One of the biggest surprises – and announcements – from Mayor Tom Henry’s State of the City address had little to do with city government at all.Fort Wayne residents may soon be able to buy used luxury vehicles near downtown.
The city’s redevelopment commission Monday heard a proposal for Chuck Surack, owner of Sweetwater Sound, to develop World Class Auto Mall on the former Dimension Ford property on West Jefferson Boulevard.
John Hopkins, Sweetwater vice president of operations, made the presentation to the commission. The proposal would use the existing 10,000-square-foot building to house the dealership for vehicles such as Jaguars, Aston Martins, BMWs, Cadillacs and Porsches.
Hopkins said Surack plans to develop this dealership somewhere in the area, but the Dimension Ford property was appealing because of its location.
The city acquired the property for $1.3 million in 2008 to improve flood-fighting efforts and enhance a downtown gateway. The commission spent $111,000 to demolish the eastern building this spring. It will be converted by the parks department into green space next to Swinney Park.
Greg Leatherman, redevelopment executive director, said the other building was always targeted for possible redevelopment. He said while several people expressed interest in the property, the proposal by Surack was the only one with promised immediate investment. Because the site is in the floodway, there are restrictions to how much money can be spent redeveloping the building, he said.
The commission took no formal vote on the proposal Monday but generally supported the concept. Leatherman said his staff will work with Surack to write a development agreement for the site.
Because the land is likely to be given to the developer as an incentive, Leatherman said he would want some guarantees about the amount of investment to be made there. Surack wrote that the interior and exterior of the building would be remodeled and it would employ about six people immediately with the possibility for expansion based on its success.
In other business, the commission approved hiring Gerig Ottenweller Contracting for $398,000 to construct the pedestrian bridge from the downtown Courtyard by Marriott to the Embassy Theatre. The bridge was required by the hotel developer to provide covered access to the theater’s existing walkway to Grand Wayne Center.
Construction on the walkway is expected to begin by the end of March and be completed by the beginning of July.
The hotel is expected to be open by the end of the summer.
