Developers Set to Close Electric Works Deal
(rendering courtesy of RTM Ventures)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe deal to redevelop the former General Electric campus in downtown Fort Wayne is nearly complete. The Journal Gazette reports RTM Ventures, the developers of Electric Works, and the entities providing financial support for the project are in the process of signing the documents to close the deal.
The first signing session took place Monday with the second set for Thursday. The third and final session will take place January 7.
In a statement to the publication, Jeff Kingsbury with RTM Ventures said the number of funding sources required multiple days to seal the deal.
“There are over 100 people in Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, and around the country working tirelessly through the holidays to bring this complex deal to a successful financial closing,” said Kingsbury. “We remain grateful to our public and private sector partners for their continued support – and to everyone working so hard – to bring over $200 million of critical, direct investment to Fort Wayne and northeast Indiana over the next two years and employing thousands during construction, which we will begin in January.”
The closing of the deal caps off a tumultuous year for the project. In August, the Fort Wayne Redevelopment Commission terminated the economic development agreement for the project, citing concerns over funding.
However, a new EDA was reached in October that added Cincinnati-based The Model Group as a co-developer and Tim Ash, chief executive officer of Fort Wayne-based insurance firm Ash Brokerage, as an investor and general partner for the project.
The Allen County Board of Commissioners recently wired $3.5 million to the developers, in addition to $1 million provided in 2018 for remediation work at the GE campus site.
The $280 million first phase of Electric Works will include more than 700,000 square feet of space, including the new headquarters for Do It Best Corp.
You can read the full story from The Journal Gazette by clicking here.