Public-Sector Investment Leading to Private-Sector Investment: Fort Wayne, Indiana
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Sessions Information

  • April 19 - 19, 2022
    2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
    Event: 2022 ULI Spring Meeting
    Session Type: Concurrent Session
    Session Capacity: N/A


    After International Harvester and General Electric eliminated roughly 20,000 jobs during the 1980s, Fort Wayne and, especially downtown, faltered. Challenges continued over the next 20 years. The community lost out on major economic development projects. In the early 2000s, local leaders recognized and prioritized quality-of-place enhancements as a key driver of economic development success. With this, an unlikely ethos developed within this fiscally conservative community. The game-changer was the relocation of the minor league baseball franchise into downtown with the construction of Parkview Field in 2009. This investment proved to be the tipping point, setting off a cascade of $1 billion in private investment in the next decade. This year, eight major projects are under construction, ...
Session Speakers
Barrett Rex
Organization: Barrett and Stokely


Rex is a founder and principal of Barrett & Stokely Companies and as General Counsel, has been engaged in the acquisition, ownership, financing, development, and construction and of multi-family and mixed-use properties for more than 45 years. After graduating with a B.A. degree from DePauw University in 1974 and a Masters Degree in International Finance from Thunderbird Graduate School in

Townsend Nancy
Organization: City of Fort Wayne


Nancy Townsend serves as the City of Fort Wayne's Community Development Director. Prior to that she served as the City's Executive Director of the Redevelopment Commission. She is responsible for overseeing revitalization efforts directed by the Fort Wayne Redevelopment Commission in addition to overseeing the City's long range and neighborhood planning departments, economic development and housi

Urbahns John Eric


John Urbahns joined GFW Inc. in 2014. Under John's leadership the team has assisted with 200 business expansions and relocations, resulting in more than 12,000 new jobs and over $500 million in new annual payroll. John has managed and negotiated aspects of several transformational downtown investments. Under his leadership, the GFW Inc. team has counseled community leaders throughout northeast
Session Fees

Fees information is not available at this time.