The Journal Gazette, 600 W. Main St., Fort Wayne IN

By next month, the Fort Wayne City Council is expected to decide whether to give the proposed Harrison Square hotel its final public incentive.

The developers for the Courtyard by Marriott, identified as Fort Wayne Convention LLC, submitted their request for tax abatement April 28. The $23.8 million hotel is planned to open in March 2010 as part of the $120 million Harrison Square project, which includes a city-owned baseball stadium opening in 2009.

Greg Leatherman, executive director of redevelopment, said he plans to take the tax break request to the council as soon as possible, although it was not included in ordinances to be introduced Tuesday. That would mean it would likely be introduced May 27 with a public hearing on the abatement June 10.

The Fort Wayne Redevelopment Commission will discuss the abatement Monday, although its approval hinges essentially on whether the tax break would hurt the city’s ability to pay for the Harrison Square project. Leatherman said the abatement was already calculated into the project’s financing.

While the total hotel construction is estimated to cost $35 million, the real estate value is expected to be less because of the need to buy beds, chairs and other items for a hotel. He said the city calculated its finances based on the lower number.

Although Leatherman expects the council to raise concerns about granting an abatement to the hotel, he said it’s a vital part of making the project viable. This is especially true because the council last spring approved a memorandum of understanding that included a 10-year tax abatement.

“They believe we made the commitment to getting this for them,” Leatherman said of the developers.

The abatement is the final part in a public-assistance package that was used to lure a hotel developer downtown.

The incentives included essentially free land, a $6 million state tax credit, an adjoining parking garage built by the city, $1 million from the city to improve infrastructure in the area, up to $5 million over 20 years in cash from the city and county and a $1 million walkway from the hotel to the Embassy Theatre financed by the city.

Leatherman did not have the amount the tax break would save the company over the length of the abatement.

In February, the council voted 8-1 to abate taxes for the $20.3 million condominium/retail piece of Harrison Square, known as The Harrison.

There were concerns about the number of jobs that project would create, but Leatherman said the hotel will generate even more jobs with higher salaries.

According to the tax abatement application, the hotel project will create 35 full-time jobs with an average salary of $31,428 by 2011 plus 20 part-time positions with a $15,000 average salary.

Councilwoman Karen Goldner, D-2nd, said the jobs weren’t the most important part of this investment, as it was a significant project to be built in the city’s core.

“It has to do with making downtown more vibrant,” she said. “That has benefits to everyone throughout Fort Wayne.”

Goldner said the council last year – when she was not a member – basically agreed to approve the abatement, and it would not be appropriate to deny one now that the hotel’s business model is based on having the tax break.

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