FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) -- During the last Fort Wayne City Council meeting of 2024, multiple resolutions for the upcoming Wells Street Wedge development were passed, divulging new details about the development along the way. Some of the details, such as the parking garage, housing units and retail space, were already revealed by the City of Fort Wayne in October. Joe Giant, community development administrator for the City of Fort Wayne, said some of the amenities, such as the parking garage, will be a welcome sight for the area just north of the St. Marys River. "We're seeing so much development interest north of the river, but if you look at where parking facilities are located right now, there's nothing up there," Giant said. "So, if we want to avoid the chaos of people just looking down residential streets, looking in alleys, wherever for parking, we know that we need to have strategic investments in parking on the north side of the river. Third time’s a charm? New restaurant coming to Woodburn following Bob’s, Willie’s Café II closures As for revenue, Giant said the parking garage will be leased out in a way that will be financially beneficial for the City of Fort Wayne. "When we're looking at a lease payment for this, what we try to do is maximize the amount of lease payment that's generated by the project itself. We like to say 'projects paying for projects,'" Giant said. "In this instance, this project will be in a new TIF district, so any new property taxes generated by this project go toward the parking lease. We expect that to be about $515,000 a year." TIF districts capitalize on areas that are being redeveloped, and the increased tax income from the improved areas can be reinvested within the designated district. Russ Jehl, a member of Fort Wayne City Council who oversees the city's 2nd District, voted in favor of the Wells Street Wedge resolutions, but he told WANE 15 the way the City of Fort Wayne has utilized the TIF districts has been "counterintuitive" because the money they generate can only be reinvested in specific areas. A map showing the existing and expanded TIF district. The orange section shows where the Wells Street Wedge will be located. "When you think of subsidizing housing, you don't think of upper middle class, $200,000 a month housing, so I would like to be able to go back to my constituents and explain why more of their money doesn't go to actually incentivizing businesses." Despite Jehl's problems with the city footing the bill for a parking garage that will ultimately serve a private apartment complex, he voted because he wants the development. He just also wants transparency. "If our downtown economic development strategy is to pay upper middle class to locate there -- even though they're in TIF districts and don't actually contribute to the property tax base -- then let's just be transparent about it," Jehl said. "Let's explain why we do it and why paying to subsidize that type of housing is a wise thing to do." To fund the Wells Street Wedge, City Council approved a loan for $4 million from the Indiana Finance Authority. However, the loan will be atypical in that the city's TIF funds will be used to make loan payments, and then the developer of the project will "immediately" reimburse the City of Fort Wayne.