News release from the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership:
Fort Wayne’s Skyline Tower first project recommended for Regional Cities Funding
(April 6, 2016) – The Board of the Northeast Indiana Regional Development Authority (RDA) met today to consider a request for Regional Cities Initiative funding for the Skyline Tower Project, a 170,000 square foot urban, mixed-use project adjacent to the Ash Brokerage Project in downtown Fort Wayne.
The Board voted to support the funding request of $2.8 million. The Board’s recommendation now goes to the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) for review and final approval. The Board is responsible for disbursement of the $42 million in funding granted to the region through the Regional Cities Initiative established last year.
The purpose of the Regional Cities Initiative funding is to attract and retain talent by providing financial support for game-changing quality of place projects that will increase economic growth, lead to population growth, and enhance the region’s national brand identity. Northeast Indiana won the Regional Cities grant last year with its Road to One Million Plan that outlines more than 70 projects and $1.5 billion in investment over the next 10 years.
“While Great Lakes Capital’s Skyline Tower was not included in the original Road to One Million Plan, it directly advances the downtown and community development goals of the plan,” said RDA board chairman Jeff Turner of Metal Technologies. “This is exactly the kind of project for which the Regional Cities Initiative is designed – to encourage investment that makes Northeast Indiana a place people want to live and work. The Skyline Tower is already attracting other exciting and vibrant investments in the central city.”
The final contract between the RDA and IEDC for Regional Cities funding has not been finalized; but due to a looming funding deadline for the Skyline Tower project, the RDA made an exception in agreeing to hear this proposal early.
The Skyline Tower project supports the goal of the Road to One Million Plan to increase population in the 11-county region to 1 million residents.
- The 124 apartment units contribute directly toward the goal of 2,000 residential units in downtown Fort Wayne over the next 10 years.
- The quality of the new development continues to shape downtown Fort Wayne as the vibrant urban core of Northeast Indiana.
- The modern, high-rise residential units provide a unique living option that will help attract and retain employees critical to northeast Indiana.
- With potentially 200 new people living and over 100 people working in the new building, this project continues to create scale and critical mass necessary to catalyze continued downtown development.
The Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, which helped lead the effort to secure the Regional Cities Initiative funding, also provides staffing support to the RDA.
“Additional residential housing for downtown Fort Wayne is in demand as we look to attract more talent to the area, and I applaud the RDA Board for re-purposing this potential challenge into an opportunity for growth,” said John Sampson, president and CEO of the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership. “If we are committed to tripling our population growth rate over the next few years, we need this type of tenacious leadership to get us there.”
To find out more about the Road to One Million Plan and the Regional Cities Initiative, go to www.neindiana.com/regionalcities.
About the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership
The Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership was formed in 2006 to help build a globally competitive economy in Northeast Indiana. It is a public-private partnership focused on generating business leads and building regional capacity through product development and effective regional collaboration. In 2010, the Partnership launched Vision 2020 to bring the region together around five key areas for economic growth: 21st Century Talent, Competitive Business Climate, Entrepreneurship, Infrastructure and Quality of Life. Through its combined efforts in business development and capacity building, the Partnership supports its 11 member counties: Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wabash, Wells and Whitley counties. For more information, visit www.neindiana.com.
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