The Harrison groundbreaking now set for November

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Mayor Tom Henry said Monday afternoon he is "...more confident than ever it will be finished" in regards to the stalled The Harrison project in downtown Fort Wayne. Groundbreaking is now set for November of 2011 with completion expected in March of 2013.

The mayor said there are no changes to the plan, however there have been changes to the partners and the banks involved.

"We're much further down the road in regards to the bank's commitment to the project," said Chris Schoen of Barry Real Estate .

The tentative schedule is for the final design to be finished by July 31, final financing completed by October 31, and groundbreaking is set for November 30.

Two new investors are teaming up with Barry Real Estate: The Hagerman Group and Whitley Manufacturing Company .

"We've all done a lot of work to get to this point. There's still some work that needs to happen. I can't guarantee we're going to stick to the timeline. iIthink it's definitely a timeline that we can hit," explained Drew Welborn, Vice President of Whitley Manufacturing.

While developers are confident, they understand why some might not be. Schoen said, "It's just taken a lot longer than we ever anticipated, so I completely understand why people say I don't believe this one either."

This latest agreement is detailed in a memorandum of understanding. It's not legally binding.  

The Harrison is the residential and retail portion of the Harrison Square project in downtown Fort Wayne that includes Parkview Field, a parking garage, and a Courtyard by Marriott hotel.

Back in February, city officials said financing was complete and several tenants had already signed deals to move into the facility.

However, on May 5, Frank Suarez, the city's Director of Public Information, issued the following statement to NewsChannel 15, "The discussions between the private sector partners are proceeding and taking a little longer than expected on the final piece of the project. The city will continue to do what it can to facilitate the discussions. Hopefully construction will begin soon.”

So far, three tenants have signed on: a law firm, a credit union, and O'Reilly's Irish Bar and Restaurant, along with housing.

On May 9, Mayor Henry sent a letter to Barry Real Estate requesting an update on the project before the end of the month. The the June 13 Fort Wayne Redevelopment Commission meeting was the first opportunity for Barry Real Estate to accomodate the request.