Hey Locals,

We're closing out the year with a look at five questions we're planning to explore in 2025. See what's on our list, and send us your suggestions!

We also have updates on The Eddy at North River and a shortage of judges and lawyers in the county court system. Plus, we have tips to help you start the new year on a healthy note, including...

A new deal with Summit City Climbing Co.! This month, all paid subscribers to The Local get one FREE climbing shoe rental with a climbing pass, so you can see what bouldering is all about. Learn more in our Local Spotlight. 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 freebie!

One more thing: Did you know The Local shares three events each week on 89.1 WBOI's Northeast Indiana Now podcast? Give it a listen, and get a daily digest of news from Northeast Indiana and around the Hoosier state.

Now, let's get started!

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

Five stories we're following in 2025.

Here's what's on our agenda for the new year.

What's happening?

We're kicking off the new year with a quick look at five questions we plan to keep exploring in 2025. Of course, these are not the only topics we consider "important," but simply what's top of mind.

1. What's happening at Electric Works? Electric Works is the largest public-private project undertaken in Fort Wayne (possibly ever), and yet, there's a surprising lack of information available to the public about it, particularly its financial status. In November, we broke news about inaccurate reporting in its self-published Community Impact Report, which showed Phase 1 of the project is still short about 963 jobs needed to meet its forecasted annual financial impact of $375M. Since then, we've learned that Carr Workplaces is no longer involved in the project, and there's been a turnover of vendors and operations management at Union Street Market, which was a key component of the project to secure public funding. We've been meeting with leaders to better understand what's happening and should have more information to share next week.
2. What's the state of housing and retail Downtown? In the final weeks of 2024, several mixed-use housing developments made headlines, from The Eddy (previously The Wedge) to The Pearl and The Landing Exchange. Together, these and other projects (like The Lofts at Headwaters Park) are bringing hundreds of new apartments to the city center, along with a lot of parking, commercial and retail space. We're curious to see what happens with these developments. So far, we've called around to a few Downtown apartment buildings to gain a better understanding of their occupancy rates, and it appears that most units (upward of 90 percent) at both The Riverfront at Promenade and Skyline Tower are currently full. Zacher's Retail Market Report last year also showed the city's overall retail vacancy rate is below 10% – its lowest level since Zacher started tracking it. And Steven Zacher, president and managing broker of the firm, told us in October he believes "the demand will catch up to the supply" when it comes to Downtown retail. But it's difficult to ignore some stubbornly vacant storefronts Downtown, which have struggled to retain tenants for about a decade now, and amidst a backdrop of national inflation, even successful local retailers have been begging for business.
3. How can Fort Wayne support local food and dining entrepreneurs? One of the more high-profile stories of last year was the sudden closure of two seemingly successful food ventures: Junk Ditch Brewing Co. and GK Baked Goods. While personal drama may have impacted these losses, the situation drew our attention to the slim margins and ever-present challenges of operating a food and beverage business. Since Fort Wayne's food scene is one of the key ingredients that makes our city special, we're curious what can be done to support culinary entrepreneurs and prevent closures. After doing some digging, we've discovered there's a new grassroots advocacy organization underway aimed at doing just that in 2025, modeled after the Nashville Kitchen Cabinet. Stay tuned for details as we learn more.
4. How can Fort Wayne be a safer city for everyone? Last year, several fatal police-involved shootings — many involving young, Black residents – resulted in protests and a campaign by the Urban League to educate youth on police interactions.* We're curious what more can be done to improve police training and reduce police-involved shootings, which have increased nationwide in recent years. (Strangely enough, 2023, which saw a 13% reduction in homicides nationwide also ended up being the deadliest year for homicides committed by law enforcement in more than a decade.) In other safety news: TRAA's so-called "monopoly" model* for EMS care also made headlines, causing us to question what a more effective system might look like (and require), especially considering that the county pulled out of TRAA in December.
5. What types of investment does Fort Wayne need most? Since the early days of Parkview Field, there's been a general spirit that "all development is good development" in Fort Wayne because the community had lacked investment for so long previously. But in recent years, cracks have begun to show in this mentality, exposing sacrifices along the path to growth. Last fall, The Guardian exposed how Parkview Health executives put exorbitant profits and shiny development projects ahead of providing the best possible care for Northeast Indiana residents in some cases. Looking ahead to 2025, we're curious what types of investments Fort Wayne needs most now, and what's happening to provide for people's essential needs, like accessible healthcare, housing and transportation – just to name a few.

Psst... Got something else you'd like us to explore? Send us a tip at thelocalfortwayne@gmail.com.

Plus: Two trends we're seeing for 2025 in our premium newsletter.

• City Council approved three resolutions on Dec. 17 to support development of the Eddy (formerly The Wedge) on North River. The Eddy will be the largest redevelopment project on North River to date. It includes a $45M, four-story mixed-use building with 111 apartments wrapped around a 235-space parking garage with 3,200 sq. ft. of commercial space on the ground level. Project leaders told council they're eligible for a $4M loan from the Indiana Finance Authority to help fund the project because it addresses Fort Wayne's housing shortage. And council approved a new type of funding plan* for the project, which includes extending the West End TIF (tax increment financing) District Downtown across the historic Wells Street Bridge to the Eddy and the Pepsi site. The Eddy's garage should be finished by mid- to late-2026, followed by its building in mid-2027.
• Allen County is facing a shortage of judges and lawyers, creating congestion in the county court system. WANE 15 reports that state data shows Allen County could use six more judges, "practically across the board," and current superior court judges (Fran Gull, David Zent and Steven Godfrey) are doing the work of nearly two judges each. Increasing the number of judges would require approval by state legislators who "seem less inclined to appoint more judges who are paid by the state and turn to judges from underused counties to cover court business in strapped counties," creating situations where judges preside over citizens who didn't elect them and, thus, cannot hold them accountable. The county prosecutor's office is also facing a talent shortage for lawyers, so it raised its starting salary to attract candidates.

Plus: an Allen County Jail update, new housing projects and more. We cover it all in our premium newsletter.

Check out Summit City Climbing Co. with our January deal!

All paid subscribers get a free shoe rental at Fort Wayne's first climbing gym in January.

What's happening?

This month, we're partnering with Summit City Climbing Co. to help you kickstart 2025 with fun, fitness and the opportunity to meet new people. In January, all paid subscribers to The Local get one free shoe rental at the gym, so you can try your hand at bouldering and get to know the city's climbing culture, a young, energetic crowd eager to connect with others. Case in point: Summit City's co-owners are three entrepreneurs in their 20s — Collin Jester, Edwin Chow and Ryan Perkins — who are bringing climbers from other cities to town to set routes and creating more opportunities for locals to meet.

As Jester puts it:

“I try not to throw out the word ‘community’ a ton because it’s overused in a lot of ways, but I do think we’re creating something special when it comes to bringing this physical sport to Fort Wayne that is unique to any other sport locally, and you meet a ton of people along the way. When you try a route on the wall here, you might sit down to rest, and then someone else sits next to you, and before you know it, you’re talking and sharing tips. The only other place you really get that interaction is at a bar or a coffee shop, but most of the time there, you’re meeting with people you already know and not really talking to strangers. We love that climbing gives people who don’t know each other reasons to bond. It’s a great way to meet friends, to have first dates or just to get to know someone new. I’m connected to the local immigrant community, and we want to do events, like ‘meet an immigrant’ or ‘meet a refugee’ night because a lot of times, people in our community might not get the chance to connect with others in fun, organic ways. Things can get very political online, but it’s different when you meet someone firsthand, and climbing brings people together.”

A few quick things to know

• What is it? Summit City Climbing Co. is a bouldering gym with about 10-15 foot walls and no anchors, ropes or bullays. The only equipment you need to climb is to rent (or buy) some climbing shoes, available on site. There's also a thick pad beneath the wall, so you're safe if you fall.
• Why bouldering? "It's very approachable to the everyday person, and it's growing like crazy," says Jester. “Bouldering is exploding in Europe. It tends to be more technical than lead climbing, so every move you do is more methodic, and you can plan your moves on the ground just looking at the routes.”
• How's it going so far? Since opening in October, Summit City has built a strong membership. They had 60 members signed up even before their soft opening. "There are a lot of climbers in this city — probably at least 50 we know who are passionate and going to other cities every weekend to climb," Jester says, noting that the local shop Earth Adventures laid the foundation for the city's climbing culture in many ways with a small bouldering wall in their basement. "On their wall, you can see tally marks of how many hours people in our community have climbed there, and there are a lot," Jester says, hinting that there might be more climbing gyms in Fort Wayne's future, too.  

Mark your calendar...

For a few weekly events at the gym:

• College Nights: Fridays, 8-10 p.m. $15 climbs with a valid student ID.
• Yoga with Ellen: Saturdays, 9 a.m. $17 day pass or free to members.
• Member-Only Mornings: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 6:30 p.m. - 12 p.m. (Mike from The Local has been going to the members-only hours and loving the community-building and problem-solving aspects of climbing.)

This month...

Watch for:

• Wall Resets on Jan 6-7 and 23-24. Regional route-setters will be visiting Fort Wayne from other gyms to set fresh routes with new challenges.
• Women’s Only Climbs on Jan 11 and 25, 6-8 p.m. "A supportive space for women to climb and connect."
• Shoe & Sock Drive on Jan. 21-30. Support The Rescue Mission by donating new or gently used shoes and socks.
• Climb for a Cause on Jan 30. All day pass proceeds will be donated to The Rescue Mission.

• Celebrate: New Year's Eve tonight at The Local Archive's 2025 You Look So Cool Bash with band Petrol Station. The fun begins at 9 p.m. with food by Bru Burger, party favors and a cash bar until 1:30 a.m. ($50 tickets). Penny Drip is also hosting a tiki-themed bash with DJs and tropical drinks, starting at 9 p.m. ($15 early bird tickets/$20 at the door).
• Stretch: with Discover Yoga's Grand Opening on The Landing, Jan. 1, 2-5 p.m., starting with a special $10 one-hour yoga class designed to set positive intentions for the year ahead. ($10/ticket)
• Roadtrip: to a First Day of the New Year hike at one of Indiana’s state parks and lakes on Jan. 1. One stop on our list is Pokagon State Park, which offers a 2.5-mile hike with a naturalist to ring in the new year.

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

Support The Local!

Our independent news publication is run by just two locals, Kara and Mike. We are 99% funded by our paid members, and we'd like to keep it that way. If you've enjoyed reading our newsletter so far and have found value in the service we provide, we'd love to have you become a paid subscriber. Help us keep going by upgrading today, and receive our premium newsletter and perks!

Got a story tip or idea?

Let us know at thelocalfortwayne@gmail.com.

Have a great week, Locals!

-Your Editor, Kara Hackett