Holiday Inn not a done deal.

So, by now, most of us have heard the bad news about the Holiday Inn plans.

Bill Bean had plans to purchase the downtown Holiday Inn from Lodgian, Inc., and transform the 208-room hotel into condos, offices, and possibly retail.

Well, after recieving results from a feasibility study being conducted by Design Collaborative, Bean announced that he would not be able to make money on the deal.

So the Holiday Inn is up in the air again.

Although, like others have said, this leaves room for the option of a developer buying the building and renovating it, keeping it as a hotel.

Of course, that still seems unlikely.
I, personally, would like to see it turn into condos, but thats just my opinion...

A little look at progress...

Here is a look at the progress/update of some downtown projects, goals, etc.

Housing:
-Harrison Square project to include at least 60 condominiums in the first phase, more to be added.
-Three Rivers Apartments won't be going anytime soon, as the new owners have fixed up the place (although it wasn't in terrible shape beforehand).
-It has been suggested that the Anthony Wayne building be turned into a luxary apartment complex, although this seems highly unlikely, but still a possibility.
-New lofts to be unveiled by DID (Downtown Improvement District) in Spring of 2007.
-Holiday Inn could possibly be converted into a mixed-use building with residential units.

Retail:
-Several small shops downtown are extending hours.
-Some smaller new shops are starting to open (near central business district).
-Harrison Square project will include nearly 30,000 Square feet of commercial/retail space upon completetion.

Dining:
-A new mexican restaurant is to open soon on Columbia Street.
-Some eateries are starting to extend hours, Higher Grounds now open until 9PM.
-New Downtown Starbucks has gone over very well.
-Harrison Square project may require Bill's Palace to close, although there have been some rumors of the restaurant being incorperated into the project, although that seems highly unlikely.

Entertainment:
-Harrison Square project would add many attractions/entertainment venues to the Entertainment District/GWC area.
-Proposal for "Mini-mall" entrance to the Botanical Gardens, as well as downtown outdoor theater not out of the question yet.

Business:
-New small businesses starting to open in Central core.
-Current office structures are starting to "fill-up".
-Lincoln Financial has renewed their lease on the Lincoln Life building, and hired new employees.
-Harrison Square project would open the door to plenty of new jobs.
-New Fort Wayne Newspapers building to be completed this winter.

So as you can see, things really aren't as grim as they were thought to be. Maybe nothing much is happening at the current moment, but its a process of events, and there's plenty more to come. Besides, only one major catalyst project has been completed out of the three so far (GWC, ACPL Expansion, Harrison Square).

Merry Christmas, and a happy New Year

Updated numbers

We've now learned that the stadium will be 5,000 seats, smaller than the current Memorial Stadium.

However, the stadium will include a grassy area for other optional seating, something many new minor league (and some major league) stadiums are starting to do.

A look into the future...

“This is a great opportunity for our community. A major downtown catalyst development will further enhance Fort Wayne’s role as an economic leader in Northeast Indiana and the Midwest region,” said Mayor Richard.

He also said he expected the project to help bring in "new job opportunites".

DIG Vice-President Linda Butler also supports the project, along with DIG President Nick Arnett, saying "It's a great opportunity for the city to grown and expand, as well as open up the door to new jobs, and new entertainment options downtown,"

DIG has announced that it will be hosting a Public meeting next month, date and time are soon to be released. You do not have to be a member to attend this event, and anyone is welcome to come.

And the crowd roars...

So, I don't think anyone was expecting it to be this big of a project. But here it is, and its a biggy alright-

Phase one-
-$48 million New 300 room hotel
-$12 million 60 condominiums
-$6 million 30,000 commercial space
-$30 million Baseball stadium
-$10 million Parking garage (located across from hotel)
Total: $125 million (with fees and other small expenses)

Pretty big, huh?
And just think, thats only phase one.

I guess you could say, the city gave us a little early Christmas Present today...

Well, now we know why the Mayor had his staff fly in from vacation for this one.

No word yet on how big the stadium will be (seat wise), but I think its safe to say at least 6,500. Maybe more.

There's also a possible 60,000 additional commercial space to be added in the future as part of phase two, possibly some sort of retail shopping center/mini-mall, but thats just my guess.

And who says we'll never see retail on Harrison? According to this, Street level retail also to be along Harrison.

Well, I'm pretty happy with what I see here.

Oh, and did I mention the field is supposed to be ready by 2009?

Yes, it looks like we could be seeing construction start this summer, when it gains approval from the City Plan Commision in March (or is it April?).

"Dig" into DIG

So with our last post, we realized that a lot of you have no clue what DIG is.

Lets start with the basics, DIG stands for Downtown Improvement Group (not to be confused with DID, Downtown Improvement District).

It was founded in late 2005 by Nick Arnett, and is a grass-roots organization centered around gathering public input or downtown projects and what not.

Yet now, they're shifting their purpose to something they believe will be more "purposeful" (ironic, huh?).

They're still going to be a public group, focused on gathering public input, but now the main purpose will be to promote downtown and show the public that there is more to do downtown than eat.

If you would like to join, contact Nick at digfortwayne@yahoo.com

Or, just visit their website, http://digfortwayne.tripod.com

DIG Not dead

DIG (Downtown Improvement Group) will be hosting a meeting in late December/early January for board members to discuss the rebuilding of the group, a board reform, as well as a new mission statement, says Nick Arnett, President of the group.

Meetings will be open to the public again in January/February.

A little look at location the location...

And the reports start to trickle in...

So, we all know that the city has been slowing aquiring land needed for the project. People like Pat White tend to argue that the city was going behind our backs, when they really weren't.

If they were going behind our backs, we'd wake up one day to see a ballpark sitting on top of Bill's Palace and wonder where it came from.

Yet now, we have specifics.

Jefferson and Ewing will be the outer boundries.

Sounds like this is going to be a little bigger than everyone thought...

But then again, its a ballpark. Its supposed to be big.

But what really excites me is the fact that its going to be multi-purpose, meaning it can be used year round. Maybe the field won't be used all year... but some part of the facility will.

Yet again, theres always people who complain that Harrison Square will only be used from April to September. Wrong. It'll be used year round, its not just a ballpark, why else would we dump so much money into it?

The announcement tommorow?

The long awaited announcement will be tommorow at the GWC. They're saying it'll be around 10:30, but it won't be open to the public (bummer), just a news conference.

Probably to avoid protests against the project/hecklers.

Well lets see. What does this mean for downtown?

As far as we know, it would be a multi-purpose facility. It would include a baseball stadium, as well as eateries and some retail. Also condominiums are a possibility.

This could be just the project we need to reverse the movement of people from inner-city to outer-city. Its got the three main components- residential/jobs/entertainment.

Cost could be anywhere from $100 million to $225 million, with the public only paying for about $75 million of it.

Yeah, thats a hefty price tag, but I think it'll pay off in the long run.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see...