The Allen County-Fort Wayne Capital Improvement Board approved a $6 million agreement to acquire the land west of the Grand Wayne Center.
The land -- which currently houses the fast-food restaurants Taco Bell, Rally's and King Gyros -- will be set aside for the Grand Wayne Center’s future needs. While the Grand Wayne Center has no immediate plans, the space would likely be used for parking or expansion to the venue if the time comes.
That space has been a source of debate since Mayor Tom Henry and the Downtown Arena Committee expressed support for building an arena in March 2016. Renderings for the proposal placed the arena in that location, but the project failed to gain support and was eventually shelved.
With the space now earmarked for the Grand Wayne Center’s future needs, the concept of an arena being built on that location appears to be effectively dead.
The restaurants at the location will now pay rent to the CIB unless or until the space is needed for the venue.
