Some of the next steps in Fort Wayne’s broad riverfront development were given a preliminary green light by City Council in a series of seven votes Tuesday night, with a final vote likely next week.
At the heart of these bills are two massive public-private funded complexes: Headwaters Lofts and the Riverfront at Promenade Park, residential and retail spaces developed by Indianapolis-based Barrett & Stokely with a combined price tag slightly north of $130 million. Garages and infrastructure benchmarks were also part of the proposal package.
Rent will start at $1.7 million for the garage at Headwaters Lofts and $2.4 million for Riverfront. Those costs will increase by 2% a year, with maximum yearly rent capped at $2.7 million and $3.9 million, respectively. In 25 years the city will be able to claim 50% ownership of the garage.
But according to city controller Garry Morr, the local income tax passed specifically for riverfront in 2017 can’t afford to sustain the garages until 2025, meaning the city would have to look into another part of the income tax stream to support them in the meantime.
This became an issue for Council, and how accessible these projects were going to be as a result. 1st District Republican Paul Ensley expressed concern over the optics of using money outside of the riverfront income tax fund explicitly dedicated for projects like these.
“It's certainly a very different thing to say this is money that actually could have finished the paving in Arlington Park, but instead we're building luxury apartments downtown,” Ensley said.
6th District Democrat Sharon Tucker also spoke several times in the interests of neighborhoods around the city, seeking a more detailed breakdown of how this will affect Fort Wayne financially and if it could carry unintended consequences for her district.
City redevelopment director Nancy Townsend agreed to have that information ready for next week’s Council meeting, when a final vote is expected.
