Demolition started Tuesday at the former Pepsi bottling facility, and city officials said they are narrowing down development proposals for the 6.5-acre site.
The city has received nine plans for the North Harrison Street location since announcing a request for proposals last year, said Jonathan Leist, deputy director of redevelopment.
The Harrison Street property “is among the most strategically located and valuable sites in the community,” Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry said in a May 2022 news release. He cited its potential to attract businesses and improve connectivity between the riverfront, the Wells Street Corridor and the Bloomingdale neighborhood.
The city purchased the property for $4.5 million in 2022 with money from the riverfront local income tax. More than $500,000 from the same tax was unanimously approved by City Council in December for demolition.
The site will connect the North River property – where Illinois-based More Brewing Company is spending $6 million to build a two-story, 16,000-square-foot restaurant and brewery – and other property along High Street.
The department’s vision for the space is a mixed-use “center of activity” with commercial, residential and entertainment options that will draw visitors, including bikers, kayakers and people on the river, Leist said.
Mayor Tom Henry had “a sneak preview” of three proposals and praised them at the Tuesday news conference.
“We had a heck of a time narrowing it down to just a few,” he said.
The city gave no further details about the favored proposals.
“Regrettably, there is no additional information available for release at this time,” Elizabeth Lewis, public information officer for the Community Development Division, said in an email. “However, we anticipate having more of the story to share in the near future.”
Henry said any of the proposals he saw would be a “magnificent contribution” to that part of the city.
“For a long time, we’ve been wanting to figure out a way to get over the river. Everybody defined the downtown northern boundary as the river,” he said. “This is our opportunity to jump over the river, embrace our river as now a part of our downtown rather than defining the boundary of our downtown.”
Chris Walker, president of the Bloomingdale Neighborhood Association, watched as an excavator smashed into a huge window.
The association often tries to save older buildings in the area but had an “amicable breakup” with the Pepsi facility, he said.
“I’m excited,” Walker said of the imminent changes. “It opens it up. … It will be good for the neighborhood.”
The city’s vision for riverfront development can be found at plan.riverfrontfw.org.
The ideal riverfront partner would be able “to integrate indoor and outdoor areas aligning with the fundamental belief that the riverfront area is meant for everyone and embraces best practices in inclusivity and sustainability,” the city said in a news release.
One developer publicly announced its proposal to the city in October.
Carmel-based DOMO Development Co. pitched a $1.5 billion, 60-acre mixed-use project that it estimates would draw 1.5 million visitors to the city annually, according to a news release.
DOMO, whose founding partner Eric Doden is pursuing the Republican nomination for governor, has planned a 5,000-seat multi-use arena and event venue, a 5,000-seat outdoor soccer stadium, an Olympic-size swimming pool, a boutique hotel, accessible riverfront spaces and a multigenerational residential village.
PepsiCo has relocated to a facility on 11 acres near Fort Wayne International Airport.
