Fort Wayne, IN (October 8, 2026)—Local elected officials and Sweetwater employees gathered Wednesday for a topping-off ceremony marking a major milestone in the construction of a 170,000-square-foot addition to the company’s distribution center.
• Discover more great stories—get a free Mix SmartBrief subscription!
The highlight of the event was the ceremonial placement of the final steel beam on the addition—the “topping off.” Before it was raised into place, Sweetwater employees, Fort Wayne mayor Sharon Tucker and other local officials signed it, making them all a permanent part of the upcoming edifice.
The approximately 170,000-square-foot addition will expand Sweetwater’s existing 524,363-square-foot distribution facility, and is part of a $36.7 million investment covering the expansion.
• Watt’s Up: Andrew Watt on Producing Legends – Part 1
The project follows a voluntary annexation that brought an additional section of Sweetwater’s campus inside Fort Wayne city limits, including part of the existing distribution center and the ground where the addition is being built. Fort Wayne City Council approved the annexation and expansion of the West Highway 30 Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district earlier this year. The TIF will help fund approximately $6.2 million in public infrastructure improvements, including a new roundabout on Flaugh Road and related road and stormwater work.
Mayor Tucker noted during the ceremony, “When they reached out to the city and said, ‘Hey, we would like to expand, and we would like to voluntarily annex into the city of Fort Wayne,’ we said ‘Absolutely—anything that we could do to be able to help you grow because we recognize the value of Sweetwater brings to the city of Fort Wayne.’ They are a part of the reason that we have been named the fastest-growing community in the Midwest.”
Sweetwater plans to hold a formal grand-opening celebration next Summer once the expansion and campus additions are complete and fully operational.
