GE's Fort Wayne campus set to be sold, redeveloped

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) - General Electric's 31-acre campus south of downtown Fort Wayne, which has stood empty since January 2015, is set to be sold and redeveloped.

Baltimore-based Cross Street Partners has been selected for the project, which is estimated at $300 million, officials announced Monday.

The land will be developed into a mixed-use, place-based innovation district that will include commercial, retail and market, residential, hotel and community space, according to WANE-TV.

GE had operated at the site since 1911 and once employed more than 10,000 people producing a wide range of products, but the campus has become an eyesore since its closure two years ago.

A task force of residents and community leaders discussed ways to reuse buildings on the property instead of demolishing them.

"I've never been sure that I'd see this," former neighborhood association president Charlotte Weybright told The (Fort Wayne) Journal Gazette. "I was hopeful, but with the massive size of the buildings and the number of square feet - well, I was hopeful, but worried. And now it's happened."

Construction could begin this fall. Plans include renovating and preserving buildings where possible, according to Cross Street partner Josh Parker.

Funding for the project includes private equity, bank loans, tax credits and government incentives.

"We are encouraged by this important step in the process toward the redevelopment of the GE campus," said Greater Fort Wayne Chief Executive Eric Doden. "This project will transform the Broadway neighborhood, neighborhoods south and southeast of downtown, our community and our region for years to come."

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Information from: WANE-TV, http://www.wane.com/