FORT WAYNE – The Fort Wayne Plan Commission on Monday voted to allow Indiana Tech to proceed with a $4.3 million dormitory on East Washington Boulevard, but minor changes were required in response to complaints by a neighboring property owner.
The panel said the college must put in some buffers, likely trees, to provide some privacy for property owned by Richard Kriz II. Indiana Tech offered the homeowner $25,000 for his small lot, but he hasn’t responded. School officials said Kriz’s property is worth $300.
“The offer has always been there,” said Judy Roy, executive vice president of finance and administration. “Nothing has changed from our standpoint.”
Roy said the added cost for the buffering would be minimal, for the roughly 30,000-square-foot, three-story building between Walter and Schick streets. It is set for completion this summer.
Neither Kriz nor his attorney, Thomas Niezer, was available for comment.
Niezer argued last week that the project would violate state building standards by not paying “considerable regard” to his client’s property location. Niezer urged the plan commission not to approve residential rezoning required for the dormitory.
Roy said the legal posturing was an attempt to get more money from the college. The City Council will make the final decision on the zoning matter in coming weeks.
The dorm housing will include beds for 96 students, bringing the total housing capacity on campus to more than 600 students. Enrollment in the college’s undergraduate program has nearly doubled in the past six years to 1,137 in fall 2011.
Officials said the latest project will get the university closer to its goal of offering housing to 40 percent of the students on campus.
It marks the fifth consecutive year that Indiana Tech has set out to build a residence hall to accommodate growth. The existing Warrior Row dorms are townhouse-style units designed for juniors and seniors. The proposed hall would serve mostly freshmen.
