Shuttered and vacant for years, the GE Club looked as good as new when a crowd of officials and well-wishers streamed in on Feb. 13, 2017 to hear what Mayor Tom Henry called “a tremendous announcement for the advancement of the city of Fort Wayne and the heart of our city”: A company had been selected to purchase and redevelop the GE campus.

Even then, as advocates of repurposing the empty GE campus basked in a moment of glory, there were those who voiced fears the project was too big and costly to get off the ground. But some of the skepticism dropped away as the idea for a mix of residences, offices, and commercial and educational enterprises that might enhance surrounding neighborhoods and bolster entrepreneurship took shape. Equally impressive, RTM, the development consortium that purchased the 39-acre campus, seemed to have a plausible financial plan that balanced private investment, federal and state tax credits, and local public funds.

A year and a half has passed since those auspicious beginnings, and it's crunch time. Potential tenants and backers are waiting to commit, and the delays could ultimately put crucial tax credits at risk. But RTM, which originally had hoped to begin work this summer, is still at odds with the Henry administration over some of the terms for a $62 million investment package from Fort Wayne and Allen County.

That's a big chunk of public money, and due diligence is essential, but the bargaining has gone at a snail's pace. The delay threatens to squeeze not only RTM, but the City Council and other public bodies that need time to digest and consider the deal.

“We are now 10 months into negotiations with the city,” RTM spokesperson Kevin Erb said Thursday. “We started in October.”

Much of the bargaining has been by email, he said. But with a crucial Redevelopment Commission meeting looming this week, developer Josh Parker asked city officials last Monday for a face-to-face meeting to resolve the sticking points, Erb said. Parker was told no one would be available all week because of the death of the mayor's mother, Marganelle Henry.

Erb said RTM has been asked to give its often-presented overview of the project at Monday's Redevelopment Commission meeting. But points of disagreement between the developers and the city remain, he said, and “we don't know what they (city officials) have planned” for that meeting.

“It wouldn't be appropriate for me to pre-empt that discussion,” city spokesman John Perlich said Friday.

Emailing The Journal Gazette in response to a request for an interview with one of the officials directly involved in the back-and-forths with RTM, Perlich wrote, “I would caution you on reaching a conclusion that there are snags in the negotiations and/or there aren't signs of progress. I think both the development team and the public bodies working on the development agreement would agree that progress is being made. ... A good indication is that as part of Monday's meeting the Redevelopment Commission is expected to begin the process of approving a Tax Increment Financing district for (the) Electric Works project area” which is, he wrote “an important step in the right direction.”

Well and good. But the impression that city officials are dragging their feet is strong, and baffling.