Hey Locals,

We're closing out 2024 with lots of updates you won't want to miss. Last week, WANE 15 broke news that Fort Wayne's cherished Three Rivers Festival (TRF) might be going bankrupt. We fill you in on what's happening and what it means for the community.

We also have updates on more apartments Downtown, private equity firms snatching up single-family housing and TRAA's profitable budget proposal for 2025 – plus, a generous pay raise Allen County Council voted to give themselves.

In our To Do List, we cover holiday brunch events and other ways to spend time with family and friends in December.

Heads up: We're taking off next week, but we'll see you again on the 31st with some exciting updates about our business in the new year. 🎉

Cheers. Happy Holidays! And don't forget: this month, all paid subscribers get $5 off any purchase at Fancy & Staple. Did you know we give our paid members a freebie every month at a local business to cover the cost of membership? See what a paid membership is all about with this 30-day trial, and you can get that discount!

Now, let's get started!

NOTE: Links to Journal Gazette articles are marked(*) and may be behind a paywall.

Will Three Rivers Festival happen next year?

A report by WANE 15 shows the festival might be on the verge of bankruptcy.

What's happening?

Fort Wayne's premier Three Rivers Festival (TRF) appears to be on the verge of bankruptcy, according to an investigative report by WANE 15. It found the organization may owe as much as $350,000 with only $20,000 in the bank.

• How did this happen? In recent years, TRF has made headlines for a few messy power changes, but organizers blame this year's shortfall on funding challenges and Downtown revitalization, which affected parking and events in 2024 (moving Junk Food Alley and the Midway). Even so, tax documents WANE obtained show 2024 wasn't the first year TRF faced budget shortfalls. "Expenses for 2023 exceeded revenue by more than $150,000," WANE reports. "In comparison, the festival brought in $1.15 million in revenue during 2022 while spending about $955,500 that year."
• The details: According to letters obtained by WANE, it appears TRF owes about $350,000, mostly to five main creditors. In November, TRF asked the city to forgive a $38,225.97 debt still owed and to return $30,425 its already paid. TRF also owes fireworks provider Pyrotecnico about $35,000 (plus interest) for the 2024 fireworks show, and in a letter to Pyrotecnico, festival organizers outlined three options to pay back this debt, one of which being: "Three Rivers Festival files bankruptcy and ceases to exist." It's unclear how Pyrotecnico, the city and other creditors will respond. But city officials sent TRF a letter on Nov. 18, saying they would only forgive the debt if festival organizers formulated a feasible business plan going forward.
• So what's the plan? While the future of TRF is uncertain, organizers outlined a few cost-cutting measures in their letter to Pyrotecnico, including laying off staff (saving $130,000/year), vacating their office at Three Rivers Apartments (saving $48,000/year), negotiating "a less expensive way to do the Midway," and exploring "two plausible plans" for lowering food expenses. It also plans to cut expenses on all events in 2025 and shorten the festival from nine days to four days, "lowering costs and manpower even more."

Why it matters

Three big reasons we're watching what happens with TRF are:

• It's shaped local culture. Three Rivers Festival has been a summer staple in Downtown Fort Wayne since it began in 1969, bringing residents together at the banks of the St. Joseph River on Columbia Street (The Landing). Over the years, it has grown into Indiana's second largest summer festival, offering more than 80 events and shaping local pride and growth. For many, TRF was a reason to go Downtown before it was "cool." From its earliest days, the festival has celebrated the city's culture and diversity, and it continues to attract a wide cross-section of the community Downtown. At the same time...
• It indicates the city is changing. TRF is a not-for-profit funded entirely by vendor participation fees, souvenir sales, refreshments, entertainment ticket sales, and the sponsorship and support of area businesses. If the festival is not attracting enough support to exceed its expenses, it might indicate the city's culture is shifting, and the festival needs to adapt because...
• It has the potential to drive tourism. Three Rivers Festival says it draws more than a quarter million visitors to Fort Wayne from the broader Northeast Indiana region, Northwestern Ohio, Southern Michigan and Central Indiana. It's unclear what might happen if these tourists (and their dollars) disappear from our annual economy. We reached out to Visit Fort Wayne to get a clearer picture of TRF's economic impact, but Visit Fort Wayne doesn't collect festival-specific data, says Vice President of Marketing and Communications Kristen Guthrie.

Stay tuned for updates as we learn more.

• More mixed-use apartment buildings are coming to Downtown. Last week, plans were filed for a project, called The Eddy (previously called The Wells Street Wedge).* So far, we know it's a four-story, $45 million mixed-use project, bringing another 112 apartments (1-bedroom and 2-bedrooms) to Wells and Ewing streets along with retail, amenities and underground parking. The Eddy is the first major private development on North River with the property owner listed as The Wedge at North River LLC, along with the Indianapolis-based Barrett Realty Investments, formerly Barrett & Stokely. You might remember: Barrett & Stokely also built the recent Riverfront at Promenade Park apartments, retail and garage, and continues work on its sister building, The Lofts at Headwaters Park at Clinton and Superior streets, which will add another 217 apartments, 15 townhomes, 12,000 sq. ft. of commercial space and a 651-space parking garage to Downtown. Last week, we talked about another new apartment building nearby, The Landing Exchange by The Model Group, offering 40 units (studios, 1-bedroom and 2-bedrooms), as well as 5,000-square-feet of commercial space. Stay tuned as we explore the demand for housing and retail Downtown in 2025, and mark your calendar for a public hearing on the Eddy at the plan commission's Jan. 13 meeting.
• Housing experts say private equity firms are increasingly investing in residential property in northeast Indiana to turn profits. The JG* did a deep dive on the topic last week, sharing stories how equity firms are converting more homes into rentals (both short-term and long-term), taking properties off the market for owner-occupant homebuyers "at a time when communities nationwide are experiencing a shortage of affordable housing." While exact figures in Fort Wayne aren't clear, the local housing market is highly rated for investors on websites, like AirDNA, which chart average annual revenue potential. Private equity firms are expected to control 40% of the single-family rental market in the U.S. by 2030, driven in part by a post-pandemic decline in the demand for office and retail space. On the bright side, The JG* also reported that an increase in short-term rentals locally coincides with record tourist spending in Allen County, which reached $995 million in 2023, ranking No. 3 in the state for spending on retail, dining and accommodations.

Plus: County Council gives itself a raise, TRAA sets a profitable budget for 2025, a new campaign to save lives and more. We cover it all in our premium newsletter.

• Brunch: at special Christmas-themed brunches at Charlie’s Place on Dec. 21-22, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., featuring live music by Alicia Pyle, as well as holiday-themed food and cocktails.
• Reminisce: at An Evening with Peter Billingsley & A Christmas Story at The Embassy Theatre on Dec. 19 at 7:30 p.m. The event includes a screening of the 1983 film and a Q&A with Billingsley on stories from the set with behind-the-scenes photos.
• Embark: on a self-guided Holiday Story Walk at Metea County on Dec. 21-31. "Come to the Nature Center, and pick up a map for the holiday story, 'Snowy's Journey,' planted along one of our trails at the park. Hike our trails and enjoy this holiday tale of the Christmas season." ($3 park admission)

What else? We share more things to do in our premium newsletter.

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Have a great week, Locals!

-Your Editor, Kara Hackett