More on the Fort Wayne project

Plenty on this at Fortwayne.com:

Bought out
Businesses, homeowners displaced by Harrison Square look at options

Where more than 100 young children go to school, a Wizards center fielder could be making a sprawling grab. Where Clyde Smith rocks in his front- porch swing, you could be sitting in the right-field stands, watching the catch. Where McMahon Tires sells … well, tires, you could be window-shopping instead.
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Martin Luther King Montessori School at Lewis and McClellan Streets has agreed to sell its 13,000 square-foot building for $1.5 million, the assessed value. It has until Aug. 31 to vacate the building it has occupied since 2003.
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In what one day could be seating along the right-field line of the stadium, the 62-year-old Smith sat on his front porch swing at 1324 McClellan St. Four months ago a man from Martin Goldstine Knapke approached him, asking if he was interested in selling his home. The city hired the Fort Wayne firm to initiate conversations with landowners, telling them only that a significant investment was being considered for the area and having them sign a confidentiality agreement if they agreed to sell.

Smith, who has owned the house since 1979, sold it and a slice of land nearby for $80,000. “I am happy to get out of here,” he said. “It’s more than I could get if I put it on the market.”
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McMahon Tire has been located along Jefferson Boulevard near Ewing since 1988. “If the sale goes through, we will relocate,” said store manager Jeff Frane. “Where, I don’t know.”

He said even though the tire market downtown has been soft, the business would have stayed where it was. “We can still make a profit here.”

There is more about the businesses that will be displaced by the project at the story.

Now for the main question

Where will the money come from?
City working out details for public funds to pay for Harrison Square project.

With an October News-Sentinel/News Channel 15 poll showing just 36 percent of Allen County residents favor using public money to build a new downtown baseball stadium, city officials know they need to shield taxpayers from the financial impact of the project if it is to win widespread support.

So Mayor Graham Richard and others stressed this week property taxes will not be used to pay for construction of Harrison Square, which could require $160 million in public and private funds.

But even though private investors are expected to pay for half the project’s $125 million first phase, that still means the city will have to come up with the remaining $62.5 million.
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Although details are still being worked out, at least three major funding sources will be tapped to repay the bonds the city will need to sell to raise the necessary capital.

Deputy Mayor Mark Becker said about $16 million in bonds can be repaid through two state-approved mechanisms that allow new taxes generated by Harrison Square to help pay the project’s construction debt.

If City Council agrees, the project will be declared a “tax incremental financing district,” (TIF) which means property taxes generated by the new hotel, stadium, condominiums and shops would be earmarked to pay off the bonds. The current amount of taxes paid on property within the project’s boundary would continue to be distributed among other governmental units for general use. The proposed parking garage would generate funds through its inclusion in the TIF district established to pay for improvements between downtown and the Jefferson Pointe shopping center.

So officials aren’t exactly right when they say no property taxes will be needed for Harrison Square. But the project won’t require a general tax increase.

More at the link.

Here is a section on the News-Sentinel site that is called What You're Saying. The comments here are more positive than negative. Here is one from each camp.

It’s amazing how public officials can find money to pay for something they want (i.e. sports stadiums). ... Too bad that “taxpayers” have to pay for their own homes to be connected to city sewers, and public officials can’t find money to pay for infrastructure that is truly needed. -- Mom D, Fort Wayne

I could go on and on about this topic, but in short, this is one of the greatest opportunities this city has ever had. Bravo to Sam Talarico, Tim Pape and Graham Richard, who have stood up and been leaders. Bravo to all of the numerous people who put hard work into this project. – Adam Welch, Fort Wayne

And at the same link there are some anonymous comments from the News-Sentinel Rantline. (Aside: I'll bet that a lot of thoughtful comments come into something called the Rantline.)

So much for the politicians listening to their constituents anymore! This is one less person who will be going downtown period if that baseball stadium gets built.

The sparse attendance I have observed at the Wizards games leads me to think we are foolish to pin our hopes of downtown revitalization on a new arena. Maybe our city planners should work a little harder to bring more business to downtown or to anywhere in town. Who’ll go to games if there are no jobs?

People want the downtown to prosper but they don’t want to do what it takes to make that happen. Let’s be progressive!

I say let the elite build their downtown baseball stadium. I hope others are like me and say, “Forget the Wizards. We can go to Memorial Stadium and support IPFW baseball.” It’s just about the same caliber. Besides, we go there for a dog and a beer and a game, and then we go home. We don’t go party, we don’t go shopping, and we don’t go out to eat.

I was right! Those are thoughtful.