NEW MARKETS REVITALIZATION FUND – MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR

I want to thank all Waynedale residents for being a partner with us as great things are happening in the City of Fort Wayne. Together, we continue to build on the positive momentum in our community and invest in the future.

We recently announced the City of Fort Wayne will receive $33 million in federal funding for future development projects. The funding comes from New Markets Tax Credits, which are designed to spur economic development in low-income areas. Fort Wayne is the only Indiana entity to receive the funding.

This is a major win. I want to commend our City employees for their tremendous efforts in assisting us in receiving these financial resources. The new funding positions our community for additional economic development opportunities and new jobs to make Fort Wayne a business investment and quality of life leader in northeast Indiana and the Midwest.

The City’s New Markets Revitalization Fund will sell the tax credits to investors who can then get a credit against their federal income taxes. The City will then use the proceeds to help finance eligible commercial projects. The projects must demonstrate significant positive impact to the community as a whole, such as job growth or benefits for low-income residents. This highly sought-after funding gives us a significant competitive advantage when working to attract investment and jobs to our community.

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In addition, work has started on the $98 million downtown development that will transform the City’s skyline.

The Ash Brokerage Corporation and Hanning & Bean Enterprises development is a public-private partnership, which includes a new national corporate headquarters for Ash, a residential component led by Hanning & Bean, retail space, and a publicly owned parking garage. The development is bordered by Wayne, Harrison, Berry, and Webster streets and utilizes nearly a full square block.
The Ash Brokerage building will be known as “Ash Skyline Plaza.” The Hanning & Bean housing component will be known as “Skyline Terrace.”

Ash Brokerage is the largest independently owned brokerage agency in the United States serving insurance agents, financial advisors, registered representatives and career agents nationwide. Ash’s investment of up to $29 million includes 95,000 square feet of office space. More than 200 employees will be part of Ash’s move to downtown, with an anticipated increase of 115 local jobs over the next few years.

Hanning & Bean Enterprises is investing $30 million in the construction of a residential development including 80 apartments (77,000 square feet), 10-14 condominiums (16,000 square feet), and six street-front townhouses (11,750 square feet). There will also be 23,800 square feet of first-floor retail space to be co-developed by Ash and Hanning & Bean. A tenant commitment has already been made by Lake City Bank to the commercial space. In addition, there will be a rooftop park/green space on top of the parking garage.

The City of Fort Wayne will construct a 1,200 space parking garage to meet current needs, anticipated growth and future development in the downtown area. The City’s investment of $39 million includes the parking garage, land acquisition, site preparation, streetscape improvements, utility upgrades, as well as other project enhancements. Funding for the City’s investment in the development comes from a combination of tax increment financing (TIF) funds through the Fort Wayne Redevelopment Commission, Legacy funds, and support from the Allen County-Fort Wayne Capital Improvement Board (CIB). No property taxes are being used to fund the City’s portion of the project.

Projected construction schedule:
*June – Site preparation work
*August – Work begins on the parking garage
*February 2015 – Work begins on the Ash tower
*May 2015 – Work begins on the Hanning & Bean tower
*December 2015 – Substantial completion of the parking garage
*March 2016 – Substantial completion of the Ash tower
*October/November 2016 – Substantial completion of the Hanning & Bean tower