FORT WAYNE – The National Weather Service in northern Indiana says northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio are likely to see more record-breaking heat on Monday.
FORT WAYNE – One year from today, people should be living, shopping and working in the long-promised downtown project, The Harrison.
Mayor Tom Henry and the New Harrison development team on Tuesday kicked off construction of the $18.5 million mixed-use project with a rollout of marketing materials for the retail and apartment space and a cake-breaking ceremony. Construction has been under way for about six weeks, so officials plunged spades into a sheet cake mimicking the breaking of ground.
Simon Dragan, president of Whitley Manufacturing Co. and a partner of New Harrison, said the team was dedicated to building a first-class facility that will attract more development to the area and strengthen the surrounding neighborhood.
“In about a year from now, we will invite everyone to the ribbon cutting,” he said.
Chris Schoen, a partner with New Harrison, said the building should be open by next Feb. 1. The mild winter has allowed crews to install much of the foundation already. Mark Hagerman, CEO of The Hagerman Group, is the third partner of the development team, and his company is building the project.
With Tuesday’s announcement, Schoen said the developers are ready to begin signing people to leases for the building’s 44 apartments, which will be on its third and fourth floors. The apartments will range from 800 square feet to 1,600 square feet, Schoen said.
Rent will begin at $900, and average prices will be about $1,500 a month. Schoen acknowledged the rents are likely the highest in Fort Wayne but said the units are also of the highest quality.
“There’s only one project that’s inside the ballpark,” he said.
Half the apartments will face downtown and half will overlook Parkview Field. The building will sit just past the ballpark’s left-field wall along the corner of Jefferson Boulevard and Ewing Street. The building will include first-floor retail and office space on the second floor.
A common area suite on the fourth floor will overlook the ballpark so all residents will have a chance to watch TinCaps games from the building.
Schoen said the common area will take up space that could have been used for an additional apartment, but he said it was important to give residents all possible benefits. The apartments will also include other high-end amenities such as hardwood flooring and granite countertops.
A waiting list of possible tenants dates back years to those interested in buying condominiums in the first version of the project, Schoen said. The leasing firm will go through that list to ask people to sign leases for the apartments.
Schoen said the units won’t attract everyone, but because there are so few apartments available, it shouldn’t be overly difficult to find interested people.
Henry said he was pleased that the city’s patience with developers on the project has yielded such a success. The development was dogged by delays as other parts of Harrison Square, such as Parkview Field and the Courtyard by Marriott, have sprung to life.
Last June, Henry announced the creation of New Harrison to take over the project from Barry Real Estate, an Atlanta-based company. Schoen, who now is a managing principal with Greenstone Properties, used to serve as CEO of Barry Real Estate.
The contract with the city calls for the project to be done 14 months from closing – which was in mid-January.
