New music building can help Fort Wayne achieve ‘Top-10’ goal

When Greater Fort Wayne Inc. put together its “Allen County Together” plan in November 2021, it included an objective to make this “A Top-10 Music City” by 2031.

“Increasingly, Fort Wayne is becoming known as an appealing place to live for artists, musicians, and other creative professionals,” the report stated. “If local stakeholders want to embrace creative talent and its economic potential, music should become a central facet of local arts and culture development.”

And then it pointed out assets such as Sweetwater Sound, GearFest, and the Middle Waves Music Festival; venues such as the Clyde Theatre, the Embassy Theatre, and the Sweetwater Performance Pavilion, along with the increasing number of local establishments that host live music, in addition to other public spaces for performers.

The Sept. 10 groundbreaking ceremony for the new $25 million, 26,000-square foot Surack-Sweetwater Music Industry Building at Purdue University Fort Wayne makes the goal much more likely. The building is projected to open in time for the start the fall 2026 semester and provide space for students to create their futures.

“The new building is going to have a great economic impact on Fort Wayne,” said John Buteyn, clinical assistant professor of music and director of the popular music, music industry, and music technology programs in PFW’s School of Music. “We’re going to have state-of-the-art facilities, which will draw music lovers of the younger generation who want to study this—and hopefully keep people in this area who are doing more in the music scene.

“It’s just like a trickle effect where we have a bigger program now, more students will graduate now, and a lot of times you see those students sticking around the region because they have connections there. It’s a good place to start, and we’ll continue to seed this.”

The seeding includes several areas, especially top-notch, new equipment for students and musicians to work with. There’s also the expected financial and economic impact to northeast Indiana, which was used to encourage elected officials in the Indiana General Assembly to provide part of the funding.

“It’s my estimation that this new building will be a national attraction for students because it will be state-of-the-art, and we’ll have a facility unlike anyone else in the country,” said John O'Connell, dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts. “We’ll be attracting students from all over the country, which will impact our goal to be a Top 10 city.”

The music programs and the Gold Top Music Group have already been steadily growing over the past five years, but the new building will present space to spread out and try new ideas, Buteyn said. There’s also the continual support and relationship that keeps building with Sweetwater, and O’Connell stressed how the new building will allow other School of Music students whose classes are located on campus to take advantage of the equipment.

Since 2018, the School of Music has had a presence on Sweetwater’s corporate campus. The planning for the world-class facility on the PFW campus will certainly play a large part in Fort Wayne’s Top 10 hopes, said Nathan Heironimus, education resource manager for Sweetwater who regularly works with PFW students.

“All of this is to keep up with the fast pace and ever-changing world of music,” Heironimus said. “This new building won’t just serve as a shell, but also the fabric for the fire in the belly of each student chasing their dreams in music.

“Sweetwater is eager to see the next version of success take shape, as this new home serves as an even better learning environment for the upcoming generations of students in music. This is going to pour even more music into Fort Wayne for a long time to come, contributing to the fulfillment of this mission.”