Harrison Square: Downtown Fort Wayne to get a new ballpark for the Wizards. Also condos, retail and a hotel.(REGIONAL REPORT NOR

SITE WORK IS UNDER WAY and the bases about to be loaded at the 16-acre, $125 million Harrison Square development along Jefferson Boulevard and Harrison Street in downtown Fort Wayne

Soon to be on first base: a minor league stadium for the Fort Wayne Wizards, With a condominium/retail building at second and a Courtyard by Marriott hotel on third.

The L-shaped, multi-block development will be a home-team success long in planning, says Greg Leatherman, redevelopment director for the city of Fort Wayne.

"It was extremely challenging," he says. "In the last four to five years, we've been working hard to create an environment downtown that is receptive and inviting to private investment. We were planning for growth and development when the Wizards went up for sale."

Approached by a group With interests in both baseball and urban development, "need met opportunity," Leatherman says. Plans took shape, "and here we are today."

A key player--in the project, not on the field is Chris Schoen, now one of the owners of the Wizards and a senior executive at Atlanta-based Hardball Capital, a company that invests in and operates baseball-related businesses. Schoen also owns Atlanta-headquartered Barry Real Estate Companies, which is developing the condominium and retail complex at the site.

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The city's Redevelopment Commission acquired and assembled the real estate for the project, which included property with several different zoning classifications, Leatherman says. "Now, it's all zoned for downtown mixed use."

Eight businesses and 23 houses have been cleared from the property The city is issuing a general obligation bond to cover its share of the $125 million price tag; $61 million in private money rounds out the funds.

The ballpark, condo/retail project and a 900-space, $14 million parking deck with stadium seating on top are slated to open in April 2009. Construction of the hotel is scheduled to begin in spring 2008 and take 16 months to build.

Not just for baseball. "This will be the most innovative minor league stadium in America," says Jim Irwin, project manager for Harrison Square and a principal in Barry Real Estate. "The owners have visited over 60 minor league stadiums and are putting all the best ideas into this one stadium."

Hardball Capital is contributing $6 million toward the $31 million, city-owned stadium and will operate it for the city Its 16 private suites have already sold out, to buyers such as Indiana Michigan Power, Edy's Grand Ice Cream and Ratheon,

The Wizards, a Class A Midwest League affiliate of the San Diego Padres, in 15 seasons have built a solid fan base who root for the navy blue-and-silver.

Stadium features will include player batting cages on the concourse that can also be used by fans, a conference center with rooftop seating also available for private parties, a 40-foot video board to show full-length motion pictures for picnickers on the green, a two-acre public park with a water feature and a public amphitheatre, among others.

"We are creating an environment that's not just for baseball," Irwin says. "That's the city's mission."

A facility that extends beyond baseball is a plus, says Betsy Perry Patton, communications manager at the Fort Wayne/Mien County Convention and Visitors Bureau. "We are on board with the developer's vision of there being great potential for multiple functions at the facility."

Besides private rentals, "Depending on how they build the field, it could host other tournaments and drum corps. It's going to be a visitors' destination, and we want to maximize its use. We're very excited about it. It has definite potential."

Downtown living. The five-story, $20 million condo/retail building along Jefferson Boulevard will offer 62 residences and 24,000 square of feet of first-floor retail space. The condos will be a mix of one-bedroom, one-bedroom plus den, two-bedroom and three-bedroom units, Irwin says. "We have two target markets: young professionals without children and Baby Boomers who don't want to do any yard work."

The units are not billed as sports condos. "Baseball just happens to be there," Irwin says. "These are unquestionably year-round living." Purchase prices have not yet been set.

He expects retail tenants to range from three to eight, depending on the space needed, and to include casual dining, a drugstore, a fitness center and others.

A 250-room hotel. The six-story, $35 million Courtyard by Marriott is being developed by Merrillville-headquartered White Lodging Services. It will have 250 rooms, 6,000 square feet of meeting space, a restaurant, bar, indoor pool and fitness center.

The hotel will also feature an overhead crosswalk to the recently expanded Grand Wayne Center conference facility via the Embassy Theatre.

In the end, the time and effort will pay off for Fort Wayne and the investors, Irwin says. "It's taken an enormous amount of sustained effort to get us where we are. We've done our due diligence, and we would not be doing this unless we believed it would work."

But, he says, it couldn't have happened without the city. "The opportunity presented itself, and the city was looking for a private partner who had the skill set to do this. The stars were aligned. The city welcomed us with open arms, and that goes a long way when city business leaders are willing to take a risk with us."

The project is a giant step forward, says John Sampson, president and CEO of Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership. "It's very important for communities to invest in themselves. It represents a very strong statement by the city of Fort Wayne to improve and be better."

It may be just the beginning in new developments, suggests Ron Sheets, president of the Fort Wayne-Allen County Economic Development Alliance. "We're committed to the Harrison Square project both as a catalyst for downtown development and for its potential to enhance the quality of life by bringing additional vitality to the core area of our community."