One proposal submitted for North River development

By Jonathan Shelley | WPTA

Only one group met a Tuesday deadline to submit detailed plans for the North River property, Fort Wayne city officials told ABC21.

That proposal is led by Continental Property Group of Minnesota.

Earlier this year, ABC21 reported that Continental Property Group and Fort Wayne-based Design Collaborative had signaled interest in developing a mixed-use facility that could house, among other things, the Headwaters Junction railroad attraction.

Several other groups had also indicated an interest, but did not submit developed plans by the deadline.

Continental Property Group is the same company that is developing the Riverview apartment complex downtown. That $62-million mixed-use development was announced in late 2017.

It will encompass about 3.3 acres near Promenade Park.

At the time, Continental Property Group president Traci Tomas called Fort Wayne "an excellent place to invest,” and described the effort as a "one of a kind, first-class project."

Design Collaborative and Weigand Construction are partners on that development.

The much larger (29 acres) North River property was purchased by the City last year after sitting vacant for an extended period of time. It once housed a major recycling operation and will require remediation before any development can take place.

Community leaders have tossed around the idea of turning the North River property into an aquarium, an Imax theatre, education center, outdoor entertainment venue and housing.