Widened, safer Auburn Road officially opens

BY MATTHEW GLOWICKI
mglowicki@news-sentinel.com

Brunswick invests $1.2M in new plant, up to 200 jobs

Ribbon cut on 360K-square-foot facility.
BY MATTHEW GLOWICKI
mglowicki@news-sentinel.com

Matt Scheibel recalls driving to work and seeing schoolchildren teeter along the grassy, steep south side of Auburn Road in the early, dark hours of the morning. There simply wasnt a sidewalk for the students as they made their way to class at Shawnee Middle School. Its a sight Scheibel, principal at Shawnee, likely wont see any longer. The Auburn Road project, with its twofold mission to improve safety and reduce congestion, was completed last week after more than a year of construction. The traffic flow pattern on Cook should
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A $1.2 million reinvestment in Fort Wayne by the Brunswick Corp. will bring up to 200 new full-time jobs to the city. Brunswick Fort Wayne Operations first announced plans in December to relocate to a larger facility and expand its current 260-person workforce by up to 200 full-time workers in a variety of departments by 2016.

Gov. Mike Pence joined executives from Brunswick and Mayor Tom Henry on Thursday afternoon for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the 360,000-square-foot building at 1111 N. Hadley Road. The new plant is a purchase of the old Lincoln Foodservice Products building, which closed in April after the company moved its headquarters to Cleveland, eliminating about 200 jobs in the area. Brunswick has manufactured recreational boats in Fort Wayne for more than 50 years, a trend that will con tin u e w ith th e n ew

investment. Seeing this great facility find a new future is a testament to this company, to its leadership nationally and locally, Pence said. Henry added that the retention and the growth of businesses are just as important as the initial attraction. He lauded the company for its success and investment in the area. You could have gone anywhere you wanted, he said. You didnt have to stay in Fort Wayne, but you chose to. After the ribbon-cutting,
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Pence said the key to creating more success stories such as Brunswick is twofold increasing Indianas attractiveness to businesses and strengthening state and local leadership connectivity. Its important that when
By Matthew Glowicki of The News-Sentinel

the opportunities come across, that we have strong partnerships between the state and local leadership to step up and to make the kind of competitive arrangements with companies that give businesses in Indiana a reason to say and give businesses a reason to come. The plant is a producer of Harris FloteBote and Cy-

press Cay pontoon boats, the market for which has grown by about 20 percent in the last year alone, President of Fort Wayne Operations Nick Stickler said. Stickler said the companys employees have been essential to the growth of the company, and it was their dedication that helped convince the company to stay in the city when it was

looking to move. The old plant has been too small for the growing company for about the last 18 months, Stickler said. Twenty-seven of the estimated 200 potential new employees have already been hired since December. More will be hired as operations move to the new site in August.

Cars cross the newly renovated intersection of Auburn and Cook roads on Thursday morning.

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AUBURN
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increase, Scheibel said, and there should be more opportunities for people to get kids dropped off, which ultimately is going to get students to first period on time and increases their likelihood that theyre in front of a teacher when the bell rings. New features included a widening of Auburn from two lanes to four between Clinton Street and just north of Cook Road. A new sidewalk borders Auburn on the south and a new trail borders on the north, both of which seek to increase pedestrian safety and better connect area neighborhoods and schools. There is also a new stoplight at the intersection of Auburn and Cook roads, while the existing stoplight at the intersection of Auburn and Clinton was adapted to accommodate the new traffic pattern, said project engineer Arlene Morales. New gutters, curbs and storm

sewers were also part of the project. Its an amazing accomplishment with the way economic times seem to be right now, especially with the budget and the fiscal policy, City Council member Tom Didier said at the official opening of the road Thursday morning. Most of the projects $2.9 million price tag came from the Indiana Department of Transportation ($2.465 million), while the rest was covered by $216,376 from the Federal Highway Administration and $300,000 from the citys Public Works Division. Didier used the project to illustrate the need for dedication of tax dollars to capital projects, specifically noting traffic issues at the intersection of Lima Road and Coliseum Boulevard. Its a cluster problem of diverting the traffic properly, and it needs to be fixed, Didier said. Those are the kinds of projects we need fixed, but its the funding mechanisms we dont have.

house, along with two nearby vacant lots, with her husband in 2009. They spent the first year on exterior work alone, including the stripping of asbestoscoated siding and repair of rotting woodwork. One of the lots is reserved for the relocation of the original depot of the Findlay, Fort Wayne and Western Railroad. The couple, currently livi n g i n Wi l d w o o d P a r k , plans to run the shop alongside their two daughters, Addie Michel and Hannah Michel, who will create vintage clothing. While the store has no definite open date, pending an occupancy permit, Pam Michel is excited to showcase the shop during the tour with the help of renowned Indiana reuse artist and self-proclaimed Cornbelt Cowboy, Michael Hap Hapner of Wabash County. Having his start in Fort Wayne, Hapner will demonstrate the debut of his flow-

ers, made of vinyl records and other reuse items, in an Indiana garden. He emphasized, however, that the main focus is ARCH they do so much for Fort Wayne and tourism, and Im just an added attraction. Saturday also marks Hapners 60th birthday. He said he always tries to do something artistic on his birthday and will also explain how he creates his signature flowers, costing $10$25, which he said are often reminiscent of Dr. Seuss illustrations. Well-known for his self-taught spots and dots style, Hapner constantly experiments with colors and shapes so that he never has two pieces of identical art. Some of Hapners most iconic artwork is his cowgirl bicycle sculpture, where he takes a used bike and paints and remodels it in a colorful Western style. These cost $700-$3,000. For both Hapner and Pam Michel, antique materials seem to find them once people know theyre looking for reusable items. Art is

By Heather Detzner for The News-Sentinel

Mercantile on Main, 1735 W. Main St., will offer a sneak peek of antique items during the annual ARCH Historic Home & Garden Tour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

all around you, stated Hapner, Every time I turn

around, Im learning something new.