A prominent Fort Wayne industrialist has purchased the long-vacant former Instant Copy building near the popular downtown bar he has operated since 2007.
Scott Glaze, chairman and CEO of Fort Wayne Metals Research Products Corp. and owner of J.K. O'Donnell's Irish Ale House, bought the building at 232 W. Wayne St. from the Downtown Development Trust, a not-for-profit agency that had paid $250,000 for the property in February. Glaze's 121 W. Wayne LLC – the address of J.K. O'Donnell's – also paid $250,000, according to the Wayne Township Assessor's office.
The trust was created in 2010 by the Fort Wayne-Economic Development Alliance and the Downtown Improvement District to promote business and development in the city's core, and Glaze serves as a director of both organizations. It bought the Instant Copy building – its first property acquisition – with the help of a line of credit from the Fort Wayne Community Foundation. The remaining foundation funds and proceeds from the building's sale could be used to acquire other downtown properties for possible development, according to Alliance Senior Development Officer Karl Bandemer.
Glaze was unavailable for comment, but Bandemer said in February the first floor of the 7,400-square-foot building would be ideal for a grocery or restaurant, with apartments on the second floor. Because the trust is nonprofit, it can buy properties more inexpensively than government agencies and pass the savings on to buyers, making development more attractive, he said.
Glaze also owns and is renovating the former location of the Loaf N Ladle in the 800 block of South Calhoun Street. That location is considered an ideal spot for another restaurant, downtown officials have said.
