A nearly $48 million plan to restore downtown Fort Wayne’s historic former Scottish Rite Theater moved forward May 19 when the Fort Wayne Common Council voted 7-1 to recommend a resolution establishing a Tax Increment Financing district for the project.
The resolution creates the City Theater Redevelopment Project Area and Economic Development Area, a required step under state law before the Fort Wayne Redevelopment Commission can hold a public hearing and grant final approval. PJ Thuringer of the Fort Wayne Redevelopment office presented the measure to the Regulations Committee, chaired by Councilman Scott Myers.
Surack Enterprises — the company behind the project — will fund public infrastructure improvements up front, with TIF funds estimated at just over $3.2 million repaying the developer over time through newly generated property taxes. Those improvements include sanitary sewer relocation, storm sewer work, and streetscape improvements in the right of way around the building.
Thuringer said the TIF is estimated to repay the developer by 2040, within the 25-year TIF window. A base property tax — estimated at approximately $4 million — remains outside the TIF and continues flowing to general tax rolls.
Councilman Geoff Paddock was enthusiastic. He recalled visiting the theater as a child and noted that not long ago the Scottish Rite Auditorium had faced the prospect of demolition. “To have someone like Chuck Surack come along — he’s done a lot of private investments, he believes in the city,” Paddock said. “I think when we see someone like that, we should complement them and say, ‘How can we assist?'”
Additional funding sources for the total project include a Capital Improvement Board contribution, historic tax credits, and a pending application for state READI funding. The developer’s share is up to $28 million.
One council member voted against the measure, arguing that the project had already received approximately $5 million in public funding through a previous abatement, and that using property tax dollars to reimburse infrastructure specifically serving the developer was difficult to justify — particularly, according to that council member, in a period of a $10 million property tax deficit.
Nancy Townsend, Director of Development for Surack Enterprises, was present at the meeting. The council had previously approved a property tax abatement for the project on March 10, 2026.