Group maps fate of city land buy
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/17037797.htm
"Mayor Graham Richard on Thursday announced the creation of the North River Downtown Task Force to look at developing land downtown just north of the St. Marys River."
"Richard said residents have been interested in developing the land north of the river for years and that the city has received interest from developers for multiple uses. City officials said those include a youth sports complex, an indoor water park, natatorium, more recreational ice or an expansion of Lawton Park."
"Richard has said pushing the ballpark doesn’t preclude other developments, and he said this project should move forward regardless of the fate of Harrison Square."
"Richard said it is appropriate for the city to move forward on both downtown projects to help revitalize the city’s core. He said it would be unwise to not continue taking bold steps."
"Becker said the timing of the riverfront announcement wasn’t to appease critics of Harrison Square but that it is part of the city’s overall plan for downtown"
Ideas for Fort Wayne's River Front?
Link (INC)
Friday, April 6, 2007
More On North River Opportunity
Posted by scott spaulding at 4/06/2007 07:48:00 AM
Labels: Downtown development, Graham Richard, Mark Becker, North River
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12 comments:
Once again, thanks for this blog and your comprehensive posting of pertinent information. You guys have created a truly valuable resource for anyone trying to understand the Harrison Square issues.
Mark Garvin
This is really good. Successful downtown revitalizations do these projects in parallel to increase the chance of success.
Thanks Mark.
What we have done with the blog so far is only the beginning.
There has been some discussion before regarding the old brick depot building that sits along Clinton and borders 4th St on the Omni Source property. I think it could be rehabbed and used as a cornerstone for a Farmers Market that would make the city proud. The interest that the Barr Street Market has started to generate has been great. My only concern is that the present location for the Barr St Market is too limited. The Omni Source property would allow the opportunity for future expansion of a potential market. Other cities have already realized and benefited from the economic impact of having a Farmers Market that serves as a unique place of commerce for finding fresh, local produce and other local made crafts. Fort Wayne and the surrounding areas are currently lacking this. Check out the Farmers Market in Ann Arbor, MI. Here's a link:
http://www.a2gov.org/market/
Also, our neighbors to the north, Elkhart, are already planning for a Farmers Market that is quite impressive.
http://www.americancountryside.us/market/
Fort Wayne should seriously look at what a great opportunity we have to build a similar Farmers Market here. The Omni Source property could be an ideal place to make this happen.
I think that building on the corner is awesome. I certainly hope it can be utilized, for whatever reason.
why not make a smaller scale of san antonio riverwalk, put restraunts and bars on it, and make it into a night hotspot. Look at broadripple in Indianapolis on a weekend evening. want to attract the younger crowd?
Here's a hard reality. Downtown Fort Wayne will NEVER again have a vibrant, youth attracting nightlife while we also have the highest per capita DUI arrest rate in the country, punished with 3 years of mandatory anabuse doses. Until that changes, easter egg hunts in the ballpark are our future.
I would suggest that the city focus on one area at a time for downtown development. Trying to develop multiple areas simultaneously (especially areas that are not co-located) may not work.
Assuming Harrison Square goes through, the city should begin to expand out from that origin and not jump to the site in question.
I know most want to see Fort Wayne continue to develop and the faster the better. But bad things can happen when the city pushes too hard and too fast.
"Richard...said this project should move forward regardless of the fate of Harrison Square."
Might the mayor be alluding to a foreseen dim future for the Harrison project?
To the Anon that spoke of the San Antonio Riverwalk: that's a fantastic idea. The Riverwalk (though not really a river) is the highlight of my time every visit to San Antonio, and Headwaters/Lawton is a perfect starting point for such an endeavor.
Developing the rivers would be great - once we get the raw sewage out of them
Everett,
I had similar thoughts about this story. I wonder if the mayor is possibly using this announcement as a negotiating tool w/ HC because the negotiations aren't going the way he'd hoped.
Perhaps he thinks that if the HC group sees him lining up other deals, he might gain some leverage over the negotiations.
I know, I know, it's a little conspiracy-theorish but it is the first thing that crossed my mind when I heard about this...
No one is discussing the "800-pound gorilla" in the room - flooding. Not to throw a damper on the newly announced project or any future projects along the river, but we have a flooding issue in Fort Wayne.
The FEMA maps of that area put it in a flood zone, and Indiana Code 7.1-3-20-16.1 prohibits development in specific areas.
The relevant parts of the statute are:
(1) The proposed permit premises may not be located more than 1,500 feet or three city blocks from the river, whichever is greater
(2) However, if the area adjacent to the river is incapable of being developed because the area is in a floodplain ....then the distances are measured from the city blocks located nearest to the river that are capable of being developed.
The flap over developing the riverfront restaurant district with the decreased liquor license fees never discussed the issue of flooding even though the idea was to place restaurants along the river.
If the idea is to develop riverfronts in Fort Wayne to enhance the community, the drawback is and will continue to be the issue of flooding. Even if the project is not being called riverfront development you will still have prohibitions on development within a flood zone.
I would like to see our rivers enhanced, but you can't draw people to the rivers if you wall them in throughout the city precluding a view of the rivers.
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