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Fort Wayne Deputy Mayor Mark Becker at the pulpitThursday, March 8, 2007
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Suggested Reading
- 2006 Downtown Housing Potential Study (PDF)
- Allen County/Fort Wayne Comprehensive Land Use & Development Plan (PDF)
- Around the Square Presentation (PDF)
- Around the Square Sub-Area Plan
- BaseballPLUS Committee Report (PDF)
- Blueprint Plus Final Report (PDF)
- City of Fort Wayne Press Release on 'Harrison Square' development
- Downtown CReED Map (PDF)
- Downtown Design Guidelines (PDF)
- Downtown Hotel Study 2005 (PDF)
- Downtown Parking Map (PDF)
- Economic and Fiscal Impacts of the Proposed Harrison Square Project
- Exhibit for Condo and Retail (PDF)
- Exhibit for Hotel (PDF)
- Exhibit for Stadium License Agreement (PDF)
- Harrison Square Brochure
- Harrison Square Condo/Retail Agreement (PDF)
- Harrison Square Financial Data (PDF)
- Harrison Square Frequently Asked Questions
- Harrison Square Funding Relationships (PDF)
- Harrison Square Hotel Agreement (PDF)
- Harrison Square Stadium License Agreement (PDF)
- Harrison Square Stadium Management Agreement (PDF)
- Harrison Street Infill Strategy - Market Study (PDF)
- North River Final Report (PDF)
- Parking Management Report - Executive Summary (PDF)
- Urban Renewal / Economic Development Areas Map (PDF)
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21 comments:
I heard that it was a fantastic meeting. I CANNOT believe I missed it. According to the Journal Gazette reporter covering the event, the pros exceeded the antis. Is the tide starting to turn?
Unfortunately I had to spend my time at the hospital emergency room. I am 100% fine, but it certainly was unbelievable and unfortunate timing.
Sam T.
As with Sam, I was unable to attend due to being out of town, but the feedback I have had has been great. I commend everyone who worked hard to make this a success. Great news.
Adam Welch
This WAS a great event. I enjoyed it immensely.
If you look at that picture, I am the guy in the dark blue sweater on the left side of the picture. My bald spot is GROWING...
There is NO DOUBT that at least 60% of the crowd supported the Harrison Square Project as is...
It was kind of a "ra-ra" session for those poeple who support the project...
A lot of City officials and employees were present along with a fair amount of people from YLNI...
I would say in the beginning it was maybe 60% for and 40% against. As the night progressed a fair number of people who are against Harrison Square left because they were tired of hearing people supporting the project.
I was one of the last speakers...
David Corcoran and I were the two people that channel 21 interviewed and had on the 11 o'clock news.
David Corcoran gave BY FAR the best speech of the night. He is a passionate beleiver in the project and he made his points very well. (P.S., he is a client of mine and we discuss this project everytime we meet...)
I took the other side and explained how building a new baseball stadium is NOT economic development; it is economic re-arrangement...
I still feel that the majority of Fort Wayne residents oppose the project; however, the supporters of the project are more organizaed AND more passionate about their beliefs...
Mike Sylvester
What last night again proved, that those who want change in our community, want it to begin with this project. The next generation stayed until the end and spoke with hope and passion. Ironically, the older generation began to leave between 7:45 and 8:00 p.m. All too typical for Fort Wayne, must be home before 8! Harrison Square is the light of hope in our dark downtown.
Mike, thanks for your honest assessment about the turnout and response and nice job on the news. Your comment about it being a "ra-ra" session is very important BECAUSE thats NOT what it was organized to be. Remember the meeting in Grabill, Indiana that essentially derailed government consolidation talks? That is EXACTLY the type of meeting that Councilman Smith and Schmidt wanted so badly when they organized this meeting, so for it to end up being what you describe as a "ra-ra" session is nothing short of remarkable and is a great development for those who strongly support this project. It also supports my hunch that a heck of a lot more people support this project right now than 30%!
Sam T
Mike - thanks for your kind comments. Even if Harrison Square is economic re-arrangement, I think it is time that Fort Wayne recognizes its past mistakes and starts making changes. We cannot keep perpetuating the mistakes of the past 50 years - eventually we have to admit they were mistakes and move on. It will be far cheaper and less painful for Fort Wayne to attract its tax revenue downtown (by making investments such as this) than to continue to annex outlying areas and support them in the future .....
David
Downtown has become tax desert. More and more land has become exempt from property tax.
TIF captures what property tax is left for subsidizing this stuff. Then CRED and the sports district captures sales and income taxes.
The baseball stadium may be great. It may be bad. But tell us how you think more money is being generated for things like police and fire protection and pensions.
Mike,
I understand your point about economic re-arrangement (for what it's worth, Econ was one of my majors). Building a baseball stadium IS economic re-arrangement. However, the project is not just a baseball stadium. It's a hotel, condominium complex, retail and parking garage. None of the rest happense without the stadium.
So while it fair to say that moving the stadium, in and of itself, is economic re-arrangement, the Harrison Square Proposal is certainly economic development.
In summary, moving the stadium is economic re-arrangment as a catalyst for economic development.
Barranda-
You are wrong. The hotel is not dependent upon the baseball stadium. The RFP for a hotel was pending long before there was talk of a baseball stadium and a new hotel was a part of the Grand Wayne convention center expansion planning. The hotel was "lumped in" with the baseball stadium by the stadium supporters, who hope to inprove the appearance of private sector investment by averaging in the considerable private sector investment in the hotel with the extraordinarily low private sector investment in the baseball sdtadium.
The hotel MAY be dependent upon the parking garage (as it eliminated the expense for the hotel developer of providing a garage), but the garage itself is not dependent upon the baseball stadium. The garage is entirely city financed and can be built to accommodate whatever project may be selected.
The involvement of Hardball capital in the $18 million retail/condo undoubtedly is dependent upon the City spending $30 million to $35 million to build a stadium for their benefit, but even the condo/retail project is NOT dependent upon Hardball Capital or a baseball stadium. The $18 million retail/condo project includes $3 million in City donated land and approximately $3 million in tax incentives, leaving a developer cost of about $12 million. I have yet to hear the claim that Hardball Capital will LOSE money on that project or that other developers would not be interested on similar terms if the project were competitively bid. Even if we had to throw 2 or 3 million in further direct public subsidy of the condo/retail project to attract competitive bids, we would still have about $30 million left for something other than a baseball stadium- including a project that might actually compliment the new hotel and attact more than 15 cents of private investment for every public dollar.
Mark Garvin
Mark,
The Hotel is part of the private investment and has to be included as such, period.
Michael Barranda is not wrong.
Ed.
Ed-
Barranda wrote: "None of the rest happens without the stadium." That is wrong and represents the kind of disinformation some (not necessarily Barranda) choose to spread. The baseball stadium requires the hotel to pay for the cost of the stadium, since Fort Wayne has chosen to follow the failed experience of Gary Indiana and require little team owner support for the project, rather than the recommendations and comparables of the BaseballPlus Committe which include significant team owner participation.
Don't beleve me? Here is how our Mayor put it in the February 21, 2007 Journal Gazette: "Although the Harrison Square proposal is dependent upon the hotel, Richard said the inverse is not necessarily true."
The hotel needed a convention center and a parking garage, not single A baseball.
Mark Garvin
Mark,
Read my post again. In speaking about "the project" I said that none of the rest happens without the baseball stadium. That is pure uncontroverted fact. The Harrison Square project requires a baseball stadium.
If you want to debate whether the land designated for the project could move forward on a DIFFERENT proposal that does not invovle a baseball stadium, that is a different conversation.
Furthermore, the Hotel R4P specifically references the baseball stadium. See page 3. It states:
"Instead of merely a hotel, the city is finalizing planning for 'Harrison Square' a redevelopment area that includes the hotel site, as well as a Minor League Ball Park..."
If the R4P for the hotel was pending long before there was talk of the baseball stadium, I challenge you to reconcile the fact that the ONLY investor who has responded to a hotel R4P, did so in response to the request containing the provision above. Perhaps you are aware of a different response to a separate R4P?
I don't question that city officials and many constituents would like to see an additional hotel, condo, retail and/or parking regardless of the Harrison Square proposal. I submit that is what the mayor meant by "not necessarily so". The fact of the matter is, however, that the only tangible opportunity has been in the form of this proposal.
Should you think otherwise, please tell me what significant private investment in downtown Ft. Wayne would lead you to the contrary opinion.
-Michael
This is a great post with a lot of well thought out comments by people on both sides of the issue...
It really was a great meeting and it did demonstrate to me that those people who support the project have more passion, commitment, and organization then those who oppose it.
That being said, there is NO DOUBT in my mind that a majority of residents of Fort Wayne oppose moving the baseball stadium...
Carbo:
I stayed until the end as well... I have to admit I was most likely one of the youngest people who spoke against the project...
Sam:
I feel about 30% of Fort Wayne residents support the project or less...
However the 30% who support the project have a lot of passion and believe in the project more then I would have expected...
David:
You are 100% correct Fort Wayne DOES need to recognize its past mistakes and it needs to stop making those mistakes over and over...
Here are some mistakes that have occurred this year already Dave:
It looks like the Sheriff may be moved to New Haven rather then Downtown. That is one of the silliest things I have ever heard. Put the Sheriff Downtown...
More new retail and strip malls have been approved by City Council on the edges of Fort Wayne... How will that help Downtown?
Anonymous is right about TIF and CRED, they are not a good thing. They divert money away from normal government functions and apply it to special projects.
Mike Sylvester
Barranda:
Of course the project is a Baseball Stadium. That is the entire problem. This project should NOT involve a baseball stadium; that is what makes this project a bad idea.
Mark is 100% correct. Fort Wayne has been planning a 2nd hotel for the Grand Wayne Center for awhile... (Which may or may not be a good idea, The Grand Wayne Center is empty most days)
The 2nd hotel has NOTHING to do with a baseball stadium. It is just Smoke and Mirrors...
As David Corcoran said at the public meeting Fort Wayne DOES NOT have a parking problem. There is absolutely NO REASON to build another parking Garage. If you read the parking studies and look at the overhead pictures of Downtown we have too much Parking...
The Parking Garage is an awful idea that will lose at least one million dollars per year UNLESS it is subsidized with the Jefferson Point TIF...
The Harrison Square Project as planned is NOT economic developent any more then a 5th Wal Mart store is economic development...
Mark Garvin is 100% correct.
Barranda:
I am saying that Harrison Square should have a different project, a baseball stadium is an AWFUL idea. Build something that draws new people and new money into Fort Wayne. Do not re-arrange the money already spent in Fort Wayne...
I can 100% guarantee you that any number of companies would come to Fort Wayne and build a casino downtown with ZERO public investment... The casino would build the motel AND the parking garage...
People would pour into Downtown Fort Wayne...
A casino would be a much better project...
Alas our elected officials are unwilling to do what is necessary to get a casino (It would not be easy to get the casino in the State Legislature...).
Mike S:
Speculation. That is all you can say about a hotel without Harrison Square. I don't deny that a 2nd hotel has been considered for quite some time. But you can't deny the fact that the response to the hotel R4P came with the Harrison Square proposal.
You apparently still cling to your assertion that this is economic re-arrangement. You justify your position by separating the hotel and labeling the parking garage as a loss. Even if I concede those points, you fail to address the additional retail and condos.
Barranda:
I will try to phrase this in a different manner.
I feel that there are several projects that Fort Wayne could fund that would bring about actual economic development. Not ONE project other then a baseball stadium was considered and that is CRIMINAL.
Mike Sylvester
Mike stated,
"Not ONE project other then a baseball stadium was considered and that is CRIMINAL."
What leads you to believe this?
Mike S,
There was a reason to look at a baseball season. The city was knew that the time would come when Memorial Stadium needed significant improvements. Before putting millions into the old stadium, it was prudent to determine whether the city would benefit from moving the stadium downtown. I don't have to tell you what the results were.
Hardball made a leap of faith by investing in the wizards, and moving the Harrison Square discussions along.
You seem to think that there are other projects that could be successful. Name one, then name the developer willing to do the project. In light of the complete lack of significant private investment in downtown Ft. Wayne for over 10 years, I'd like to see your many options. We both know a casino won't happen, so don't bother.
The fact that Mike Sylvester brings up a casino truly shows how little political acumen he has. His judgment on all other matters should be called into question.
If he thinks there is outrage at the Baseball stadium?? try a casino like Mike wants.
Give me a break Mike. I feel like we are all measurably dumber for having read your posts.
Chris W.
In Mike's defense, he admits that the casino issue would never fly. However, his objection to Harrison Square without any other truly feasible alternatives is where he really misses the boat.
He certainly isn't alone with that flawed logic. Indeed, it is that stubbornness that leads to the complacency and urban sprawl mentality that will destroy downtown Ft. Wayne.
To the suggestion of putting a casino in downtown, you miss the point of Harrison Square, as do so many others.
A baseball game is not the end of activity for an evening out. People attending a game will have to walk to their cars, past retail and restaurants. This creates new dollars being spent. (Something that does not occur at the current location, where all you walk past is other parked cars).
If a casino were built, the only economic dollars being spent would be inside of those four walls. If what you want is economic dollars being spent and invested into locally owned businesses, than what you want is a downtown baseball stadium as part of a mixed use development. In other words, Harrison Square.
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