FT. WAYNE, IN—Many downtowns throughout the Midwest have started to undergo startling transformations, and Ash Brokerage, the largest independently-owned insurance brokerage agency in the nation, has just launched a $98 million mixed-use project that promises to do the same for Ft. Wayne. The firm will build an eight-story, 95,000-square-foot, $29 million headquarters building in the city's downtown by 2018. Ash will move its 200 employees to the new building and add another 115.

Also as part of the project, Hanning & Bean Enterprises will develop a $30 million, 17-story residential tower of 100 townhomes, apartments and condos. Both projects will sit on top of a city-owned 1,200-space parking garage, which will have retail at street-level.

The Allen County Fort Wayne Capital Improvement Board of Directors recently voted unanimously to increase its stake in the project from $6.5 million to $10.5 million; the increased amount will help cover the cost of a larger parking garage, which had been planned for only 750 spaces. In addition, the city originally expected to contribute about $19.5 million from various sources toward the project, but that has now grown to $39 million, plus $10.5 million in interest and debt costs.