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Legal Action Against Harrison Square Developers Wrong Move: City Redevelopment Director

By Jeff Neumeyer
June 18, 2010 Updated Aug 20, 2009 at 4:26 PM EST FORT WAYNE, IN (Indiana's NewsCenter) --- Fort Wayne's Redevelopment Director says he believes taking legal action against Harrison Square's condominium developers could backfire on the city and would slow rather than speed up construction on the key downtown project. It's another aspect to a story that could be taking major twists and turns in the coming months. Indiana’s NewsCenter first broke the story that the project, which is way behind schedule, could take on an entirely different look, with the possibility of the slow selling condos being taken out of the mix, to make room for office space instead. The developers may not be fulfilling their contractual obligations to build something on a strip of land beyond the left-field wall of the new baseball stadium downtown, but Redevelopment Director Greg Leatherman believes suing them right now would simply make things worse. If the new office-retail concept takes off, most visitors would be steered to parking in the Harrison Square public parking garage, or in spaces that will flank the new Courtyard by Marriott Hotel. Leatherman says if progress doesn't happen soon, the city can always fall back on the courts. Greg Leatherman/Ft. Wayne Redevelopment Director: " Those things are still within our rights under the agreement, but at this point, we don't believe that that's the best way to successfully launch a project that will complement the hotel, the ballpark and the parking garage." The developers are required under their contract to make a minimum 14.5 million dollar investment, but Leatherman suggests that might be subject to some re-negotiation in an effort to encourage the project moving ahead.
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