FORT WAYNE, IN—The downtown of this Midwest city is set to take another big step forward. Officials from both General Electric and Greater Fort Wayne Inc. say that the manufacturing giant has begun a request-for-qualifications process to search for a developer and/or investor to redevelop the 1.2 million-square-foot GE Broadway St. campus, which has been unoccupied since January 2015.

Other nearby development projects that have either begun or been proposed include the $100 million riverfront plan, the $30 million redevelopment of The Landing, and the $85 million downtown arena. Furthermore, as reported in GlobeSt.com, Ash Brokerage, the largest independently-owned insurance brokerage agency in the nation, recently launched a $98 million mixed-use project for the downtown. The firm will build an eight-story, 95,000-square-foot, $29 million headquarters building in the city's downtown by 2018. The projects have captured the attention of several national developers, and influenced GE's choice to begin its potential redevelopment process.

GFW Inc. chief executive officer Eric Doden tells GlobeSt.com that his economic development team worked closely with GE during the last several months to build a relationship and encourage the company to move forward with redevelopment.

“We don't want to limit their creativity,” he says. “They have to determine what is the highest and best use for the property. We're anxious to see what opportunities GE will discover through the RFQ process.”

Still, Doden and GFW Inc. do have some ideas and hopes. He points to the redevelopment of the American Tobacco Co.'s campus in Durham, NC, as a good example of how reviving such a corporate campus can impact a city. “I've been there several times to study it,” he says. “We use that as a model.”

The GE RFQ document was developed by CBRE and outlines the requirements and characteristics GE seeks in a developer or investor. The submission deadline for the RFQ process is July 13, after which GE will narrow down potential developers who will be asked to submit formal development proposals in October. A final developer could be selected as early as December and Doden says he hopes the project could be finished between 2018 and 2020.

Instant Insights /

GE Plans Redevelopment of 1.2M SF Campus

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