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MIDDLE MARKET HIGHLIGHT, OCTOBER 2006
Fort Wayne
Dan Marcec
Fort Wayne and Allen County are home to companies in seven predominate clusters: advanced manufacturing (including vehicle production), agri-processing (food and non-food), aerospace and non-aerospace airport development, communications and defense contracting, financial services, life and materials sciences, and logistics.
“Business attraction, retention and growth efforts are focused on these seven business clusters, which fit Fort Wayne’s historic strengths in workforce experience, educational institution curricular support, geographic location and low business costs,” says Ron Sheets, project manager at the Fort Wayne-Allen County Economic Development Alliance. “The same clusters are also the focus of economic development efforts by northeast Indiana regional and statewide economic development organizations.”
Currently, the city is seeing particularly rapid growth of companies in the supply chain to orthopedic OEMs, including companies such as Nemcomed Inc., a Hicksville, Ohio-based developer of orthopedic implants, instruments, splints and braces;
SWS-Trimac, which is constructing a new R&D operation and consolidating an existing sales and engineering office; Microtech Welding Corporation, a precision microscopic and laser welding service supplier to the biomedical device manufacturing and tooling industries; L.H. Industries, a leading designer and manufacturer of stamping dies, industrial control systems and precision stamped products; and MediTECH Medical Polymers, biomedical division of Quadrant EPP USA Inc., formerly Poly Hi Solidur.
Development is currently taking place in all four quadrants of the county, with higher concentrations of retail and medical-related office on the north side of Fort Wayne along Interstate 69, light industrial in northwest Fort Wayne, general industrial and distribution in the west and southwest sections of the city and county, and heavy industrial and distribution in the east and southeast sections.
“Retail and other light and professional commercial development is following areas of heavier residential development in the northeast, north, northwest and southwest quadrants,” Sheets says. “The city’s and county’s comprehensive plans have established specific areas for industrial development, particularly in areas in proximity to interstate highways, railroads and the airport.”
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Vera Bradley Designs Inc. is developing a new $26 million headquarters campus on 72 acres along Interstate 69 at the intersection of Lafayette Center Road and Interstate 469. The project will serve as a gateway into the Fort Wayne community.
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In addition to ongoing development of industrial, distribution, office and retail projects, the Fort Wayne area has seen construction start on two major “gateway” projects. Both of these projects reflect expansion of homegrown companies, as each one establishes a high style of commercial development at a major entrance to the city. The first of these developments is a new $26 million corporate headquarters campus for Vera Bradley Designs, Inc., a maker of stylish quilted cotton handbags and luggage, situated on 72 acres along I-69 at the Lafayette Center Road/Interstate 469 interchange in southwest Allen County. The campus consolidates several of the company’s operations currently located throughout the area.
Sweetwater Sound broke ground in May on a $27 million, 150,000-square-foot headquarters campus on U.S. 30 West at Kroemer Road in Fort Wayne. The musical equipment dealer’s facilities include a distribution center, an auditorium, a technical training center, a retail store and a multi-room recording studio.
Other major developments throughout the city include: Nemcomed Inc.’s new $10 million manufacturing, engineering and R&D facility; C&M Fine Pack’s $27 million manufacturing facility expansion; Gainey Specialized Transportation’s new $2 million campus; Centennial Wireless’ new U.S. headquarters and expansion; and further expansion from Ellison Bakery Inc., Peg Perego USA Inc. and Pyromation Inc.
In the future, all this development is going to have a major impact on the city’s commercial market. “Sweetwater Sound’s new headquarters campus will upgrade the city’s western gateway along U.S. 30 West and potentially increase interest in additional commercial development in the area,” Sheets says. “Development at interchanges along 11-year-old I-469 is expected to accelerate in the areas with available land pre-zoned in accordance with the comprehensive plan. For example, more than 300 acres of undeveloped land zoned for general industrial use are for sale at the I-469 interchange at State Road 1 south of Fort Wayne. East of New Haven, large tracts of heavy industrial land between U.S. 24 and U.S. 30 are easily accessible from I-469.”
Furthermore, on Fort Wayne’s northwest side, State Road 3 (Lima Road) is experiencing rapid development from well within the city north to the county line. This corridor encompasses the west end of the busy Dupont Road commercial corridor that has seen the county’s largest amount of commercial development, primarily of medical, professional office and retail. Finally, State Road 14 (Illinois Road), an important retail corridor inside I-69 on Fort Wayne’s west side, is seeing new retail development well west of the interstate highway amid one of the county’s largest clusters of upper-end housing. This development is mirrored by similar retail growth in the opposite corner of the county at the I-469/State Road 37 interchange area.
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