Since The Pearl was announced, Downtown Fort Wayne has been eagerly awaiting its arrival. The Pearl, owned by Chuck and Lisa Surack, is a brand-new luxury mixed-use development located between Main and Pearl Street. It’s the latest live-work-play community to hit Fort Wayne, and it’s doing so in style—with lavish communal and commercial spaces, high-end apartments, and multiple spots for dining and recreation.
To learn more about The Pearl and all it has to offer, we stopped by for a tour and a talk with Tiffany Fries, The Pearl’s managing broker.
Here’s what you can expect at The Pearl!
Molly: From my understanding, The Pearl is meant to be a live-work-play concept. What can folks expect from the spaces and amenities here?
Tiffany: One amenity we have is our business center up on the second floor. There are five “business pods” in that area, where you can have a meeting, use the Wi-Fi, or have a phone conversation. There’s also a conference room you can reserve or use on short notice, if it’s available.
There are also five live-work spaces on Webster Street, which we’re really excited about. It’s an old concept, but it’s new to Fort Wayne: your business is on the first floor and your living space is on the second floor. They’re all one-bedroom spaces, and they have the same amenities that all the rest of the units in the building have. It’s just a staircase going from one space to the other. It could be a salon, office space, yoga studio, or anything else you can think of!
Molly: How convenient!
Tiffany: Yes, very convenient! Speaking of convenience, one way that The Pearl is different from most apartment communities is that all of our amenities are open 24/7. When you live here, you can use any of the common areas at any time of day or night. If you’re up in the middle of the night and want a cup of coffee, a glass of water, or to read a book in one of the spaces, you can do that. If you want to work out at two o’clock in the morning, you can do that too! We just ask that you be quiet and respectful of the other tenants. But other than that it’s all open.
Molly: Sounds like a great place to call home. I feel like “play” is an important part of the live-work-play concept. Can you talk about some of the dining and entertainment that will be a part of The Pearl?
Tiffany: Sure! The Pearl will offer Amoré, a fine Italian, steak and seafood restaurant owned by Chuck and Lisa Surack, around the end of November. It’s going to be beautiful, with a private dining area and a wine wall. The Suracks don’t do anything halfway.
There will also be Ducky’s at The Pearl. That will probably open sometime mid-February. It will have eight duckpin bowling lanes and seating for about 150 people. It will be a little more casual—a good place to kickback with friends. It will feature elevated bar-style food, like smash burgers and bucket nachos.
Crescendo Coffee and Café, which is now open, will obviously offer coffee, but they’ll also have everything from Truly and wine slushies to pizza, sandwiches, soups, and ice cream. And residents don’t have to dine in the café. They can take their food or beverages to the lobby, any of our communal spaces, or up to their balconies.
Molly: So there’s plenty to do without ever having to leave the building!
Tiffany: Exactly! There will also be an event center for weddings, corporate events, and anything else that isn’t nonprofit. Then across the street is Pearl Street Arts Center, which is Chuck’s nonprofit. There will be an academy there that supports music and art education. It will offer music lessons, a mixing studio— things like that. There will be an event center there that’s focused on nonprofit events.
Molly: Since it’s Chuck Surack, I have to ask—will there be live music?
Tiffany: There will be live music and events. We don’t have anything planned currently, but it’s coming. And like The Landing, it will be designed to bring more of the community together.
Molly: Will there be a community calendar or a newsletter on the website for people to look out for?
Tiffany: Yes! And it will be something we collaborate on with Pearl Street Arts. So follow them to stay in the loop!
Molly: So you already talked a little bit about the event space. Can we go back to that? What makes it different from other event centers? And what do people need to know before booking?
Tiffany: One thing notable about the event center is that it’s one of the largest in Downtown Fort Wayne. It holds up to 450 people classroom style and 275 for a round-table event—like a wedding or formal dinner.
And you can use any caterer you want, as long as they can meet our guidelines. I mean, of course you can use any of our on-site caterers—Amoré, Ducky’s, or Crescendo. But if you want to use another local business, maybe Club Soda or Catablu, a barbecue place—you name it, you can use it!
Molly: That’s pretty unique. I’m sure people will appreciate that. So The Pearl is opening up in this area that’s already pretty buzzy. You’ve got Promenade and The Landing next door. It’s almost like its own little district. What’s something that The Pearl will provide that isn’t here already? And why is that really important to the Downtown Fort Wayne community?
Tiffany: Well, I think it provides more spaces for people to spread out. Right now, it seems like everybody goes to The Landing or Promenade, which is fantastic. But we want to invite people to explore the rest of downtown. Electric Works—although it’s not actually within the 99 blocks—is still part of downtown, and it gives people more options. We want to be a bridge between The Landing and other cool, central spaces like that.
I lived in Florida for 15 years of my life—it’s great, don’t get me wrong—but I came back to Fort Wayne because it has so much to offer. I mean, it’s a really cool city. It has a totally renewed energy that it didn’t have even ten years ago.
Compared to what it was, there is so much more pedestrian traffic out here. And so, between having Amoré and Ducky’s, Pearl Street Arts, landscaping and seating spaces, it’s going to bring everybody together. We’re also in the DORA, so anybody can walk over while they’re socializing and enjoying their to-go drinks.
It’s just a whole different vibe Downtown. The skyline is changing. Fort Wayne is being revived. It’s a cool place to be and fun to be a part of.
Molly: Is there anything else that you want people to know about with The Pearl before they visit?
Tiffany: I just want people to know that they’re welcome; we love to give tours! We’re very proud of The Pearl.
And so if they want to come see it, all they have to do is contact us. We normally schedule an appointment, just because we are so busy. But it’s a beautiful building and we love to show it off. So if they want to come by and see it, we’re happy to show it.
—-
To learn more about The Pearl, visit their website. Contact them to schedule a tour or check out their open house on Oct. 22 between 4-8pm!
Molly Conner is a Fort Wayne native and freelance writer. Having lived in Downtown Fort Wayne throughout her twenties, she loves watching her stomping grounds grow. With her love of storytelling and community in tow, she’s eager to tell Downtown Fort Wayne’s story piece-by-piece—exploring the people, spaces, and organizations that make it thrive.