If you remember back to January of this year, during the GE/Broadway Cell Tower controversy, Geoff Paddock, Executive Director of the Headwaters Park Alliance, dusted off some of the original plans for the park. These plans included 2-100 foot towers that were never built. These towers were to be built in the cul-de-sacs on Barr and Calhoun Streets. Cost considerations kept the towers from being built, however, they are still a viable option.  Paddock recently commented to AFW that while there has been some interest, nothing solid has come out of the January press release.
 
     
From the Headwaters Park Alliance press release:
HEADWATERS PARK ALLIANCE PROPOSES TO BUILD PYRAMID TOWERS
For Release, Wednesday, January 30, 2008
For More Information, please call Geoff Paddock at 425-5745
The Headwaters Park Alliance today unveiled a proposal to build two stainless steel pyramid shaped towers on the cul-de-sacs (turn arounds) on Barr and Calhoun Streets in Headwaters Park. The towers are part of the original Headwaters Park plan, designed by architect Eric R. Kuhne, a Fort Wayne native. The towers could also serve as the infrastructure and housing for an antennae that would provide telecommunications capabilities for the community. They would be 100 to 120 feet in height.
Geoff Paddock, Executive Director of the Headwaters Park Alliance, said the Alliance has been hoping to find a way to introduce the towers back into the Headwaters Park plan. “The fact that there is a need to provide space to serve the communications industry was a motivating factor to dust these plans off and reintroduce them to the public,” Paddock said. “We would like to find a partner to work with in the construction of these towers. They would not only be dramatic in appearance and aesthetically pleasing but could serve as a location for a telecommunications tower in Fort Wayne,” Paddock said. The Alliance wants to stay within the parameters of the Eric Kuhne design in constructing the towers.
“Imagine these beautiful towers gracing the downtown landscape and being a beacon in the night. They would serve as an identification point for the park and add grace and beauty to the downtown skyline. They could be seen from several vantage points in the city, and they could serve future needs in wireless and broadband communications for our citizens,” Paddock said.
There is no firm cost estimate yet for the towers. It would depend on the height and the requirements of the particular communications company.
“There is great potential to add a lasting landmark to the park that also serves a vital need for the community. A stainless steel pyramid shaped tower would also add to the high quality design and durability of the infrastructure already in place in Headwaters Park. People have come to expect high quality in Headwaters Park, and this design would be no different,” Paddock said.
Local architect Alan Grinsfelder, president of Grinsfelder Associates Architects, would over see the final design of the towers.
      
The original plans called for an observation deck on the towers, however, the cost today would probably prove prohibitive. As mentioned before, this is still a viable option for consideration. This would be a perfect opportunity for a company searching for naming rights to a major structure in the downtown area. Any interested parties are asked to contact Geoff Paddock at 425-5745.
Look for a Headwaters Park profile on the AFW site in the next week or so.
Previous Blog and Press Stories:
- CivicArts – Eric Kuhne Associates website
- Fort Wayne Observed: Headwaters Park to announce possible new structures
- Journal Gazette: A towering idea
- News-Sentinel: Headwaters ‘pyramids’ could have dual use
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