At the May 20th City Council meeting, there were a handful of people present involved in the Harrison Square project to provide an update to Council.

Chris Schoen of Barry Real Estate presented in regards to the condo and retail portion of the project. Schoen explained that the reservation process was still being followed for the condo sales and that 5 contracts had been fully signed up until this point. It was noted that some people want multiple units, some are dealing with the housing downturn, and others are still looking at the demo unit and the amenities.

Altogether, Schoen noted that there are about 50 interested parties in addition to those that have signed contracts. The team, now with the demo unit completed and the legal documents drawn up, is said to be going forth on a marketing push with special events and targeted advertising to bring in more contracts.

The financing has been difficult according to Schoen, with lenders backing out for whatever reasons and the change in environment of the financial markets causing a revamp in the financing package, but Schoen made a point to say “we will finance this project.”

As far as retail, the team has met with 3-4 restaurant groups and are trying to turn letters of intent into lease agreements. It’s been said recently that just 2 restaurants could end up taking up 50% of the roughly 26,000 square feet of retail space. This 50% on the retail side would be covered while 50% of the condos would also need to be contracted in order to get financing, according to Schoen.

As far as timing for construction, the goal is between July 1 and August 1 to start the condo and retail portion of the project, but Schoen said a range of August 1 to September 1 is more likely. Schoen made a point to say that the condo portion would indeed remain condos and not turn into apartments. A time frame of 45-60 days was given for getting the necessary 50% of condos and retail agreements necessary to start construction.

Greg Leatherman and Jim Irwin of Barry Real Estate then discussed some of the financials of the project. The ballpark is said to be below budget with a $2.6M contingency in place and has been paid for except for two upcoming bid contracts for streetscape work and a pump system for the below-grade field.

The cost of the parking garage was said to be $13.6M and within 30 days there should be some concrete coming out of the ground for it. Leatherman said the construction of the garage would have started earlier if not for the cold weather conditions that froze the ground. Starting earlier under those conditions would have cost $400,000.

In other news, the Council approved giving $1.2M for the stabilization of the History Center building’s sandstone facade and a new HVAC system for the building. The money will come out to be $200,000 per year for 6 years. Councilwoman Brown was the lone dissenter on the vote.

Another item on the agenda was related to the Around the Square plan. Councilman Smith asked if the process of rezoning the downtown area was complete yet and was told that there was still more to come. Councilman Harper wanted the core downtown zoning area to more explicitly state that housing is allowed in the area. While not explicitly stated, housing is allowed in the area if it is of a more dense nature, such as attached single family home properties and multi-family units.

Other press:
Where Have All The Back-Slapping Bankers Gone? (Fort Wayne Politics)
Chris Schoen: “We will finance this project.” (Around Fort Wayne)
City Council Hears Update on Harrison Square (INC)
Housing Slump Taking Toll On Harrison Square (WANE)
Builders to city: There’ll be condos (JG)
Condos coming, builders promise (NS)