Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry gave his annual State of the City address Wednesday, in a more muted ceremony than usual in an effort to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic.
Henry stated that his “top priority” will be to ensure the needs of residents and businesses as the city -- and world -- continues its fight against COVID-19. Throughout the year, Henry has closed city offices to the public multiple times in an effort to slow down community spread, most notably for two months between November and January.
Perhaps most surprisingly, Henry revealed that a memorandum of understanding is in place for a proposed professional soccer stadium.
“Downtown drives the overall health of the entire community… We look forward to having more details available soon. Truly, it is now our time north of the river.”
The details Henry did share include a projected price tag “exceeding” $150 million with a field house, event center, hotel and extra parking on the city’s North River site, a 29-acre property bounded by Clinton, Fourth and Harrison streets purchased by the city in 2017.
Henry has long sought an arena for Fort Wayne. In 2016, he revealed goals for a $65 million arena with the support of local businesses, but the project fell apart a year later after a study indicated the cost would be somewhere closer to $105 million.
The remainder of Henry’s speech was standard fare, highlighting dozens of millions in infrastructure spending, new programs like UNITED Front which aims to address racial inequity in Fort Wayne, and expected progress on development projects like the Lofts at Headwaters Park, the Ashberry Project and the latest addition to the city skyline, STAR Financial’s new corporate headquarters.
He also indicated that planning for phase two of the riverfront development project will likely be completed in 2021, with ground breaking next year.
