Yesterday, it was announced that Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry has purchased a condo unit in the hopefully-soon-to-be-built “The Harrison” retail/condo building, part of Harrison Square.
From the Journal Gazette’s July 29, 2008 edition, Baseball fan Henry buys in
[…] Henry on Monday confirmed making his 10 percent down payment to purchase one of the 62 downtown condominiums that are part of the $130 million Harrison Square project.
The mayor in January put down a $1,000 refundable deposit for one of the condos but just recently decided to move forward with the process. He said it took time because the developer, Barry Real Estate, had to work through the list of names on the waiting list to get to Henry, who was No. 55.
“We’ve taken the next step in the process and were happy to do so,” he said.
Henry said the step after that will be to close on the purchase, but he said this decision was fairly final. He said he and his wife, Cindy, are buying a one-bedroom condominium with a den that will overlook the new minor league ballpark.
[…] He [Henry] said the condominium portion of the downtown improvement project is likely to break ground in September.
Timeline of the Henry commitment:
- January 23rd – Mayor Henry commits to a $1,000 deposit on a condo unit.
- May 13th– The Mayor asks Barry Real Estate to reexamine it’s no leased units position. A couple of days later, he backs down from his request after BRE refuses to budge.
- May 21st– After calls from Councilman Tom Smith during a City Council Meeting, the Harrison Square developers brief the City Council and Redevelopment Commission on progress or lack of progress regarding condo sales. Chris Schoen: “We will finance this project.”
- June 3rd – Indiana News Center reports that the Henry Administration, “believes the Harrison Square condominium project would be a success, despite early sales that are not hitting the mark.”
- June 25th – WANE-TV reports that Mayor Henry has backed off his plans to purchase a condo unit.
- July 29th – It’s reported that Mayor Henry has now put 10% down on his condo unit.
Looking at the above timeline, I am wondering why the sudden change in Mayor Henry’s original decision. If he was #55 in line, then how many of the previous 54 were converted to sales? Also, in Chris Schoen’s appearance before the City Council in May, he stated that a starting timeline of August 1 to September 1 would be likely for the start of The Harrison’s construction. Sounds like this is getting pushed back a bit more.
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