown, which it bought from Metro Associates for an undisclosed amount Feb. 1.

Bill Bean, a partner at Hanning & Bean, said he plans to renovate the façade of the eight-story building at 202 W. Berry St. and make it a prominent downtown landmark.

“We want it to be part of the dynamic improvements going on all over downtown,” Bean said.

Bean declined to say how much his company paid to buy the building. But he said between buying the building and renovations, the total investment could be $4.5 million to $6 million.

This is the third downtown building Hanning & Bean has bought. Bean said he hopes to repeat his company’s success renovating the 1st Source building with the Metro Building.

“We’re seeing a lot more interest (downtown) than we did three years ago,” Bean said.

Steve Zacher, president of The Zacher Co., a Fort Wayne-based real estate company, said he, too, has seen an increased interest in downtown office space recently.

“The market has moved to the point where it’s more affordable to be a tenant downtown than in the suburbs, even when you factor in the cost of parking,” Zacher said.

Hanning & Bean will also make improvements to the interior of the building as new tenants move there. Bean said about half the 132,216-square-foot space is leased. Along with the building, Hanning & Bean acquired about 250 surface parking spaces.

One of the advantages of the Metro Building is there are few load-bearing walls in the building, allowing tenants the flexibility to knock down or construct walls to suit their needs.

“What’s nice is we can configure the space to suit tenants’ needs; we don’t need to find a tenant to suit what’s already there,” Bean said.

CB Richard Ellis/Sturges will continue to be the leasing agent for the building.

kpeterson@jg.net

http://www.jg.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080212/BIZ/802120330

rob_1412

February 12th, 2008, 07:35 PM

Good news! That area is kind of a dead corner of the CBD and needs some livening up. If they succeed in increasing occupancy, other downtown businesses like restaurants will benefit.

I'm eager to see some renderings of what they propose. Aesthetically, Metro is a pretty unremarkable building. Here's a shot from 2004:
http://www.robertpence.com/fort_wayne/metro_bldg_2004_0004.jpg

A previous building on that site previously burned around 1968, I think. It was a nondescript dive called the Red Garter, a saloon reputed to be the domain of prostitutes, drug dealing and illegal gambling. If I remember correctly, it was thought to be arson.

The Metro building stands at Berry and Harrison, across Harrison from the parking lot that was the site of the Van Orman Hotel.

thequon

February 13th, 2008, 03:18 AM

Fort Wayne has 250,000 people. For that sized population it should have a more vibrant downtown. I was there for Thanksgiving, (where my grandparents live) and looking at old photos. It looks like the are making progress but it is too bad it doesn't have the vitality it once did, there are parking lots everywhere!

I generally believe density is a good thing. From a tax base perspective, and from city services it makes more sense to grow upward than continually outward. In the 1990's St. Joe's Township was not part of Fort Wayne, now its close to the center of the map! All that annexation can't be good for the long run.

Strate

February 13th, 2008, 04:11 AM

I wish all of the old hotels were still around.

rob_1412

February 13th, 2008, 05:03 AM

I wish all of the old hotels were still around.

I'm probably the resident geezer on the forum, so indulge me while I ramble about the good old days that I remember. I first took up residence on my own in Fort Wayne in 1958 in my late teens.

The major hotels downtown were the Van Orman (imploded), the Keenan (imploded) and the Indiana (still standing - Embassy Theater - but not a working hotel in years). There were the Rosemarie (arson fire) on the Landing
and the Randall (razed in the sixties, a transient hotel in its later years) on the west side of Harrison where Columbia (the Landing) tees in.

The 7-story 1917 YMCA that stood at Washington & Barr had a residence hotel as part of its operation, with rooms on the top 5 floors. A lot of out-of-town students stayed there; Purdue extension was still downtown until 1964, along with International Business College, and a few of us in the GE Toolmaker Apprentice Program made it our home. Transient military and men in town for training programs for North American Van Lines and other companies stayed there too. In addition to the gym and pool, it had a first-rate cafeteria, barber shop, and dry-cleaning and laundry drop-off and pick-up desk. I stayed there for about a year and a half and paid my $11 weekly room rent by running the antique manual elevator at night.

How about the department stores? Wolf & Dessauer was a full-line store with clothing, jewelry, cosmetics, housewares & appliances and an elegant dining room. The earliest W&D store I remember was 5 stories and stood on the present site of One Summit Square. That store was replaced in 1960 by the building that is now Renaissance Square. The old building stood vacant for a while, and then burned in 1964.

Stillman's Grand Leader stood on the southeast corner at Wayne & Calhoun. It carried a pretty full line of merchandise but was sort of second-tier. Patterson Fletcher, at Wayne & Harrison, was mostly, maybe entirely, clothing, and there were several men's wear and women's fashion stores, shoe stores and jewelers. Of all the retail from that period, only Klingler's Jewelers remains.

G.C. Murphy stood on the corner where Wells-Fargo is now. It was noted for its lunch counter and donut machine, and was a pretty good source for general odds & ends and yard goods (textiles).

And restaurants, pharmacies and five movie theatres.

Southgate was the first shopping center I remember, and it didn't have a lot of effect on downtown. Northcrest started to have some impact as downtown merchants moved there, and Glenbrook was the beginning of the end.

UrbanTom

February 13th, 2008, 07:10 AM

rob_1412

February 13th, 2008, 03:35 PM

There was an L.S. Ayres Department Store downtown too wasn't there? For a while, I thought I remembered there being two good sized department stores downtown - Wolf & Dessauer's and L.S. Ayres. Do you rememberr that Rob? Or did the L.S. Ayres come after the W & D closed?

L.S. Ayres bought Wolf & Dessauer around 1967-1968; Ayres anchored Glenbrook Mall and occupied the 1960 building downtown that is now Renaissance Square. The building doesn't look anything like it did then; originally it was clad in windowless white brick from the second through the fourth stories, but in the late '80s Waterfield Mortgage bought the building and stripped it to the concrete columns and floor slabs, put an atrium where the escalators had been and a fountain on the lower level, and updated all the mechanicals as well as the facade. Lincoln Financial leased the building for several years and I worked there off-and-on during that time. The Lincoln Museum is on the northwest corner of the first floor and lower level.

http://www.robertpence.com/fort_wayne/renaissance_square_2004_0025.jpg

http://www.robertpence.com/fort_wayne/lincoln_museum_2004_0027.jpg

http://www.robertpence.com/fort_wayne/renaissance_sq_2004_0052.jpg

I have some photos of the building before it was reconstructed, but they're on film and haven't been scanned yet.

rob_1412

February 19th, 2008, 04:33 PM

An agenda item at last night's (Feb 18) West Central Neighborhood Association meeting was the proposal to restore parking on the north side of Washington Boulevard between Van Buren and Garden Streets. The city's traffic engineers have stated that the street is wide enough to accomodate a lane of parking while still carrying two lanes of westbound traffic. City planners hope that the change will help to calm the traffic, which typically moves at 45mph despite the 35mph posted limit and degrades the residential character and property values because of the noise.

Attendees at the meeting voted in favor of the parking proposal, and the officers will send a letter to traffic engineering in support of it. The pavement on Washington is getting pretty bad and will be a lot worse by spring, and the street department is trying to work the street into this summer's paving plans. If that happens, the new lane designations probably will be implemented when the repaved street is striped.

Strate

February 19th, 2008, 06:23 PM

That will be weird, yet welcome.

rob_1412

February 19th, 2008, 06:54 PM

I think it will be a good thing. Most of the residences on Washington are multiple-unit rentals, and the lack of parking on Washington puts a lot of pressure for parking space on the side streets. Anyone coming to visit a house on Washington may be faced with parking more than a block away.

My house is on Washington, albeit west of Garden Street. If the narrowed traffic lanes get people to slow down, resulting in less noise, I'll be pretty happy about it. Now, once drivers clear the stoplight at College Street, many go pedal-to-the-metal because they have wide lanes and no more stoplights for about a mile.

Strate

February 20th, 2008, 03:07 AM

New downtown hotel design
Architects for the proposed Courtyards by Marriott downtown have submitted a new exterior design for the hotel.

Drawings of the new design should be available Wednesday or Thursday.

The new exterior design has more of a retro feel and is more evocative of a 1920's - 1930's office building. The new design has been made more reflective of the Embassy to which the new hotel will be tethered by a walkway.

http://indiana.typepad.com/fwob/

UrbanTom

February 20th, 2008, 07:25 AM

Rob - thanks for the info on Ayres and its history with Wolf & Dessauer. I may have been to W&D a few times as a young kid, but its probably Ayres that I remember from the 70's.

astyrrian

February 21st, 2008, 12:07 AM

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2203/2280264848_dc09537c79.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottfw/2280264848/in/set-72157603951696539)

New rendering of Courtyard by Marriott for downtown Fort Wayne Harrison Square project released 2-20-2008

Click picture for Flickr and to see more images from the set

rob_1412

February 21st, 2008, 04:36 AM

Looks impressive.

I think I heard that there's an open house in the Jefferson Room at Grand Wayne on Thursday evening (Feb 21) starting at 6 p.m. to show the public the latest renderings and a new fly-through.

I was listening to WBNI but not really paying close attention while trying to multitask, not always a successful undertaking for me.

astyrrian

February 21st, 2008, 03:18 PM

Here's a link (http://vimeo.com/711418) to the fly through video

The open house is tonight (2/21) at 6PM, room Jefferson A of the Grand Wayne Center

rob_1412

February 24th, 2008, 02:17 AM

I arrived a little bit late because of an earlier obligation. The room was, at most, half big enough for the number of people that showed up. I soon gave up trying to see anything.

I came, I saw, I left.

hoosier

February 25th, 2008, 05:01 PM

Is this new Courtyard Marriott design going to replace the 11/12 story hotel that was in earlier renders of the Harrison Square redevelopment?

If so, that is too bad. Ft. Wayne needs another 10+ story building.

Strate

February 26th, 2008, 05:03 AM

Agreed, I wish they could cut it in half and stack a part of it on top.

IndyTampaTom

March 24th, 2008, 07:44 PM

Ft. Wayne is one of five cities listed in the current (early April) issue of The Advocate magazine as a city seeing signficant growth in the number of same sex couples. Its a nice little article - just a couple of paragraphs that highlights the cultural attractions of the city and briefly discusses the new downtown plans. One of the primary pluses listed for the city is its affordability and its proximity to Chicago, Detroit, Columbus, and Indianapolis. Tulsa, OK and Plano, Tx are two of the other cities listed (I forget who the other two are). If someone is so inclined, they could search for the article and post it here.

arenn

March 25th, 2008, 03:11 AM

arenn

March 25th, 2008, 03:13 AM

Fort Wayne has 250,000 people. For that sized population it should have a more vibrant downtown. I was there for Thanksgiving, (where my grandparents live) and looking at old photos. It looks like the are making progress but it is too bad it doesn't have the vitality it once did, there are parking lots everywhere!

Fort Wayne is one of my stock counter-examples to the notion that urban freeways destroyed our cities and allowed people to leave downtowns. Fort Wayne didn't have any urban freeways, but it has followed pretty much the same story arc as every city that did.

araman0

March 25th, 2008, 06:21 AM

Fort Wayne is one of my stock counter-examples to the notion that urban freeways destroyed our cities and allowed people to leave downtowns. Fort Wayne didn't have any urban freeways, but it has followed pretty much the same story arc as every city that did.

I agree, and would argue that Fort Wayne has suffered more than other cities by not having freeway access downtown. IMHO, it is the suburban freeways (bypasses, etc) that tend to hurt cities more than the freeways leading into downtown. Downtown freeways not only make it convenient for people to work, live, and play downtown, but it also reminds passer-bys that downtown still exists and looks like a cool place to visit. Now I'm not a fan of excessive freeways downtown that tend to cut it off completely from surrounding neighborhoods (aka in the case of Detroit), but I do believe that there should be a freeway or two extending out from downtown, branching out in more directions perhaps as they move further away (aka Chicago).

In the case of Fort Wayne, just ask people when the last time was that they were downtown or even saw downtown. I would unfortunately venture to say, based on my experiences living nearby and having friends in the Fort, that many would not remember their last time. Now this was years ago, and I have no doubt that with all the improvements to downtown since, and the improvements underway, this story will likely change.

rob_1412

March 26th, 2008, 02:23 PM

In the case of Fort Wayne, just ask people when the last time was that they were downtown or even saw downtown ...

I've lived in the West Central Neighborhood since 1967. I retired in 2000. For all but a year and a half of that time, I worked within walking distance of my home, at GE until 1988 and at Lincoln Life 1989-2000. Most of the time I walked or biked to work.

In both those places, I was one of the very few people who didn't commute from Aboite or St. Joe Township, or Huntington or Decatur or Bluffton or Auburn, etc.

One of my bosses at GE told me that he wasn't comfortable with the idea of my living in "that neighborhood" and wished I would stop walking to and from work. He was concerned that if I got shot in a robbery attempt, he'd have to find and train a replacement.

My immediate coworkers at Lincoln Life all lived in the 'burbs, but most of them were younger and thought my neighborhood was cool. I worked in tech support, in frequent contact with management types in various departments, and a lot of them were pretty put off if they learned that I lived in the city and rode a bike to work. A lot of them thought anything inside the boundaries of I-69 / 469 was ghetto.

rob_1412

March 26th, 2008, 02:43 PM

There was once a proposal for a north-south expressway through downtown. I think it was in the 1950s.

Although downtown used to be much more dense than it is now, it never did cover a very large geographic area compared with a lot of cities. Historically, it has been pretty much bounded by the railroads and rivers. Had the expressway been built, it would have wiped out a significant chunk of the core of the CBD.

Some people saw the proposed expressway as a civic improvement but I think it would have hastened the downtown's demise. At that time the CBD was still the focus of retail, entertainment and commercial offices, and professional people with disposable income still lived in near-downtown neighborhoods.

araman0

March 27th, 2008, 05:53 AM

..., and a lot of them were pretty put off if they learned that I lived in the city and rode a bike to work. A lot of them thought anything inside the boundaries of I-69 / 469 was ghetto.

What a shame. You should be proud of your living arrangement throughout your career and it should be used as a model for others. I have no doubt that one day soon the perception around Fort Wayne will begin to change. It is already changing in the Indy area, and with the Stadium related projects and other improvements being made downtown, people's views will begin to change.

...but I think it would have hastened the downtown's demise. At that time the CBD was still the focus of retail, entertainment and commercial offices, and professional people with disposable income still lived in near-downtown neighborhoods.
Although it would have caused immediate damage to Fort Wayne's neighborhoods by carving through it's fine neighborhoods, it is also possible that it would have brought new businesses to downtown. I'm not familiar with Fort Wayne's newer suburban headquarters, but imagine if a couple of them would have chosen to locate downtown instead of the bypasses given the convenience and exposure a downtown freeway would have provided them downtown.

I fight myself back and forth on whether or not downtown Freeways have helped or hurt cities, and I always seem to conclude that, if designed properly (and sparingly!!), freeways tend to help bring business and exposure to downtown to more than make up for the way they "carve" through inner neighborhoods.

rob_1412

April 15th, 2008, 06:10 AM

YLNI Presents Urban Design Lecture and Panel Discussion

Fort Wayne, IN - Young Leaders of Northeast Indiana welcomes Professor Philip Bess to Fort Wayne for a lecture and panel discussion about urban design and sustainable development. The event, which is open to the public, will take place at 6:00PM on April 16th in the auditorium of the downtown branch of the Allen County Public Library. Professor Bess is an expert in neighborhood ballpark design and his expertise will provide meaningful and actionable input as Fort Wayne works towards ensuring compatible and appropriate development around Harrison Square and the downtown area. What types of uses are compatible? What makes for quality development that is both intelligent and sustainable? Professor Bess' knowledge will help the citizens of Fort Wayne determine for themselves what is needed to accomplish a walkable, livable, and dynamic downtown.

Professor Bess is the Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture. He teaches graduate urban design and theory, and continues his professional work as a design consultant for municipalities, architects and community development corporations working through the office of Thursday Associates. From 1987-88 he was the director and principal designer of the Urban Baseball Park Design Project of the Society for American Baseball Research; and in Boston in August 2000 he directed and coordinated the ultimately successful "Save Fenway Park!" design charrette. Prof. Bess is the author of City Baseball Magic: Plain Talk and Uncommon Sense About Cities and Baseball Parks (1989), Inland Architecture: Subterranean Essays on Moral Order and Formal Order in Chicago (2000), and most recently Till We Have Built Jerusalem: Architecture, Urbanism, and the Sacred (2007). Prof. Bess holds an M.Arch from the University of Virginia (1981), a Master of Theological Studies (M.T.S.) from the Harvard Divinity School (1976), and a B.A. from
Whittier College (1973).

Following the lecture, a Q&A panel will form and field questions from the attendees. Joining Professor Bess on the panel discussion portion of the event will be the founding members of multi-discipline design firm Studio Three (www.thestudiothree.com): Joseph Blalock (ASLA, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture at Ball State University's College of Architecture and Planning, Founder of Blalock Design Studio), Lohren Deeg (ASAI, Instructor of Architecture at Ball State University's College of Architecture and Planning, Founder of Lohren Deeg Design and Illustration, and Assistant Director of Community Based Projects), and Brian Hollars (AIA, Instructor of Architecture at Ball State University's College of Architecture and Planning, Founder of handHEWN Design and Construction). Questions for the panel can be submitted that evening or prior the event by emailing downtown@ylni.org.

The event is hosted by Young Leaders of Northeast Indiana’s Downtown Development Committee and is sponsored by the Downtown Improvement District, Invent Tomorrow, Notre Dame Club of Fort Wayne, AIA Fort Wayne, Ottenweller Co. Inc., Hylant Group, and CB Richard Ellis/Sturges. Young Leaders of Northeast Indiana (YLNI) is a dynamic group that is connected to the community and committed to making it a vibrant and viable place to live, work and play. The mission is to engage and empower our young leaders through community, professional and social opportunities.
###

Mudhen419

June 6th, 2008, 12:20 PM

Hows the downtown ballpark comin along? Lookin forward to seein some games there when it opens. Beautiful lookin park you guys have goin in

astyrrian

June 23rd, 2008, 04:09 AM

The easiest way to check in is with the webcam:

http://www.oxblue.com/pro/open/?webPath=bc/harrison

Mudhen419

November 1st, 2008, 09:27 AM

Harrison square is lookin great...... I hope your new ball field does as well as toledos has done

runNgunn

November 10th, 2008, 03:32 AM

http://www.indystar.com/article/20081109/LOCAL/811090380/1304/LOCAL

"Fort Wayne plans to use $7 million in federal funds to clean up potentially hundreds of abandoned and foreclosed homes, demolishing some and rehabilitating others.

Mayor Tom Henry announced the grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Friday.

Officials say the city will use the money to buy and demolish some abandoned homes, and to provide grants and loans for private developers to rehabilitate other homes that are not beyond repair. Henry says the money will be used primarily in the urban core of the city."

GarfieldPark

February 21st, 2009, 06:35 AM

For anyone interested in information about Ft. Wayne issues -- check out the conversation on the "Midwest and Plains" level of this site - under the discussion entitled "Which Midwest city will benefit the most from HSR?" (or something like that). Interesting discussion about the potential for HSR and its impacts on Ft. Wayne.

jpIllInoIs

April 6th, 2009, 09:30 PM

^ Yeah, I found some interesting stats on Michigans HSR website. The potential for HSR for Ft. Wayne is nothing short of astounding. It is projected to be the 4th busiest station in the midwest route. Keep in mind that these projections are independent of the Ohio Hub projections which would boost Ft. Wayne even more.

Station volume projections

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I found some stats within the MWRI proposals with projected station passenger volumes. No surprise about Chicago but look...

2020 Passenger volume by station:
TOP 15

Chicago-5,189,860
Milwaukee-1,127,069
St Louis- 678,838
Ft Wayne-677,466 ( On Chi-Clev line)
St. Paul-464,605
Naperville,IL-423,676
Ann Arbor, MI-347,623
Brookfiled,WI-333,141
Madison-309,199
Kalamazoo-309,993 (has spur to Grand Rapids,on Chi-Det line)
Cincy -296,936
Dearborn,MI-296,094
Homewood,IL-290,466
Indy-287,317
Springfield,IL-286,495

Next 10
Detroit-281,062
Bloomington/Normal,IL-264,163
Flint,MI-246,844
East Lansing,MI-242,539
Grand Rapids,MI-237,018
Cleveland-233,834
Rock Island,IL(Quad Cities)-233,067
Kansas City-232,447
Joliet,IL-231,185
Kirkwood,MO-226,357
........
Other notables
......
Battle Creek,MI-219,851
Sturtevant(Racine)WI,193,399
Jefferson City,MO-175,902
Alton,IL-168,814
Champaign/Urbana,IL-163,115
Toledo-162,808
Osh Kosh,WI-143,677
Appleton,WI-142,972
Royal Oak,MI-141,257
Green Bay,WI-131,978

Fort Wayne is projected to be a virtual MEGA station with over 600,000 passengers annually.

Keep in mind that the Ohio numbers do not include the OHIO Hub as this is a study about the MWHSR. That would certainly boost Cincy Toledo Cleve Columbus and Ann Arbor.

Check out pages 23-24 of this pdf.
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/m...t_193253_7.pdf

GarfieldPark

April 7th, 2009, 05:00 AM

There was a rally for high speed rail this past Friday (April 3rd) in Fort Wayne at the Baker Street Station. It was in support of a high speed rail corridor through Ft. Wayne. Did anybody hear how it went? So far I haven't seen any stories about the rally in the local papers.

Mudhen419

April 7th, 2009, 09:47 AM

Will all the construction beyond the CENTER FIELD wall of the new stadium be done in time for this season? I heard the apartments are being delayed and they obviously cant build something liek that in a matter of weeks so I know itll be a while for those, but the park and fountains? and whatever else you have in there is that all on schedule?

jpIllInoIs

April 7th, 2009, 03:00 PM

GarfieldPark

April 8th, 2009, 04:11 AM

The media knew about it because there was a story in the Journal Gazette a few days before the event talking about it. I just couldn't find the follow-up story talking about how the event went.

GarfieldPark

April 9th, 2009, 05:00 AM

I found an excellent blog with lots of information from the High Speed Rail Rally in Ft. Wayne. They had a great turnout (approx. 850 filled the Baker Street Station) with over a dozen elected local and state officials as well as numerous leaders from various High Speed Rail Associations, passenger rail support groups and Amtrak. The link is below:

http://aroundfortwayne.info/blog/?p=3738#more-3738

jpIllInoIs

July 1st, 2009, 04:08 PM

http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090630/LOCAL/306309995

Local banks step to plate for Harrison Square hotel
Benjamin LankaThe Journal Gazette
Samuel Hoffman | The Journal Gazette

Work has begun at the site of the Courtyard by Marriott, the planned hotel at Harrison Square.

Advertisement

Conventioneers, baseball fans and other downtown guests should have a new place to stay by August 2010.

City dignitaries, bankers and developers Monday celebrated the ceremonial groundbreaking of the Courtyard by Marriott, the planned Harrison Square hotel. Deno Yiankes, president and CEO of White Lodging’s investment and development division, said the 250-room hotel will bring at least a $25 million development into the city’s core.

Mayor Tom Henry said the investment, coming at a time of economic strife, will send a signal that Fort Wayne’s core is prospering.

Good to see this project back on track. The new ballpark looks great.

Strate

December 11th, 2009, 11:28 PM

There is a photo "tour" of the hotel slated to open in September.

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-photos.mi?marshaCode=fwadt&pageID=HWHOM

The new "Ice Arena", restaurant, and hotel are well underway on the north side of town.

Strate

December 11th, 2009, 11:35 PM

The three tower cranes are erecting steel finally.

Parkview Regional Medical Center Statistics
Total investment – $536 million
Square footage – 900,000
PRMC total acreage – 115
New Parkview Family Park, total acreage – 27.5
Completion is expected by December 31, 2011
Lead contractors – Weigand Construction of Fort Wayne and Pepper Construction of Chicago

Highlights
400+ bed regional health center
All private rooms
Specialty centers for heart, neurosciences and orthopaedics
The region’s only verified level II adult and pediatric trauma center
Helipad for Samaritan
Full-service 24/7 ER with board-certified emergency physicians
Critical care and surgery with improved patient flow areas for patients, families and medical staff
Verified Level II Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center
Conference and education space
Physicians’ office buildings
Ample room for future expansion
Ronald McDonald House®
More than 40 teams of hospital leadership and staff assisted in the design of the patient care areas

Fascinating facts
6 acres of roof area
1.1 million square feet of parking and roads
9,600 tons of structural steel
54,000 cubic yards of concrete
2,050 plumbing fixtures
3,550 parking spaces
10 miles of concrete curb
19 miles of interior walls
32 miles of ventilation ductwork
400 miles of fiber optic cable
1,200 miles of copper wire

Link to a "overhead" of the site:
http://www.parkview.com/Community/PRMC/Documents/Aerial%20enhanced_composite_12-08.jpg

Construction web cam: http://parkview.truelook.com/index.jsp?flash=yes&name=/parkviewhealth/prmc

Strate

December 11th, 2009, 11:38 PM

http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/images/news/logos/Swiss_RE_FTW_1.jpg

I seen the other day while getting off the interstate that the steel for their new facility is up as well.

http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?ID=33460

Strate

December 11th, 2009, 11:47 PM

The new pedestrian bridge over the St Joseph river is complete. Looks better from Coliseum Blvd.

http://www.erwebsite.com/projects/9852181IPFW_Bridge_Night.jpg
http://www.erwebsite.com/projects/71781349Pic2.jpg

Mudhen419

December 15th, 2009, 11:46 AM

Wow That pedestrian bridge is pretty nice! Hows the area near the new ballpark coming along?

cwilson758

December 15th, 2009, 04:35 PM

are the rivers navigable in Ft. Wayne?

Great Bridge! I would LOVE to have some architecturally significant bridge in dt Indy

GarfieldPark

December 15th, 2009, 05:27 PM

The three rivers in Ft. Wayne are: the St. Mary's, the St. Joseph's and the Maumee. They're only navigable by canoes and an occasional, slow moving small motor boat (or pontoon boat). The picture by IPFW (above) is of the St. Joseph. That spot is just north of a dam on the river -- so the river is a little wider there. The Maumee also begins to get wider as it is running eastward out of the city. There are some pretty wide spots on it also out near New Haven. The Maumee runs all the way to Toledo and emties into Lake Erie there. It gets pretty wide by the time it gets to downtown Toledo at the lake.

Citylink

December 15th, 2009, 08:51 PM

Summit City Grand Resort and Casino Holdings Corporation is the publicly traded (OTC:EXTO) parent company of the Summit City Resort and Water Park.

Summit City Grand Resort and Casino Holdings Corporation Moves Ahead with Plans for Adding to the Revitalization of Downtown Fort Wayne.

After an extensive and thorough study into the industrial performance of the Fort Wayne area, our research has yielded detailed analysis into the current market and economic conditions impacting the entertainment and resort industry of this area. Due to these findings, we at Summit City Grand Resort and Casino Holdings Corporation have determined it is in the best interest of the community and the company to go ahead with our plans to build a Resort Destination in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This will include a Water Park, IMAX theater, Resort Hotel, National Performing Art Center and retail space in downtown Fort Wayne.

With careful consideration from an analytical approach, our core team along with national and international consultants has developed a business model that has come full circle and represents the very best in resort entertainment. A comprehensive marketing study and numerous planning sessions have led to the refinement of this business model.We have determined how to maximize the benefit to the Fort Wayne community and will reveal with this model by the end of this year.

Our Mission is to provide the very best in quality family entertainment to our community and the surrounding area. Utilizing 20 years of entertainment business success, we will continue that tradition and provide the very best in lasting entertainment in the ever changing industry of entertainment and hospitality.

We would like to take a moment to address the issue of casino gaming. We have been approached with the prospect of developing casino gaming along with the downtown Resort Destination and we have declined to pursue casino gaming at this time. We strongly believe that this Resort development will be extremely successful without the casino gaming component.

It is up to our community to speak out if they want a casino in our city. There are many in our community that would like to see a casino, yet there others that oppose casino gaming in our city. If there is a public referendum, we will await the voting results and take appropriate actions at that time. If our community decides they would like to see a casino in our city, we will meet to determine if such is possible on our site, or if it should be looked at by another group.

Subsequently, we have issued a directive to stop all planning and development of a river boat casino and will revisit the issue should that need arise. We at Summit City Grand Resort and Casino Holdings Corporation do not see that a casino river boat is paramount to the success of the development. We are devoted to delivering quality and excellence in entertainment to our community and surrounding areas.

As a corporation we are committed and unified to our community and, as such, have decided to go public. This allows those in our community, along with us, to take ownership of the project by buying stock in Summit City Grand Resort and Casino Holdings Corporation. We do not rely on any tax dollars to support the development effort. However, we have been working with the City of Fort Wayne and including them in all development plans since its inception. We are working to achieve a mutually beneficial relationship with the City and strongly believe this to be the best way of conducting business for our community.

jpIllInoIs

December 28th, 2009, 09:36 PM

I dont know why Ft Wayne likes to hold rail rally's but here comes another one. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that they are in competition with South Bend for the route selection. The actual submitted ARRA application did indicate Ft. Wayne as the preferred route, but left open the possibility of going with the northern option. Her is the articval and link..

Rally for Rail, Rolling Forward set for Jan. 16 at Baker Street Station

By Geoff Paddock
For The News-Sentinel
Last April, nearly 1,000 people attended a Rally for Rail at the Baker Street Train Station in downtown Fort Wayne. The purpose of the rally, sponsored by the Northeast Indiana Passenger Rail Association (NIPRA), was to gather support for the return of passenger rail service to northeastern Indiana. The reaction of the enthusiastic attendees was to support the return of this service and to encourage the state to work on connecting Fort Wayne with Chicago and Cleveland on the proposed Midwest High Speed Rail network.

Three months later, on July 9, state Sen. Tom Wyss and NIPRA hosted Michael Reed, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Transportation, for an update on this important issue. Reed said Gov. Mitch Daniels and many area state legislators had heard the message from people who attended the rally and sent hundreds of postcards of support. Reed promised that INDOT would pursue funding from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act to conduct a preliminary study of the Fort Wayne to Chicago/Cleveland rail line. The application was submitted in October.........

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091223/EDITORIAL/912230346

GarfieldPark

December 29th, 2009, 05:48 AM

Fantastic! Great to see the good organization in Ft. Wayne - and their efforts to get the locals fired up. I hope some federal funds go for completing the environmental analysis on the Chicago to Cleveland route -- and then they are set up well to receive future additional funds once the next federal transportation bill is passed.

Strate

January 12th, 2010, 04:14 AM

LINDA LIPP - LINDAL@FWBUSINESS.COM
http://www.fwbusiness.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5964:'Triangle'-site-soon-will-be-home-to-hat-tricks&catid=51:latest&Itemid=6

The only ice at the new Canlan Ice Sports Arena right now is in the parking lot. But give it another month, and investor Jerry Henry believes the north Wells Street complex will be filled with hockey players, figure skaters and other ice-rink users.

The cavernous building raised over the last few months will house three sheets of ice, a dozen team locker rooms, meeting and party spaces, offices, a pro shop and a spacious, full-service observation-loft restaurant.

The arena is being developed by 3 Sheets Development LLC and the general contractor is Zumbrun Construction Co.

Henry started buying up the pieces of property, collectively known as “the triangle,” a few years ago because he thought the area was an eyesore.

“It was so junky I couldn’t stand it. I bought it to clean it up,” he said.

Located between Wells Street and Lima Road, the wedge of land is across the street from Glenbrook Commons. Henry didn’t have a real plan for the site when he bought it, except perhaps that it also could be retail.

Then developer Todd Ramsey proposed an ice arena, and Henry saw an opportunity.

“My kids played hockey. I knew how hard it was to get ice time,” he said.

This is the first time that Henry has been involved with a project of this sort, and he’s learning about the $14-million facility’s unique requirements as he goes along. He’s also having a little fun with it: He had a choice of liquor licenses to buy for the restaurant, but he picked the former Hartley Place license because the restaurant’s founder, the late Hartley McLeod, was a well-known Komets hockey player.

“I just thought it kind of fit,” Henry said.

The ice arena’s three full-sized sheets will make it the biggest in Indiana, and one of the biggest in the Midwest, Henry said.

“If you’re going to be a bear, be a grizzly bear,” he explained.

Right now, there is nothing but a slender embedded line delineating the floor areas that will become the three ice sheets. Beneath the concrete floor is the complex matrix of pipes that will be used to cool it. They all go back to a compressor so big that a wall at the rear corner of the building had to be left open until the powerful refrigeration unit could be delivered in one piece on a flatbed truck and sledded in.

It will take five days to cool the concrete the first time in order to pour the ice. Right now, the cooling process is slated to begin Jan. 18, with the first sheet to be poured on Jan. 23 or 24, said contractor Mike Zumbrun.

That’s a little too late for a hockey tournament that originally had been scheduled at the facility later this month. The tournament has been moved to February and another is scheduled in March, Ramsey said.

A hotel, with special lockers to accommodate skates and hockey equipment, is under construction next to the ice arena. Work on the Townplace Suites by Marriot hotel had stopped in December, but Ramsey said he believed the construction would begin again after the holidays. The hotel, which is being built by Valparaiso-based Good Hospitality Services, was expected to open in April.

Canlan, based in Toronto and Burnaby, British Columbia, will manage the ice arena, and Henry is confident the company will make good use of it.

“They’re as much in the entertainment business as they are the ice business,” he said.

Canlan took over the operations of the McMillen Ice Arena from the Fort Wayne Parks Department in 2009.

Henry is also happy the project has provided employment for as many as 50 to 75 workers a day for the last six months. With the exception of the specialty contractor brought in for ice-related work, all the subcontractors were local.

None of the outlots on the site has been sold — except for the two acres on which the hotel stands — but Henry said he’s received several expressions of interest from restaurant chains. The property also has room for a small retail center that would probably house service-oriented businesses, such as a barbershop or dry cleaner.

Strate

April 28th, 2010, 04:07 AM

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3279/4558913887_d0cf756e8e.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4043/4559559622_ef2ff427d3.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3227/4558913533_2364aa9618.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4035/4558936019_0a8da5d853.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4002/4559543052_de2dcb3fba_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3321/4558942235_aff3d3c53d_o.jpg

Strate

July 16th, 2010, 01:22 PM

http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?ID=42663

Parkview Health in Fort Wayne says it has passed the halfway point of its $536 million regional medical center project. Hospital officials held a topping off ceremony Thursday to commemorate the final steel beam put into place at the construction site. The project remains on schedule to open in 2012.

Parkview Health and Weigand/Pepper Construction officials today led a media tour inside the Parkview Regional Medical Center construction site.
Construction work on the site recently passed the halfway mark. Also today, Parkview and community leaders gathered to celebrate a topping out ceremony to commemorate the final steel beam to be placed at the construction site.

Steel work by the numbers:
*8,250 tons of steel
*9,127 beams and columns
*125,750 bolts
*415 loads of steel delivered

Construction on the Parkview Regional Medical Center began in September 2008. The $536 million project is on schedule to be completed in December 2011. The facility will open to patients and families in April 2012.

Parkview Regional Medical Center by the numbers:
*Six acres of roof area
*900,000 square feet
*54,000 cubic yards of concrete
*2,050 plumbing fixtures
*10 miles of concrete curb
*19 miles of interior walls
*32 miles of ventilation ductwork
*400 miles of fiber optic cable
*1,200 miles of copper wire
*1.1 million square feet of parking and roads
*3,550 parking spaces

Parkview Regional Medical Center highlights:
*400+ beds with all private rooms
*Specialty centers for heart, neurosciences, orthopaedics, cancer, women’s & children’s services, and outpatient services
*Verified level II adult and pediatric trauma center
*Samaritan helipad
*Full-service 24/7 ER with board-certified emergency physicians
*Physicians’ office buildings
*Conference and education space

Source: Parkview Health

Strate

July 16th, 2010, 01:42 PM

Due to Parkview and the already increasing amount of traffic on Dupont road, the state is adding a interchange as well as converting one to the first diverging diamond in Indiana.

http://fortwayne.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/JG/20100714/LOCAL/307149979
Benjamin Lanka

The state plans to construct a new interchange at Interstate 69 and Union Chapel Road in two years, followed by a massive overhaul to the I-69 interchange with Dupont Road in 2013.

The new multimillion-dollar interchange would require displacing about a half-dozen homes in an effort to alleviate traffic congestion in northeast Allen County.

But the project must still pass several procedural approvals before it becomes reality. On Tuesday, the Urban Transportation Advisory Board, a local traffic planning group, approved adding the engineering and right-of-way acquisition to its traffic plan, but not the project’s construction.

Engineering and right-of-way are each estimated to cost $2 million for the Union Chapel interchange, but construction estimates were not provided by the Indiana Department of Transportation. Parkview Health is contributing to the project’s cost, as well as the cost of Union Chapel improvements at Auburn and Diebold roads.

Kimberlee Parker, project manager for the state, said Parkview was generous but declined to say how much the hospital chain contributed.

She said the state will now begin engineering work for the new interchange that will help determine how much construction will cost and how many homes will need to be bought. The proposal called for a thin diamond interchange or multiple roundabouts to minimize the need to acquire property and hurt neighboring Autumn Ridge and its golf course. Public hearings on the project will likely occur early next year, Parker said.

A few residents from the neighborhoods attended Tuesday’s meeting and expressed concerns about the need for an interchange at Union Chapel.

Dupont diamond

The new interchange comes in part to relieve congestion at the Dupont Road ramps for I-69. While the interchange is already failing at times, it is expected to get worse after the expanded Parkview North Hospital campus opens in 2012, which could add as many as 4,000 daily trips to the area.

Dan Avery, director of the Northeast Indiana Regional Coordinating Council, said regardless of anything being done at Union Chapel, improvements will be needed at Dupont, an argument supported by a traffic study released to the board Tuesday.

To reduce congestion, he discussed the possibility of building a diverging diamond interchange at Dupont and I-69. Such an interchange would include two new signals at the north- and southbound ramps and would have drivers on the left side of Dupont for a short time to provide unimpeded left and right turns onto the interstate.

While such a design has been used in other parts of the country, there are no such interchanges in Indiana. Avery said the design provides the best traffic flow for the least money. It is estimated to cost $2.35 million, far less than other alternatives proposed. The proposal would not require the state to buy additional property.

Construction on the Dupont interchange would likely occur in 2013, after Union Chapel is complete. Avery said he also asked the state to keep an I-69 interchange at Hursh Road/Gump Road in the long-term plans, most likely to be done after 2020.

The state already is moving forward with a project to improve the Dupont interchange next year. The project will add a lane from Dupont to southbound I-69, which is the most heavily traveled of the ramps at the interchange.