The building at 2827 Rupp Drive in Fort Wayne is being revamped and transformed into apartments.
The developer who turned the Anthony Wayne Bank building in downtown Fort Wayne into upscale condominiums has turned his attention to a vacant office building, just off Coliseum Boulevard, which he plans to transform into senior apartments.
“It has a similar structure to Anthony Wayne. We had great success with that…and now we have a lot of people waiting to rent in that kind of atmosphere,” said Todd Ramsey, of BND Development.
The building at 2827 Rupp Drive, sits on a triangle of land near the intersection of Coliseum and Hobson Road. Built in 1969, it has housed various office tenants over the years, including Verizon and Tokheim, but was sitting largely vacant despite attempts to sell or lease it.
“I’ve been kind of watching it for awhile,” said Ramsey, who is partnering with the building’s owner to transform it, pending approval from the Fort Wayne Plan Commission
“We think it’s a great setting. It only really has one neighbor, (Hall’s) Triangle Park, on the other side of the pond. It’s nice and secluded.”
As was the case with the Anthony Wayne building, the five-story Rupp Drive building will be almost completely demolished inside, “down to the shell,” Ramsey said. It will take about a year to transform it into about 75 apartments, ranging in size from 700 to 1,100 square feet; efficiencies up to two-bedroom units.
The ground floor of the building, about 14,000 square feet, will contain amenities for its residents - a lounge, coffee shop, and TV/movie and activities rooms.
The adjacent strip center will contain the kind of businesses apartment dwellers also might use, such as a convenience store, dry cleaner and hair and nail salons, Ramsey said.
The units will be rented at market rates, for people 55 and older.
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