FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA21) - Mayor Tom Henry believes the potential collapse of the Electric Works project in his city will not deal a big blow to Fort Wayne's economic future.
But one Republican city council member says the planned revitalization of the old General Electric campus near downtown should be given one more chance to succeed.
It was a shocker Monday when the Fort Wayne Redevelopment Commission voted unanimously to terminate an economic development agreement with RTM Ventures, who commission members argue failed by a final deadline date to demonstrate that it could meet its contractual obligations.
The economic board claims RTM Ventures came up short in lining up financing for the project by at least $30-million.
The developers dispute that characterization, saying they were more like $8-million short.
Either way, the deal as originally structured is off.
The city is no longer willing to commit more than $60-million in local public money to helping Electric Works keep going.
Do it Best Corporation out of nearby New Haven was ready to move its headquarters to the abandoned GE site and become the anchor tenant for the project, with plans to expand payroll to more than 500 jobs in the county.
The mayor is not convinced yet that Do it Best has been lost.
"They liked downtown Fort Wayne, certainly Electric Works gave them a potential site for their headquarters, but there were other buildings, other sites available downtown as well, so I'd like to continue to discuss possibilities with them," Mayor Henry said.
Republican councilman Tom Freistroffer, who works in real estate, is nervous that Do it Best will leave town now that Electric Works is on very shaky ground.
A spokesperson for Do it Best says the company wants to let things settle down after what happened Monday.
A public statement on the Home Improvement company's future is expected soon.
At the time of this report, representatives of RTM Ventures, the developers, had not returned calls seeking an interview about the termination of the economic development agreement.
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Mayor hopeful problems with Electric Works won't cause Do it Best Corp. to take headquarters elsewhere - wpta21.com
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