Fort Wayne City Council approved rezoning for the second phase of the Electric Works development project in a preliminary vote Tuesday night.
Electric Works is seeking two-and-a-half acres to be rezoned from residential to urban core, which would allow development team RTM Ventures to begin work on the $107 million second phase of the project.
The second phase calls for nearly 300 apartments, space for retail, fitness, and child care offerings, and a parking garage with more than 1,100 spaces. The Fort Wayne plan commission approved the plan in mid-June, after some residents expressed concerns over their parking potentially being displaced.
5th District Democrat Geoff Paddock, the representative in Electric Works’ district, says despite some of the challenges in getting the project off the ground, he’s happy to show his support for it moving forward.
“Making this change is essential for having this move forward, or we wouldn’t be able to accommodate the needs of Do-It-Best and therefore, in my view, this project could be in jeopardy,” said Paddock.
Do-It-Best Corp. was announced as the anchor tenant of Electric Works in early 2020, and promises to bring its corporate headquarters along with 450 jobs to the location.
Council approved it 6-0; three members were not present for the vote, and since it was preliminary, it faces another round of discussion and voting.
