Residents - and the Fort Wayne City Council - will get an in-depth look this week at how much money the city spent to put together Harrison Square.

Greg Leatherman, city executive director of redevelopment, will provide details on the public finances of the project to council Tuesday.

Those who requested the report said the controversial project deserves such scrutiny, but at least one councilman said further attacks on the project are pointless and much of the information to be presented has already been publicly released.

Leatherman, who declined to release details of his presentation in advance, said he plans to show how the city has exceeded its goals with the project and has stuck to its promised budget.

"We will be able to present a successful story," he said.

Council President Tom Smith, R-1st, said he asked for the report simply because it was time to give a public accounting of one of the largest and most hotly debated public projects. Smith voted against Harrison Square and has often voted against related issues to the project.

He said he wasn't trying to push an agenda through the report, but it was appropriate to look at all the public money spent constructing Parkview Field and the nearby parking garage, as well as prepping the site for a Courtyard by Marriott and The Harrison, a proposed condominium/retail building.

"Everybody would like to know how much money has been spent on this," he said. "It is what it is."

While the meeting is open to the public, there will not be an opportunity for public comment.

Councilman Tim Pape, D-5th, said he was concerned with opponents to the project simply using this as another chance to criticize it. Pape, one of the more vocal supporters of Harrison Square on council, said he understands the project deserves public scrutiny, but said council members could have received all this information on their own had they simply asked.

Pape said opponents have hammered on Harrison Square by saying they are looking out for the public good, but they have offered little scrutiny of any other project, such as the redevelopment of Southtown Mall. He said continued criticism discourages private developers who might be interested in investing in the city.

"I'm ready for people so interested in this project to put their minds to the next investment," he said. "I hope the electorate sees what's happening and votes these people out."

The presentation

Leatherman said his presentation will focus on how the city followed the financial numbers presented to the council in July 2007.

At that time Controller Pat Roller presented that the $130 million project's value was reduced to $120 million, thanks largely to a $10 million decrease in private investment for the hotel. Of the $120 million, $64 million was expected to come from public coffers and $56 million would come from private developers.

This includes the $12 million the city spent to purchase the land and the nearly $31 million in interest to borrow $43.8 million over 25 years. The budget also included about $1.4 million for outside firms, including consultants, Roller said previously. The city had spent $708,000 on those costs as of August 2007.

The public portions of the Harrison Square project were to be financed through several methods: general income taxes, property taxes from the Jefferson Pointe shopping district and future property taxes from the project itself. Leatherman said he planned to show how the project still fits those promises.

He said he also plans to share some new information, such as how the project benefited the local economy. He said nearly every contractor hired by the city was local. The only ones from out of town were on projects where no local company tried for the work.

A consultant report for the city issued in 2007 said the construction of the project would directly create 854 jobs with $31 million in household earnings. The report estimated construction of Harrison Square would indirectly create 1,176 jobs and $43 million in earnings.

Leatherman also expects to discuss the progress of the new downtown hotel and the still non-existent retail/condominium building.

The city is awaiting a response to a letter to Barry Real Estate, condominium developer, about its plans for the project that was to be completed by June 1 but has yet to begin construction. The hotel developer, White Lodging, has begun site preparation work.

He said he expected this to be the final look at the breadth of public costs for Harrison Square, but added 1 percent of the costs are unknown as some contracts must still be closed.

blanka@jg.net