Mayor Tom Henry joined representatives from Miller-Valentine Group and Vincent Village today in celebrating the start of construction on the Bottle Works Lofts development in southeast Fort Wayne.

The groundbreaking took place at the former Coca-Cola bottling facility, 1631 E. Pontiac St. The $14.5 million development includes the historic rehabilitation of the Coca-Cola building, which will house 31 affordable rental units, on-site management office, community room, business center, media room, fitness center, outdoor shelter and indoor and outdoor playgrounds.

The affordable housing development also includes 19 lease-to-purchase single family homes, each with a detached garage, located throughout the Renaissance Pointe neighborhood. These homes will be built on vacant lots previously owned by the City of Fort Wayne. The City also owned the Coca-Cola building, which was constructed in 1943 and purchased by the City in 2012 with the intention of redeveloping it.

“We are excited to get the Bottle Works Lofts project underway,” said Peter Schwiegeraht, senior developer for Miller-Valentine Group. “We are looking forward to revitalizing this historic building and working with Vincent Village to provide high-quality housing options in southeast Fort Wayne.”

“After three years of working on this development, Vincent Village is excited to break ground as co-developer to renovate this historic property,” said Denise Andorfer, executive director of Vincent Village Inc. “We look forward to our neighborhood offering new rental units as well as additional rent-to-own homes. It is vital that we continue to build new, energy-efficient housing in the southeast area so that we can help families stay housed and keep their utility costs low.”

“Miller-Valentine and Vincent Village are great partners in our work to revitalize southeast Fort Wayne,” said Mayor Henry. “Over the last decade, the City, private sector and local non-profits have invested millions in new infrastructure, housing and community buildings in the Renaissance Pointe neighborhood and now we continue to move in the right direction with the construction of Bottle Works Lofts.”

Many organizations, financial institutions and government agencies are investing in the Bottle Works development, including the City of Fort Wayne through dollars provided by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD); the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority through federal low-income housing tax credits; PNC Bank through federal historic tax credits issued by the National Park Service; Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis; and Old National Bank. Martin Riley is the local architect working on the project.

The rental units in the Bottle Works Lofts building are expected to be complete by end of 2018 and the 19 single-family homes are scheduled for completion by the fall of 2018.



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About Miller-Valentine: Since its founding in 1963, Miller-Valentine Group has been dedicated to quality, value, and service. They provide total real estate solutions in the areas of construction, development, property management, and brokerage (Dayton, OH). Award-winning and nationally recognized, they have built more than 15,000 residential housing units and over 83 million square feet of commercial space. Miller-Valentine Group builds and develops real estate in the Midwest, Southeast, and Southwest regions of the country, with offices in Dayton and Cincinnati, Ohio, Charlotte, NC, Columbia and Charleston, South Carolina, and Dallas, Texas. They offer a wide range of products, including multi-family luxury and affordable housing, as well as office, retail, lodging, healthcare, manufacturing, and distribution facilities. For more information go to www.mvg.com.

About Vincent Village: Founded in 1989, Vincent Village seeks to alleviate the problems of the homeless by providing shelter, care, advocacy, affordable housing and supportive services for homeless families that are working to build strength and become independent, productive members of the community.



About the work to revitalize the Renaissance Pointe neighborhood: Hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested in the Renaissance Pointe neighborhood over the last decade by the private sector, City government, non-profits and government agencies. Some of the improvements include new utility lines, sidewalks, trails, the renovation of former Fire Station #9 into the Renaissance Pointe Urban Farm and Community Center, the 66 lease-to-purchase homes built and managed by Ideal Builders, as well as a new library branch, YMCA and Urban League offices.