The Downtown Higher Grounds is now offering delivery service to downtown area businesses. Delivery is free for orders over $15.
See the article:
http://downtownfortwayne.com/story.php?cat=0&sub=&uid=188
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
McMillen hosting National tournament this week
McMillen Ice Arena will be hosting a National college hockey tournament this week, bring 16 top college teams into Fort Wayne.
See article-
http://downtownfortwayne.com/story.php?cat=0&sub=&uid=176
See article-
http://downtownfortwayne.com/story.php?cat=0&sub=&uid=176
DID Launches Downtown Dining Club
A few weeks ago, the Downtown Improvement District launched the "Downtown Dining Club", offering discounts to many downtown restaurants, along with a chance to win either $1,000 or a trip across seas.
From the article-
"Beginning February 15th through April 16th, the DID is launching our Downtown Dining Club. With 18 great Downtown restaurants participating, any member of the Dining Club is able to receive steep discounts from those restaurants."
Article-
http://downtownfortwayne.com/story.php?cat=0&sub=&uid=180
DIG Update
The DIG website has been updated, and the "News" page will also start being updated. Other things around the site have been changed, and a new newsletter will be out later today.
Plenty of things will be changing in the coming weeks, so heres a brief overview of what you can expect to see-
-New Look
-New Logo (?)
-New events
-New purpose
-Forums
-Mailing list
-DIG Update will be availible online, instead of just area businesses
-And, still, the new site.
So, stay tuned. We'll keep you updated.
From Palace to Parking
I'm sure we all remember eating at the Palace restaurant (formerly Bill's Palace), their delicious hamburgers, they're large, crispy pancakes, the smell of coffee, smoke, and great food.
Well, the restaurant that goes back decades has officially sold to the city for $2.4 million, and will have a parking garage located on the site. Had The Palace not sold, the Harrison Square project would be built around it.
The Palace's sign on Monday read "Closed, thank you", and the deal was set to close at 11 AM today. Buying the restaurant could save the city up to $1.5 million on the new parking garage, and they would not have to build an L-shaped parking garage, which is more costly.
Article:
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/16794311.htm
What do you think of the City's recent purchase?
And to The Palace, thank you for your many years of business and great food. We will miss you.
Well, the restaurant that goes back decades has officially sold to the city for $2.4 million, and will have a parking garage located on the site. Had The Palace not sold, the Harrison Square project would be built around it.
The Palace's sign on Monday read "Closed, thank you", and the deal was set to close at 11 AM today. Buying the restaurant could save the city up to $1.5 million on the new parking garage, and they would not have to build an L-shaped parking garage, which is more costly.
Article:
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/16794311.htm
What do you think of the City's recent purchase?
And to The Palace, thank you for your many years of business and great food. We will miss you.
Monday, February 26, 2007
DIG Update
We've updated the website, as well as our purpose. Whats our "new purpose"?
To be more youth-friendly.
Because after all, it is your downtown, and the youth of Fort Wayne should get a say in the future of their downtown, but they hardly get the chance, because public presentations and meetings don't always appeal to the younger generation.
So thats exactly what DIG is trying to change.
Beginning in March, DIG will be hosting a series of events/discussions that will be youth and adult friendly, and we strongly urge youth to attend. And yes, there will be cookies.
Check out the DIG Website for more details-
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
White Lodging is no Stranger
Within the past week, there has been much discussion over the proposal for a new downtown hotel made by White Lodging and Acquest. The hotel would be an 11-story, 250-room full service Marriott branded hotel that would be a key project of the Harrison Square project.
Many residents of Fort Wayne are uncertain about the developer, as well as the entire project itself. Since only one proposal was submitted by the due date, many are also questioning whether or not this is an expirienced developer.
However, many Fort Wayne residents who travel, have probably stayed at a hotel managed by White Lodging. In fact, White Lodging manages 27 different hotels in the state of Indiana alone, with one of them in Fort Wayne. The Marriott Courtyard on Washington Center Road.
Also, they manage 4 hotels in downtown Indianapolis, as well as a Hilton-branded hotel in downtown Bloomington, Indiana. So as you can see, White Lodging is no stranger to Fort Wayne, or Indiana for that matter.
Looking even larger, they manage over 100 hotels across the country, with over 10 of them located in the heart of a city. So they are most definately expirienced when it comes to downtown developement.
In July of 2006, White Loding announced plans to build a 1,000 room hotel in downtown Austin, just blocks away from the Austin convention center. The project would be 26 stories tall, and open in 2009 as Austin's largest hotel in history. And it wouldn't White Lodging's first hotel in Austin, it would be their 17th.
White Lodging isn't new to Indiana either, they're headquatered in Merriville, Indiana, just south of Gary.
The expirienced developer isn't one for below-average service either, they've won Marriott's Partnership Circle Award 6 years in a row.
After seeing this track record, according to local media, city officials are comfortable with the desicion they've made. However, should any issues arise, city officials say they may start looking for another developer again, although many are confident that won't be happening.
Many residents of Fort Wayne are uncertain about the developer, as well as the entire project itself. Since only one proposal was submitted by the due date, many are also questioning whether or not this is an expirienced developer.
However, many Fort Wayne residents who travel, have probably stayed at a hotel managed by White Lodging. In fact, White Lodging manages 27 different hotels in the state of Indiana alone, with one of them in Fort Wayne. The Marriott Courtyard on Washington Center Road.
Also, they manage 4 hotels in downtown Indianapolis, as well as a Hilton-branded hotel in downtown Bloomington, Indiana. So as you can see, White Lodging is no stranger to Fort Wayne, or Indiana for that matter.
Looking even larger, they manage over 100 hotels across the country, with over 10 of them located in the heart of a city. So they are most definately expirienced when it comes to downtown developement.
In July of 2006, White Loding announced plans to build a 1,000 room hotel in downtown Austin, just blocks away from the Austin convention center. The project would be 26 stories tall, and open in 2009 as Austin's largest hotel in history. And it wouldn't White Lodging's first hotel in Austin, it would be their 17th.
White Lodging isn't new to Indiana either, they're headquatered in Merriville, Indiana, just south of Gary.
The expirienced developer isn't one for below-average service either, they've won Marriott's Partnership Circle Award 6 years in a row.
After seeing this track record, according to local media, city officials are comfortable with the desicion they've made. However, should any issues arise, city officials say they may start looking for another developer again, although many are confident that won't be happening.
Dealing With Details
An article in today's News Sentinal noted that though there was only proposal submitted by the due date, city officials are confident that this is a quality proposal made by an expirienced developer.
From the article:
Having only one proposal does not leave the city without any leverage, Leatherman said. If the companies are not flexible, the city could end talks and restart the search for a developer. But Leatherman does not expect that to happen.
“We really don’t have our hands tied to the point it looks like to some people,” he said.
White Lodging manages hotels in 14 states, including four Marriott-brand hotels in downtown Indianapolis. Its track record gives Mayor Graham Richard confidence.
“Our excitement is we have a very capable investor.”
Read full article:
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/16747893.htm
What do you think of the proposal made?
What do you think of the design?
Are you comfortable with the developers of the hotel?
From the article:
Having only one proposal does not leave the city without any leverage, Leatherman said. If the companies are not flexible, the city could end talks and restart the search for a developer. But Leatherman does not expect that to happen.
“We really don’t have our hands tied to the point it looks like to some people,” he said.
White Lodging manages hotels in 14 states, including four Marriott-brand hotels in downtown Indianapolis. Its track record gives Mayor Graham Richard confidence.
“Our excitement is we have a very capable investor.”
Read full article:
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/16747893.htm
What do you think of the proposal made?
What do you think of the design?
Are you comfortable with the developers of the hotel?
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Details of Hotel Proposal availible
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City Announces Details of Response to Downtown Hotel Request for Proposals The City of Fort Wayne today released more details on the proposal received for the downtown hotel component of the Harrison Square mixed-use development. Acquest Realty Advisors, Inc. along with White Lodging Services Corporation has submitted a response, which calls for a full-service Marriott-branded hotel. RFP highlights * $47 million private sector development
* 11-story, 250 room hotel tower
* 4,000 square foot junior ballroom
* Two 1,000 square foot meeting rooms
* 4,200 square foot signature restaurant and bar for hotel patrons and residents
* 1,200 square foot specialty coffee shop
* Outdoor pool, year-round spa and fitness center
* Developer supports the overall Harrison Square development and acknowledges the hotel, Grand Wayne Center and mixed-use development along with a baseball stadium would serve as a visitor and local destination place
Full Article:
What do you think of the recent hotel proposal made by White Lodging and Acquest?
Friday, February 2, 2007
Northside Harrison Square Meeting
I was unable to find out any information about the Northside Harrison Square meeting, and was unable to call, so seeing how it seemed interesting, I decided to attend anyway.
First of all, the meeting was very well put together, in my opinion, right from the start. They discussed some (not many though) details of the project, went over the project itself as a whole, and then after about a half-hour they opened it up to questions and comments from the public for discussion.
One comment that I found interesting, was when a lady from the North Anthony (?) neighborhood association had mentioned a "sense of urgency". Mayor Graham Richards replied to this comment with different reasonings of why there is, if any, a sense of urgency, including the fact of how crucial it is to get this project underway this year, or the CRED money will be lost, as CRED will not exsist after 2007. This means that if the project hasn't gotten at least somewhat underway by the end of 2007, we loose the CRED money, which could essentially add up to a little over $10 million. This could easily bring Harrison Square to a hault.
Other questions included anything from funding to questioning of the bridges being able to take on so much traffic.
Overall, it was a very informative meeting.
City Officials that attended the meeting included Mayor Graham Richards, Deputy Mayor Mark Becker, Councilman Tom Smith, County Commissioner Bill Brown, Nelson Peters, and others.
If you were not able to attend this meeting, the Mayor's Report to the People sessions will take place next week, as well as other Harrison Square meetings to follow in the coming months.
First of all, the meeting was very well put together, in my opinion, right from the start. They discussed some (not many though) details of the project, went over the project itself as a whole, and then after about a half-hour they opened it up to questions and comments from the public for discussion.
One comment that I found interesting, was when a lady from the North Anthony (?) neighborhood association had mentioned a "sense of urgency". Mayor Graham Richards replied to this comment with different reasonings of why there is, if any, a sense of urgency, including the fact of how crucial it is to get this project underway this year, or the CRED money will be lost, as CRED will not exsist after 2007. This means that if the project hasn't gotten at least somewhat underway by the end of 2007, we loose the CRED money, which could essentially add up to a little over $10 million. This could easily bring Harrison Square to a hault.
Other questions included anything from funding to questioning of the bridges being able to take on so much traffic.
Overall, it was a very informative meeting.
City Officials that attended the meeting included Mayor Graham Richards, Deputy Mayor Mark Becker, Councilman Tom Smith, County Commissioner Bill Brown, Nelson Peters, and others.
If you were not able to attend this meeting, the Mayor's Report to the People sessions will take place next week, as well as other Harrison Square meetings to follow in the coming months.
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