City to Redevelop OmniSource Site

But this 28-acre industrial tract along Clinton Street, where recycling company OmniSource spent decades collecting scrap metal, has failed to lure a developer despite the site's apparent assets.

Now city officials hope to make renewal a reality at the OmniSource site by pledging more than $2 million in public money for improvements. In return, they expect to see a $10 million commercial and residential development arise there as early as next year.

The Fort Wayne City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the "NorthRiver Urban Renewal Plan," which outlines ways for the city and investors to revitalize the area. Public improvements would be financed through future taxes generated at the site.

"This plan is one of those great visionary plans we all love to see," said City Councilman Tom Hayhurst, D-4th.

Bounded by the St. Marys River to the south and the YWCA compound to the north, the location became OmniSource's second home around the 1950s, Executive Vice President Ben Eisbart said.

Its access to Clinton Street and the railroad made the area a convenient site for its scrap storage and corporate headquarters. But by the 1990s, the company was beginning to move its recycling efforts across town.

After extensive cleanup efforts, OmniSource closed its industrial operations at the Clinton Street site about six months ago and closed its retail office there a few months later, Eisbart said.

The area now sits 92 percent vacant, with only corporate offices maintaining a presence.

OmniSource executives have pledged to work with the city and a developer to bring new life to the site. The company's most visible icon, the "freight house" depot on Clinton, could even be retained as a central piece of a development.

"We look at that as our signature building," Eisbart said. "When people drive by the site they always ask about the freight house. It's something that certainly has sentimental value."

Ron Fletcher, executive director of the Fort Wayne Redevelopment Commission, said an out-of-town developer has expressed serious interest in the OmniSource site because of the urban renewal plan. He would not name the developer because no official agreement has been reached.

When complete, a new complex of loft apartments and offices could convert the area from an industrial wasteland to a dramatic entry point for downtown, planners said.

"As any long-term resident knows, this property is a gateway to downtown Fort Wayne," said James Lindsay, a staff member for the redevelopment commission.

The renewal plan now returns to the redevelopment commission, which will soon schedule a public hearing on the issue before finalizing the effort. – The (Fort Wayne) Journal Gazette