If you start micromanaging economic development, it can be hard to stop:
It wasn't too long ago that any potential investment downtown would be hailed as good news. In the post-Harrison Square era, however, the bar has been raised. Whether that results in better development - or simply less development - remains to be seen.
“There's been a philosophical shift. Instead of looking at properties as having a single function, we have a preference for mixed-use and aesthetics,” said Pam Holocher, director of the city's Planning Department, which in September created the “Around the Square” plan to guide growth near Harrison Square.
Bounded by Calhoun Street on the east, Washington Boulevard on the north, Van Buren Street on the west and CSX railroad on the south, the area covered by the plan is targeted for development that “supports the significant investment (in Harrison Square)
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Your points are good, generally, but don't have much relevance to the current situation in Fort Wayne. When we are willing to use taxpayer dollars to guaranty the profitability of private businesses for decades, or to pay 50 to 80 percent of the capital costs of a private enterprise, or to provide publicly subsidized housing for the wealthy, or to grant tax abatements to fast food restaurants, we pretty much nail down the "developer friendly" label.
The company with the would be gas station property just needs to figure out what it takes to be considered a friend.