FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO):  The Fort Wayne Redevelopment Commission Monday agreed to buy the PepsiCo warehouse site east of North Wells Street for $4.5 million to advance riverfront development.  According to The Journal Gazette PepsiCo will build and move to a new $19 million warehouse and distribution center on 11 acres on Gulfstream Drive near Fort Wayne International Airport.

The current PepsiCo warehouse has been an eye-popping landmark of the Wells Street neighborhood just north of downtown for decades. But the building no longer fits with riverfront plans, city officials said. The city is paying slightly more than the higher of two appraisals, $4.36 million, for the propert itself as $435,000 of which will come from the city’s capital fund and the rest from proceeds of Riverfront Phase II Local Income Tax bonds.