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.After five years of on-again, off-again preparation, a developer’s plan for a $2.2 million retail plaza in a revitalization area in southeast Fort Wayne finally appears to be on the fast track.
The Fort Wayne Plan Commission on Monday approved the venture led by Christopher H. Payne III of The Core Group. He hopes to offer a mini-grocery, clothing store, fast-food restaurant and gasoline station.
At least 10 businesses will occupy the plaza at the northwest corner of East Pontiac Street and South Anthony Boulevard, Payne has said. He wants his project to complement Renaissance Pointe, featuring the construction of 350 single-family homes and townhomes.
Payne’s failure to provide drawings or sketches of the 20,000-square-foot plaza, however, concerned some members of the commission and planning staff. Nonetheless, information from his engineer, MSKTD & Associates of Fort Wayne, was enough to satisfy city planners.
Payne did not attend the session. He still needs final approval from the City Council. Last week, Councilman Glynn Hines, D-6th, who represents residents in the neighborhood, said he wouldn’t back Payne unless he provided more details.
Hines fretted that the plaza would become an eyesore based on the type of tenants it could house. Payne can’t rent to a gun shop, check-cashing or liquor outlet, adult book and movie store, pawnshop or a similar merchant.
Kerry Schoeph, an engineer with MSKTD, said worries about the plaza’s appearance will die down once city leaders see the building has attractive brick and stucco-like material with landscaping.
Commissioners said they wanted a good fit for the land and didn’t want the plaza to deter other investors.
“We’ve been at this since 2005 and then the recession hit and that slowed things down, of course,” Schoeph said. “We will meet their qualifications and we think everyone eventually will be pleased with the result.”
