GFW Reaffirms Support for Electric Works
(rendering courtesy of RTM Ventures)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe board of directors for Greater Fort Wayne Inc. is appealing for a resolution to the dispute over the planned $440 million Electric Works innovation district in downtown Fort Wayne. The organization says it is imperative to come to a decision on finalizing the project in order to keep Do It Best Corp., which recently signed on as the anchor tenant for the project, and the jobs it would bring to the city.
Less than a week after Do It Best signed its lease agreement to relocate its global headquarters to the former General Electric campus, the Fort Wayne Redevelopment Commission terminated its agreement with developer RTM Ventures.
The commission cited gaps in private funding the developer needed to begin construction on the project’s first phase. However, RTM Ventures said, “This deal is not dead,” and said it would work with the commission and the city to finalize the project.
In a statement this week, the GFW board said the goal of the redevelopment effort is to attract and retain employers and talent, and keeping Do It Best in Fort Wayne is crucial.
“Do it Best is a significant employer in Allen County with more than 400 employees at their world headquarters and more than $32 million in annual payroll. Do it Best provides jobs with wages that are higher than the local average,” the board said. “These are exactly the type of jobs we strive to attract to our community. The loss of these jobs would not only have a negative effect on the employment and tax base, but would also have a ripple effect in the broader economy.”
In addition to the hundreds of existing jobs it would bring to Electric Works, Do It Best plans to add about 90 more jobs over the next several years. The GFW board says the loss of such a major employer would be “unacceptable and would be detrimental to the tremendous momentum that our community has achieved.”
Shortly after the commission’s decision, the majority of the Fort Wayne City Council penned a letter seeking information on what the next steps would be for the project.
Under the current economic development agreement, which would provide $62 million in public funding if all requirements are met, RTM Ventures has until October 30 to close the deal. That agreement has been extended numerous times and it is unclear if the developer would receive another extension.
“We recognize that the development team is still working to finalize their private financing which is necessary to completing the deal. We, the board of directors of Greater Fort Wayne Inc., support the retention of Do it Best and ask that all efforts be made to finalize the redevelopment of the GE campus for the purpose of retaining Do it Best at their preferred location within a timeline that fits their needs.”