Image from www.harrisonsquareliving.com

Press release:

“Fort Wayne, Ind. — Barry Real Estate today announces a new marketing push for The Harrison, the residential and retail component of the signature, downtown Harrison Square mixed-use development. The comprehensive program includes a dynamic new condominium sales team, a new marketing strategy and an inviting, one-stop Web presence, along with other new outreach materials in support of the campaign.

With a front-row view of the downtown skyline on one side and the new ballpark on the other, The Harrison is the anticipated four-story structure located at 301 West Jefferson Boulevard. It features 24,000 square feet of prime retail space on the first floor and 62 contemporary condominiums on the upper three floors.

Spearheading the new condo marketing effort will be the Coldwell Banker Roth Wehrly Graber (CBRWG) brokerage team of John and Argie Bellio. CBRWG’s Harrison team can be reached at 260-416-5000 or at www.cbrwg.com. CBRE/Sturges continues as the broker for the retail space within The Harrison.

“Our goal is to capture the excitement of The Harrison and what living downtown is all about,” said Chris Schoen, CEO of Barry Real Estate. “With the combination of Coldwell Banker and HarrisonSquareLiving.com, we’re confident that this integrated new marketing approach and aggressive campaign will give us the momentum necessary
for success.”

As part of the new initiative, Coldwell Banker will utilize their renowned, strategic approach to residential real estate marketing. This includes listing The Harrison on three MLS services in northern Indiana, reaching more than 2,500 real estate agents, and corporate marketing through a relocation network of more than 100 business partners in the region, consisting of many of the area’s largest employers.

Intense ground initiatives include tapping CBRWG’s economic development partners, such as Leadership Fort Wayne and YLNI; intense electronic marketing; special events and community marketing; and leads tracking and follow-through with CBRWG’s exclusive IQ suite. These initiatives are orchestrated by an executive management team with deep experience and a passion for the development.

CBRWG president of sales John Bellio stated, “We’re incredibly excited about the opportunities before us with The Harrison. With our dedicated team of more than 300 CBRWG agents, we’re armed to make things happen. We’ll promote the project through prominent placement in the Homes magazine and our highly trafficked Web site—which features nearly 20,000 unique visitors a month. We’ll follow every lead with our digital newsletter, direct follow-through and responsive communication.”

A key marketing tool for The Harrison is www.HarrisonSquareLiving.com, a new Web site created by local marketing firm One Lucky Guitar, Inc. (OLG). OLG owner Matt Kelley said, “We’re tremendously proud to be part of this revitalized marketing effort for The Harrison. We dug deep in the creation of this site—reviewing the hard demographic data from the city’s Zimmerman/Volk Residential Market Potential research study, studying the marketing success stories from other markets and bottling the distinct magic of our own particular downtown community into a site that will live, breathe and grow with the development. Prior to this site, interested buyers were forced to make a big mental leap to get a real sense of life at The Harrison. It was an obstacle. We’ve put the bridge up for that leap. Come on over and have a look.”

In addition to offering virtual tours, floor plans, feature and amenity packages and extensive information on the residences at The Harrison, www.HarrisonSquareLiving.com showcases an interactive in-progress tool that allows the site visitor to track weekly progress on Harrison Square and related construction. As well, the site features an interactive downtown map that positions The Harrison at the heart of a thriving arts, dining, entertainment and hospitality district with ample parking nearby.

Enhancing the visual appearance of the Harrison Square construction site and ensuring immediate access to contact information about The Harrison for passersby, the fence around the entire block will soon be enfolded in a lively graphic wrap promoting the development.”

• More On New Harrison Push
• Coldwell Takes Over Harrison Condo Sales
• More On Current Harrison Status

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Final Countdown - Last Two Games During Fan Appreciation Week
Link (Fort Wayne Wizards)

“Thursday the Wizards wrap up their regular season at Memorial Stadium with a 7:00 p.m. contest against South Bend. It’s the final Thirsty Thursday of the season, with $2.00 16-ounce beers and 20-ounce fountain drinks. The first 1,000 fans will receive mini replica Memorial Stadiums courtesy of Arby’s. Also, fans can register throughout the game for their chance to throw a ceremonial “last pitch” at Memorial Stadium.”

Stadium curtain call still to come
Wizards’ last game tonight, but events likely till next July
Link (JG)

“Even as thousands of fans plan to bid farewell to Memorial Stadium, they are reminded there will be an encore to tonight’s final act.

The Fort Wayne Wizards play what is expected to be their final game in Memorial Stadium this evening, the only home venue the team has known in its existence. Starting with opening day 2009, the team – which will announce a new name within the next month – will play its games downtown in the $30 million stadium portion of the $130 million Harrison Square development.

Randy Brown, Memorial Coliseum general manager, said Memorial Stadium will still be used next year after its main tenant leaves. He said it is being kept open just in case a problem arises with the downtown ballpark so the team will have a place to play next season.”

Finale gets hometown touch
Parker faces Wizards at Memorial Stadium
Link (JG)

“Growing up in Fort Wayne, Jarrod Parker went to his “fair share” of Wizards games at Memorial Stadium. Now Parker gets to pitch in the stadium’s professional swan song.

Parker, a South Bend Silver Hawks right-handed pitcher, will start at 7 tonight against the Wizards in the regular-season finale for the stadium and what might be the last Wizards’ game played there before the team (under a new name) will move downtown to the new ballpark at Harrison Square.”

Gold Medallist Visiting Memorial Stadium
Link (OurSportsCentral)

“United States volleyball Olympian Lloy Ball, fresh off winning a gold medal during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, is scheduled to throw out a ceremonial first pitch in the last regular season game at Memorial Stadium on Thursday.

The U.S. volleyball team captured their first gold medal since the 1988 Olympics with a four-set victory over top-ranked Brazil on Sunday. For Ball, it was his first medal in Olympic competition, serving as the setter for the U.S. team in 1996, 2000, 2004 and this year.

Ball, who hails from Woodburn, is also a former All-America volleyball player at IPFW. He has also competed for several years overseas. He is the third Fort Wayne area resident to win a gold medal in the Olympics, following swimmers Sharon Wichman-Jones in 1968 and Matt Vogel in 1976.”

Memorial Stadium, 1993-2009?
Link (JG)

“Though Harrison Square opponents lament the demise of the relatively young stadium, it was well worth the $6.2 million cost. The stadium brought professional baseball to the city, and the value of the team has grown since its debut season in 1993. Granted, the estimated demolition costs of $2 million add to the cost, but the Coliseum will gain about 800 parking spots, which will generate revenue. And if it remained open, the stadium would soon be due for expensive renovation.

Some advocates for downtown development had hoped Memorial Stadium would have been built downtown in the early 1990s. But the short time between the chance to snare the Single-A franchise, then located in Kenosha, Wis., called for extremely quick decisions and action, requiring land ready for development immediately.

Indeed, the one-year turnaround time from the opportunity to lure the team to the stadium’s opening remains a remarkable achievement.”

[...]

“The community will say farewell to the stadium sometime next year, but its main purpose – home for professional baseball – comes to a likely end tonight, only to be replaced next year with a bigger and better ballpark that will help invigorate downtown.”

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NEXT RIDE - Friday, August 29, 2008 - 6:30PM - Starts at Lawton Park

Councilman Mitch Harper (R, 4th) preparing to ride during the July Critical mass

Riding in pack appeals to Mass
Link (JG)

“In many cities, especially on the West Coast, bikes are everywhere. Bicycle lanes are clearly marked, and some cities even have street maps showing all the bike lanes. In the countryside, states do their best to accommodate cyclists, letting them stay overnight in state parks for as little as $3 and even offering riders free showers.

Bicycles are more accepted in some cities because they’re all over the place.

Fort Wayne’s problem is that there aren’t enough bicycles on the road. “The whole image of a cyclist is, people think if they see a person on a bike, he’s lost his license, gotten a DWI, or he’s too poor to have a car,” Helmkamp says.

To an extent, that image is fairly accurate. It causes some people who would like to ride a bike to think twice about it, and it probably makes some motorists a little impatient.

If Fort Wayne wants to become a more bicycle-friendly city, Helmkamp says, more people need to be on bikes.”

…read full article…

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