FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA21) - Is there still a good chance the troubled Electric Works project could be rescued?
Allen County's top economic development organization says it should be, and claims if it isn't, it could cost the county a treasured corporate headquarters and hundreds of good paying jobs that come with it.
The city redevelopment commission caught a lot of people off guard last week when it terminated an economic development agreement with RTM Ventures, saying the developers repeatedly failed to meet deadlines for raising private funding for the project, and that it didn't deserve any more extensions.
That didn't sit well with the Greater Fort Wayne Inc. Board of Directors.
That board has formally doubled down on support for the revitalization of the old General Electric site, backing the need to get Electric Works built.
GFW is adamant that the end of Electric Works could spell the end of Do it Best Corporation's connection to Allen County.
Do it Best planned to move its New Haven world headquarters to Electric Works and become the anchor tenant.
Greater Fort Wayne says "the loss of an employer of this magnitude would be unacceptable and would be detrimental to the tremendous momentum that our community has achieved."
Mayor Tom Henry says he and his administration are ..."committed to working with Do it Best and our local economic development partners to help ensure that Do it Best has a corporate headquarters in downtown Fort Wayne."
Greater Fort Wayne fears the home improvement chain could still slip through our fingers.
"(We) really wanted to make sure that everything is being done to keep Do it Best here in town. Obviously, their primary choice has been to be housed and move their headquarters down to the GE campus. We really want to send a strong message as far as supporting the company," said John Urbahns, the president and CEO of Greater Fort Wayne Inc.
"We have Do it Best who has 400 employees and these are high paying…you know, they pay taxes just like everybody else does, but they are high paying jobs that we can't afford to lose," said Fort Wayne City Council President Tom Didier.
Republican city council member Russ Jehl says it's not good that Greater Fort Wayne Inc. and the mayor might be sending mixed messages to Do it Best Corporation.
He believes other communities will present a unified front to try and lure the company to their location.
At the time of this report, Do it Best Corporation had not returned calls seeking comment on this issue.
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August 13, 2020 at 02:50AM
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Greater Fort Wayne Inc. pushes to save Electric Works, retain Do it Best - wpta21.com
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