Construction on the new Ash Skyline project in downtown Fort Wayne is on schedule and will continue throughout the winter.
Right now it’s a giant hole in the ground – and they’re not done digging yet.
The future site of a mixed-use development downtown takes up nearly an entire city block, with work on the city-funded underground parking garage is still underway.
Spokesman for the Mayor John Perlich says the City doesn’t anticipate weather will have a major impact on the work, even if it’s as harsh as last winter. The project’s original residential partner Hanning and Bean pulled out in September, citing the cost of construction delays.
John Perlich says having to find a new residential developer won’t push the project back further.
“Certainly throughout the entire process, regardless of who the residential developer will ultimately be, the construction of the housing component was always going to be that third element for that three-phased approach," says Perlich. "It was always going to be the garage first.”
Perlich says the City and its partner Ash Brokerage continue to review interest from residential developers, and hope to announce new partner in January.
Work is scheduled to begin on the Ash Headquarters component in April, with the garage completed by December 2015.