Electric Works Project Reinvigorates Fort Wayne’s Largest Privately Held Business

In 1945, Do it Best was founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana to serve lumber and building materials dealers in the surrounding tristate area, but all of its employees were nearly gone by 2009 after GE decommissioned its buildings. Today, the Electric Works project aims to keep the company in the city by investing $286 million in the restoration of the building product distributor's existing headquarters.

Do it Best is scheduled to move into its new 200,000-square-foot space of the 700,000-square-foot phase one project in October, Forbes reports. The reinvestment was made possible by the largest state redevelopment tax credit allocated in history for the Electric Works project, which has led to six consecutive years of positive domestic migration into the Great Lakes region. 

“We wanted a space that was appealing to our current and future team members that supports our collaborative work environment,” [Dan] Starr said about the company’s search for the right location for its headquarters. “There weren’t a lot of options in Fort Wayne to accommodate what we wanted to achieve — until Electric Works. It fulfilled many of the requirements we set for a relocation.”

Starr sees the move to Electric Works as an opportunity to attract and retain top talent.

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