An artist's rendering of PNC Playground, a play area designed just for children, to be built on the north bank of the St. Mary's River, as part of the riverfront development. Courtesy photo
Construction on Phase 1 of Fort Wayne's downtown riverfront development officially began Thursday.
Surrounded by a large crowd of supporters, elected officials broke ground on the roughly $26 million project on the St. Marys River, which is expected to be complete in 18 months.
“This is something that's going to stand the test of time,” Mayor Tom Henry said. “We've worked very hard over the last decade or so to make Fort Wayne a point of destination and if this doesn't do it, I don't know what will.”
Funding for the project came from a mix of sources, including the city's Legacy Fund, the Northeast Indiana Regional Development Authority, the Allen County-Fort Wayne Capital Improvement Board and a variety of foundations and private donors.
Most recently, PNC Bank donated $250,000 for a new playground on the river's north bank. The 4,500-square-foot park will be named PNC Park in honor of the donation, and is expected to open in spring 2019. Additionally, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. announced Thursday that it had approved $5.1 million in state funding through the Regional Cities Initiative to support the project.
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