FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE)— As funding cuts cast uncertainty onto projects and programs using federal money, the recently announced North River site development just north of downtown Fort Wayne has been unaffected so far. In August 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a federal agency , announced it granted the City of Fort Wayne $2 million in Brownfields cleanup funding for the former OmniSource site. Summer prices have hit the pumps "The previous use was essentially a metal scrap yard," Fort Wayne Redevelopment Director Alec Johnson said. "We know that there's some heavy metals that have leached into the soil." According to Johnson, the total cost of environmental remediation on the property could cost $10 million. The grant the city has already received will cover a majority of phase one of the cleanup. There have been no indications that grant money will be frozen, Johnson said. "What the [EPA] has told us so far is that if the money was committed for the project; which it was, that money is going to be available," Johnson said. The city will continue to apply for additional EPA grants. If the money committed does get frozen, the project can still move along, according to Johnson. "There seems to be a lot of uncertainty in that regard," Johnson said. "But, it's not going to stop us from doing the planning that we're doing here and the design work that we're doing here." If the funding continues to be uninterrupted, Johnson said the cleanup process can begin in late spring or summer. The cleanup will begin on the south side of the site and work northward. The center piece of the proposed development, the North River Fieldhouse, would span 160,000 square feet. The facility would be home to several different sports such as basketball, soccer, volleyball, wrestling, cheerleading, pickleball, baseball, flag football and more. The project is estimated to cost $50-60 million. The plan is to build hotels, restaurants, retail and residential units around the fieldhouse. A groundbreaking is projected for the second or third quarter of 2026, Fort Wayne Mayor Sharon Tucker said at a press conference in February. ...read more read less