Change, change, change for three Fort Wayne shopping centers

A section of White Swan Plaza on Lima Road will be demolished to make way for Indiana Michigan Power to increase its power supply to the north side of Fort Wayne, expanding its easement and displacing several tenants. The Marketplace of Canterbury, at St. Joe and St. Joe Center roads, has been put up for sale by the estate of H. Stanley Liddell, who bought it and redeveloped it in the 1980s. And a section of Northcrest Shopping Center that includes the soon-to-depart Bandido’s restaurant may get a complete redevelopment.

“What the scope of it is and what it will look like has not been determined,” said commercial Realtor Phil Knapke, who manages the Northcrest center developed by his father, Norbert Knapke.

Located at the intersection of busy Coliseum Boulevard and Clinton Street, Northcrest has about 382,000 square feet of space and a roster of big-name national tenants that includes Kohl’s, Old Navy, Value City Furniture, Office Depot and Ulta. An office center also is adjacent to the shopping area.

But the northernmost part of the center, a sort of rear section with an entrance off Clinton, has been in decline. The Holiday I and II theaters there were demolished in 2003 after sitting vacant for several years. Another theater building, the Holiday 6, remains but is empty.

Knapke said the need to do something with that part of the center has been apparent for some time, “but obviously you wouldn’t do it when we had this tremendous downturn,” he said. Now, with Bandido’s planning to relocate to Glenbrook Commons and the economy much improved, the time is ripe for the entire area to be redeveloped.

Knapke plans to take a conservative approach to the project, however.

“What we really need to do is find something that is an appropriate use,” he said.

Tracy Hyder, owner of the Allen County Dry Cleaners & Laundromat at White Swan Plaza, is one of the soon-to-be displaced tenants who hopes to remain in that center. She is in negotiations with Hanning & Bean, which manages the older, 73,000 square foot property, to move into a vacant spot between the NAPA Auto Parts store and the former Dollar General.

Hyder has owned the business for nine years, but the laundry has been there for about 45 years, she said. The move of her business, which Hanning & Bean has promised to pay for, could happen as early as mid-August.

“We suffered through the road construction when they widened Lima, and now this,” she reflected. “It’s a very scary situation. I depend on each and every one of my customers. They’re the reason I get up in the morning.”

Bill Bean said he hoped other tenants also could be relocated within the center, but at least two of them aren’t so sure. At this point, the owners of Hair Expressions salon and Fort Wayne Hearing Center don’t expect to stay. The fate of the Euro Coffee Bar is still unknown and the owner of White Swan Barbershop could not be reached for comment.

The shopping center contains about 73,000 feet of leasable space. Bean said about 15 to 20 percent of that space will have to be demolished to make way for the power line expansion, which cuts right through the center’s middle.

White Swan Do it Best Hardware, Edgerton’s Travel and a Chase bank branch are among those that will not be affected by the power project.

The plaza’s long-time anchor, the White Swan IGA supermarket, closed in 2008 after more than 60 years in business. Dollar General later moved in and took up a large part of the former grocery space, but that store recently moved when its lease ran out. Hanning & Bean currently is looking for a tenant or tenants to take over the 9,000 square-foot space.

Marketplace of Canterbury has been in limbo since its owner, Liddell, died in February 2013. A month later, a spectacular fire destroyed four businesses — a liquor store, hair salon, restaurant and one of the five clubs that make up the Piere’s entertainment complex Liddell created at the center.

The fire-damaged areas were demolished and not rebuilt. The remaining four Piere’s clubs still anchor the center, and the sellers of the property will agree to continue to operate the clubs and commit to a long-term lease after the sale, according to a marketing brochure on the property prepared by CBRE/Sturges.

Marketplace of Canterbury contains about 90,000 square feet of restaurant, retail and office space on nearly 15 acres and there also are two outlots available. The asking price for the center, according to a listing on commercial real estate site, Loopnet, is $3.9 million, or about $43.31 per square foot.