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Harrison Square Plans Unveiled
By Chad Gramling | December 22, 2006
Baseball Stadium. Hotel. Condos. Retail shops. Parking . . . it’s all part of a grand vision to revitalize downtown Fort Wayne. The project, which is tentatively titled “Harrison Square,” would be bounded by Jefferson Boulevard and Harrison, Brackenridge and Ewing streets. Some of the more prominent items of the development include;
- 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
However, before Harrison Square becomes reality, the City Council must approve the plan and then the city must select a developer for the proposed 305 room hotel. The hotel component is vital to the development since it will then provide tax dollars to the city, which would be used to finance future phases of the project.
Requests for proposals going out soon and will be followed by negotiations with potential developers and the Fort Wayne Wizards’ ownership group, Hardball Capital.
As stated in WANE TV coverage of the announcement, Hardball Capital is willing to contribute millions of dollars to the project. According to Deputy Mayor Mark Becker, Hardball Capital has pledged $5 million toward the construction of the new stadium, which he said is rare for publicly financed stadiums. However, if Hardball oversees residential and retail development of the project, the group would invest a total of $50 million over all phases.
Hardball Capital owner, Chris Schoen, is also president of Barry Real Estate Companies, Inc. and was a principal developer in downtown Atlanta’s Allen Plaza.
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.
Reportedly, IPFW Plans to take over use of Memorial Stadium for their baseball program and other special events.
Phase one would cost about $125 million. 60% of that cost would be from private funds while the remaining 40% would come from public funds in the forms of sales and income taxes.
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 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. Conceivably, it would be ready to field teams by opening day 2009.
Below, I have compiled a list of links that are related to this announcement (some of which were used as resources for this post) and the downtown baseball stadium for those who would like further reading:
- City rolls out stadium plan - Bemjamin Lanka (Journal Gazette)
- Play Ball - Indianas News Center
- Projects hatching downtown - Bemjamin Lanka (News Sentinel)
- City to Present Progress Report on Downtown (City of Fort Wayne)
- Mayor Announces Support for Downtown Projects (City of Fort Wayne)
- WANE TV Video - WANE TV
- New Blog: Downtown Fort Wayne Baseball
- Discussion Group at Skyscraper City
Topics: Downtown |