A 29-acre property that Greater Fort Wayne Inc.would like to see used for its proposed “STEAM Park” is now listed for sale by its owners for $6 million.
GFW’s timeline for the park project calls for its completion in 2021-2025, but the Rifkin family, which owns the land, doesn’t want to wait that long to sell, said commercial real estate broker Steven Zacher.
Zacher Co. is working with Cushman & Wakefield, a well-known national firm, to market the property as a mixed-use development under the name, River North Commons.
“We’d love to work with the city, but we’re also putting it in front of regional and national developers,” Zacher said. “I think it’s obviously a prime piece of property.”
The city has expressed interest in the River North property, used by Omnisource, the former family-owned business, a number of times over the years. One of the questions never really answered publicly was whether or not the site might have been contaminated by the metal recycling business.
“There’s always going to be issues you’re working through,” Zacher said.
The situation is not much different than that of the downtown General Electric campus, which also was recently listed for sale and also faces questions about contamination.
The redevelopment of the GE campus is another of the priorities on GFW’s wish list.
The $6 million price tag also is quite modest, considering the size of the property. It works out to less than $5 per square foot, far below the per-square-foot price the city has offered for the properties it is seeking for its new riverfront park.
The River North property, with an address of 1610 N. Calhoun St., is a gateway to the downtown area, the sales brochure notes. It currently is zoned general/intensive industrial.
GFW was not involved in any active negotiations for the property, and issued a statement that put a positive spin on the issue.
“To see the north river property listed for sale is a positive step forward, and as with any deal, we understand that this will have to be a win-win for all parties involved,” the statement read. “We are grateful to see that the Rifkin family has defined their perspective on the value of the property, and look forward to the next steps in this process.”