Commission Approves New Electric Works Deal

(image courtesy of Electric Works)

The Fort Wayne Redevelopment Commission has approved a revised economic development agreement for the Electric Works mixed-use innovation district project in the city’s downtown. The move comes more than two months after the commission terminated a previous agreement over concerns that developer RTM Ventures could secure private financing.

The new EDA was announced last week along with the news that Cincinnati-based The Model Group would join the project as a co-developer and Tim Ash, chief executive officer of Fort Wayne-based insurance firm Ash Brokerage, would serve as an investor and general partner.

Our partners at WPTA-TV report members of the commission emphasized during their meeting Monday that the decision to end the previous agreement was not a mistake. 

The development team hopes to close on the EDA and secure all necessary financing for the project by the end of the year. The previous EDA promised some $62 million in public funding, though the amount suggested in the new EDA has not been specified.

Once the deal closes, the developers plan to begin construction on the project’s $280 million first phase immediately.

The effort to redevelop the former General Electric campus has already landed several major tenants, including Do It Best Corp., which will anchor the development, as well as Parkview Health, Fort Wayne Metals, and Fort Wayne Community Schools, among others.