Mary Ann Gates, Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly
A tour of the Electric Works campus shows the promise of a thriving mixed-use campus in the West Central neighborhood. The old familiar General Electric buildings that were vacant for so long are being transformed into a living, working and shopping district. The media was invited to tour to see the latest stages of the transformation.
“To see the progress since we started construction in January of last year — it is really an extraordinary transformation Jeff Kingsbury, developer, RTM Ventures, said. “Construction is on schedule and on budget, which make us happy, thanks to Weigand Construction. As far as the leasing, we are about 70% pre-leased. So, we are very pleased with our progress there. We have several prospects … and expect (to make) pending announcements in the coming weeks.”
The local community is expected to benefit and define what the Electric Works development will eventually become as construction continues.
“It is really the occupants and the visitors from the community that are really going to define this place and what happens here. We are just the starting point,” he said.
Among the merchants and businesses set to occupy Electric Works space are many new eateries.
“We have the Union Street Market opening. New food entrepreneurs are going to be offering fresh specially prepared foods in a part of our community that does not have access to fresh, healthy foods,” Kingsbury said,
Adding, “In our food hall and public market we are planning to have 25 food merchants. All of the 19 merchants we have to date are local. They are coming from Allen County and Northeast Indiana. The majority of those are women-owned businesses,” Kingsbury said.
The Union Street Market is expected to open this fall.
“We hope to have a mix of restaurants and dining establishments because what we really want to create is an 18-hour place. So there is something to do here 18 hours a day,” he said.
Hours are not yet set, but could run from early morning at 6 or 7 a.m. to late at night, possibly to midnight.
Besides restaurants, start-up businesses and established businesses of all sizes are expected to thrive in a coworking space specially built for that purpose.
Carr Workplaces, a multi-faceted company specializing in real estate development, property management, and hospitality experience was chosen to bring the coworking space component of Electric Works to fruition.
“We wanted to bring a coworking partner that had a national platform operating in some of the largest markets around the country,” Kingsbury said. “But, also that had a depth of experience in real estate development, property management and really brought a hospitality focus to coworking. It is very much what we are about and what we are trying to create at Electric Works. So there was a continuity in the mission. The fact they have an established presence in Indianapolis and West Lafayette with Discovery Park District also helps us think about how we can create greater connectivity within the city and other innovation hubs around Indiana.”
Coworking spaces create a welcoming and productive environment for businesses at all levels of development.
“We were very intentional about how we defined what co-working and work-ready suites were going to be here,” Kingsbury said. “What we are trying to create is a continuum of high-performance work places that give everybody from a sole entrepreneur up to and through global world headquarters a place to grow and thrive at Electric Works and stay in Indiana. That is ultimately what we want to accomplish.”
Electric Works is well-suited for coworking. And, it can work for businesses of all sizes.
“Anybody can have an office or a space,” Ashley Buckner, COO, Carr Workplaces. “It is for the solo entrepreneur. It is for the person who wants to get out of their office even if it’s for just a couple of hours a month. It is for large companies that are growing or that just want to have a satellite office. It’s for a company that want a flexible space.”
Buckner added, “This market in particular is important to us because as people kind of change the way they are working we feel like people are starting to drift to markets that have good affordability in housing and that have a good work-life balance. We really see coworking being an important part of this market because Fort Wayne brings all of that.”
Carr Workplaces serves as the property management company for the entire West Campus of 740,000 square feet. The West Campus includes all the buildings on the west side of Broadway.
“When the space is a little more built out with drywall up and doors in, we have a list of people ready to go,” Buckner said. “We will have a property management team and a co-working team working side by side to program the campus, service the tenants and run the co-working space.”
The first phase is slated to open Oct. 1.
The impact Electric Works has on Fort Wayne is still being determined.
“Having a lot of well-established businesses like Do it Best, the global world headquarters here, through the sole entrepreneur that is looking to start a business and partner with other companies and higher education institutions, those are the things that are going to ultimately contribute to the long-term growth of Fort Wayne and Northeast Indiana,” Kingsbury said.
Soon, Electric Works is expected to be a thriving community in its own right.
“The very best thing, I think, is the impact it is going to have for future generations and the impact it is having on our community,” Larry Weigand, CEO, Weigand Construction said. “And the impact it is having on the workers, because everything is being done locally. I am looking forward to seeing the entire campus activated with thousands of workers and employees that are making a difference in our community and their companies.”