$350K cleanup approved for Fort Wayne river site set for housing

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — A tainted stretch of riverfront in Indiana's second-largest city is set for a cleanup before work begins on a new housing and retail development.

Fort Wayne's city council approved a $350,000 environmental remediation contract Tuesday under which crews will clean up hydraulic oils, gasoline and underground tanks along the St. Marys River site.

The Journal Gazette reports that the cleanup is needed to help clear the way for the planned Riverview development that will include 150 residential units, a 1,000-space parking garage and retail space.

That site is currently a parking lot but it housed the Allen County Jail for more than a century, until a new jail was built in the 1980s.

The remediation funding will come from Fort Wayne's portion of county economic development income tax funds.