Historic Southwood Park STILL Supports Electric Works
Councilman Paddock and Project Developers to Hold Town Hall Meeting, September 3rd at 7PM
The Historic Southwood Park Board of Directors unanimously supports Electric Works.
We encourage you to join Fort Wayne 5th District City Councilman Geoff Paddock for a virtual town hall Sept. 3 at 7:00 pm. Members of the development team will provide updates on Electric Works, including project financing, and answer questions from the community.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82226857602?pwd=eXRoOVV6Q1o2YlRSY0ZPSUh5R3J6dz09
Passcode: EWtownhall
Like many people and organizations locally, we were stunned that the Fort Wayne Redevelopment Commission terminated the economic development agreement with RTM Ventures. The requirements of the agreement were close to being completed and shovel ready. Until the time federal and state tax incentives for the project are no longer valid, Fort Wayne should give this project as much time as it needs to dot all the "I"s and cross all the "T"s.
Our city cannot afford to turn away hundreds of millions of dollars of investment in a pandemic-ravaged economy. Developers across the nation are watching whether Fort Wayne deserves to be know as the "City that saved itself" or the "City that shot itself in the foot".
Do It Best committed to locating at Electric Works. If their board decides to move world headquarters out of Allen County, our economy will suffer more than $100 million loss... annually. Many other positive commitments have been made in addition to this anchor tenant.
When the Redevelopment Commission arbitrarily refused to extend deadlines on this project, it raised more questions than it could have possibly answered. Mayor Henry and the Commission should not be reluctant to answer questions from the public and from City Council. If they had good reasons, there is nothing to fear. But "deadlines are deadlines and we meant it" is more bad posturing than good policy. Let's hear the reasons!
Historic Southwood Park supports Electric Works. We encourage you to contact Mayor Henry and the Redevelopment Commission to voice your support.
