Swiss Re Announces Construction of New Fort Wayne Office Building
80,000 sf facility to be built near I-69/Illinois Road interchange
Fort Wayne, Ind. (January 14, 2009) - Swiss Re, in conjunction with the City of Fort Wayne and developer Bill Bean, today announced plans for the construction of a new, environmentally-conscious office building in Fort Wayne. The three-story, 80,000 square foot office building at 1800 Magnavox Way will be adjacent to Swiss Re’s current office location at 1700 Magnavox Way.
Swiss Re and its predecessor companies have been part of the Fort Wayne business community since 1912 and the company employs approximately 250 people in its Fort Wayne office. The new building will be constructed to meet Swiss Re’s needs in the coming years.
"Swiss Re highly values the team here in Fort Wayne," said Tracy Choka, Head of Life and Health North America product management for Swiss Re. "The new building exemplifies Swiss Re’s commitment to its employees in Fort Wayne, and to the local community as well."
Swiss Re worked closely with the City of Fort Wayne and the Alliance, the City’s local economic development organization, in analyzing numerous sites and existing buildings in the area. The project is scheduled for completion in early 2010. Swiss Re employees in Fort Wayne will remain in their existing office location until the new building is completed and ready for occupancy. At an upcoming meeting the Fort Wayne Common Council will act on phasing in property taxes on the new facility. The overall cost of the project and lease terms have not been disclosed.
"We’re very excited to be hosting a terrific new building and retaining a key employer in our community," stated Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry. "Especially in these challenging economic times it is especially gratifying that a quality local employer like Swiss Re is recommitting itself to Fort Wayne, Indiana."
"Swiss Re has a long tradition of building architecturally exciting and sustainable office buildings around the globe," said Neal Arnold, Head of Life and Health North America valuation for Swiss Re. "We’re excited Bill Bean is working with us to customize a state-of-the-art facility conceived by Design Collaborative for Swiss Re here in Fort Wayne."
"The new office building for Swiss Re will be one of the most energy efficient offices in Northeast Indiana," said Bill Bean of Hanning & Bean Enterprises. "The building will be built using Silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards and feature a geothermal HVAC system, recycled building products and many other sustainable concepts. This building, to be designed and built with local talent such as Design Collaborative (architect) and Harold McComb & Son (general contractor), demonstrates this community’s ability to design and construct a truly world class facility."
"This is great news for the company and the community," added Kristine Foate, CEO of the Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce. "It will be a signature project along a key transportation corridor in Northeast Indiana."
Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd
Swiss Re is a leading and highly diversified global reinsurer. The company operates through offices in more than 25 countries. Founded in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1863, Swiss Re offers financial services products that enable risk-taking essential to enterprise and progress. The company’s traditional reinsurance products and related services for property and casualty, as well as the life and health business are complemented by insurance-based corporate finance solutions and supplementary services for comprehensive risk management. Swiss Re is rated "AA-" by Standard & Poor’s, "Aa2" by Moody’s and "A+" by A.M. Best. More information is available at www.swissre.com.
About Hanning & Bean Enterprises, Inc.
Hanning & Bean is among the most active real estate development and management firms in Northeast Indiana. The company current owns and/or manages approximately six million square feet of commercial, retail, office and industrial space throughout the region.
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