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Conventioneers, baseball fans and other downtown guests should have a new place to stay by August 2010.
City dignitaries, bankers and developers Monday celebrated the ceremonial groundbreaking of the Courtyard by Marriott, the planned Harrison Square hotel. Deno Yiankes, president and CEO of White Lodging’s investment and development division, said the 250-room hotel will bring at least a $25 million development into the city’s core.
Mayor Tom Henry said the investment, coming at a time of economic strife, will send a signal that Fort Wayne’s core is prospering.
“It’s an important tool of attracting good jobs and investment in Fort Wayne,” he said.
Yiankes thanked the banks that allowed the project to proceed. Although a project of this size historically called for a single lender, Yiankes said eight banks, including seven locally, are helping finance the project.
“It’s not typical, but we’re not in a typical environment,” he said.
Centier Bank, of Merrillville, is the lead lender for the project, and Yiankes said other local banks – at the prodding of Henry – quickly joined the team after Centier’s commitment. The banks are: First Federal Bank, Grabill Bank, Lake City Bank, Chase, Star Financial Bank, Tower Bank and Salin Bank.
The project was delayed several months because the developer couldn’t secure financing, putting the Harrison Square project at risk. The public portions of the development – Parkview Field and the parking garage – will be partly paid for by property taxes from the hotel.
The hotel is scheduled to open six months later than planned.
The Harrison condominium/retail project has yet to begin construction.
Work on the hotel started last month, so the ceremonial groundbreaking took place at the Robert E. Meyers Park, next to Parkview Field.
Yiankes said his company is committed to keeping its word on hiring local contractors – a point argued by a few local companies.
He said, as of Monday, White Lodging has hired local firms for more than half of the work. He said less than half of its contracts remain to be awarded, and Yiankes said he expects local firms to keep that majority.
Greg Leatherman, Fort Wayne executive director of redevelopment, said he was pleased with the developer’s commitment to using local contractors. He also said he didn’t believe the strike by Local 232 of the Indiana-Kentucky Regional Council of Carpenters would hurt the project. Of the firms that use carpenters from the union, none is expected to be working on the project, he said, meaning work would not stop.
The hotel is being constructed at the southwest corner of Harrison Street and Jefferson Boulevard. It will have 6,500 square feet of meeting space, including a 4,200-square-foot ballroom, an indoor swimming pool and a fitness center. sThe hotel will also have a Champions Sports Bar & Restaurant.
