“Fort Wayne is becoming flat-out cool. Still in the phase where a visitor to the city will have to know just where to look for the signs… It’s clear that there’s something afoot here, and that in an age where we’re skeptical about everything, let alone lists making the rounds on the internet, Fort Wayne really is a place to keep your eye on.”
Food & Wine Magazine
October 2017
Place to Raise a Family
smartasset.com, 2018
Upcoming Hipster Market
yelp, realtor.com, 2017
Hottest Housing Market
realtor.com, 2018
Affordable Place to Live
liveability.com, 2017
Most Popular City Among Millennial Homebuyers
LendingTree, 2018
Best-Run City in America
wallethub, 2017
PERFORMING ARTS
Fort Wayne Ballet
Fort Wayne Philharmonic
Clyde Theatre
Embassy Theatre
FESTIVALS
Middle Waves Music Festival
Three Rivers Festival
Design Week Fort Wayne
Hobnobben Film Festival
MUSEUMS
Science Central
Fort Wayne Museum of Art
History Center
Artlink Gallery
FAMILY FRIENDLY
Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo
Public Yoga
Farmers Markets
200+ lakes in Northeastern Indiana
2,805 acres of public parks
Annual graduates from tier 1 and tier 2 research universities withing 200 miles
Associate degree+ attainment among adults in Allen County
Workers in the 11-county northeast Indiana regional labor force
College students enrolled in Allen County colleges and universities
New Jobs
New Annual Payroll
Capital Investment
Parkview Field
Home to the TinCaps and ranked Best of the Ballparks and #1 ballpark experience in Minor League.
Ballpark Digest, 2018
Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
Arena, expo and conference center home to NBA G-League Mad Ants and ECHL Komets, NCAA regional and national competitions, as well as a venue for national and international entertainers
Parkview and Dupont hospitals are two of the nation’s Top 100 medical centers.
Truven Health Analytics, 2018
State Cost for Doing Business
yelp, realtor.com 2017
Top States for Business
CNBC, 2018
State for Competitive Tax Climate
realtor.com, 2018
TAX ABATEMENTS
Tax phase-ins give local governments the option of allowing certain businesses to phase in those new taxes that would otherwise be assessed to their purchase of equipment used for manufacturing, research and development, logistical distribution, and information technology.
NORTHEAST INDIANA WORKS
Northeast Indiana Works connects with various state and federal agencies to offer grants and incentives to businesses to help train workers. Northeast Indiana Works can also assist with hiring a skilled workforce for companies that are expanding their operations.
LOW-INTEREST LOANS
The Community Development Corporation (CDC) of Northeast Indiana facilitates five loan programs for new and existing businesses interrelated with job creation. These programs can fund a variety of business expenses ranging in size from a few thousand dollars up to $5.5 million on the CDC portion of the project.
SUMMIT CITY ENTREPRENEUR AND ENTERPRISE DISTRICT (SEED)
Administered by Fort Wayne’s Urban Enterprise Association, SEED focuses on programs that support entrepreneurship, innovation, technology development, and small business development.
FOREIGN TRADE ZONE #182
The Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) program operates in a 12-county region in Northeast Indiana. Any company within this area can apply to be a FTZ operator, allowing it to defer or even void payment of import duties – often enjoying a lower tariff rate.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR A GROWING ECONOMY TAX CREDITS (EDGE)
EDGE is a refundable tax credit program that rewards companies creating jobs and contributing to the growth of Indiana’s economy. EDGE credits may be awarded for a period of up to 10 years.
HOOSIER BUSINESS INVESTMENT TAX CREDITS (HBI)
This program encourages capital investment in Indiana by providing a credit against a company’s Indiana tax liability.
SKILLS ENHANCEMENT FUND (SEF)
SEF provides financial assistance to businesses committed to training their workforce. Trainees must be Indiana residents. SEF reimburses eligible training expenses over a two-year term. Companies may reapply for additional SEF funds after their initial two-year term.
PATENT INCOME EXEMPTION
The Patent Tax Exemption allows certain income derived from qualified patents to be exempt from taxation. The Tax Exemption for Patent-Derived Income defines qualified patents to include only utility patents and plant patents.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (R&D) TAX CREDIT
The Research and Development credit provides a credit against state tax liability for qualified company research expenses.
ELEVATE VENTURES
Elevate Ventures is a private venture development organization that nurtures and develops emerging and existing high-potential businesses into highperforming, Indiana-based companies.
NEXT LEVEL JOBS
Next Level Jobs is a campaign that targets working-age Hoosiers and Indiana employers with the goal of skilling up our workforce to fill the high-wage jobs available right now in every part of the state.
OPPORTUNITY ZONES
The Opportunity Zone program offers long-term federal tax deferral on capital gains for investors investing in Opportunity Zones and additional tax exclusion from new capital gains achieved from those Opportunity Zone investments. Opportunity Funds will own full assets or a shared ownership position in real estate and operating businesses located in the zones.
NEW MARKETS TAX CREDITS
The New Markets Tax Credit program attracts capital by providing private investors with a federal tax credit for investments made in economic development projects operating businesses including the provision of working capital, purchase of equipment, or other financing.
HUBZONE
The Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) program helps small businesses gain preferential access to federal procurement opportunities. Certified small businesses in a HUBZone can receive contracting opportunities in the form of set-asides, sole-source awards, and price-evaluation preferences.
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