Real estate update: the latest commercial developments and trends around the state.

• Position: REAL ESTATE

Evansville. "There's a lot of excitement about our downtown," says Ken Newcomb, president of F.C. Tucker Commercial in Evansville. "Our downtown is on a fast track of rebuilding."

In recent years the skyline has benefited from new headquarters buildings for Vectren and Old National Bancorp. Now, residential opportunities are on the rise; including lofts and condominiums, he says.

Efforts also are under way to boost the downtown's status as a tourism and entertainment destination, reports Jeff Deig, vice president of engineering and business development for Industrial Contractors in Evansville. His company is currently working on new entertainment options linked to Casino Aztar, including a new hotel, a Jillian's entertainment complex and a Ri-Ra Irish pub.

The firm also is playing a role in the engineering and construction of the Hands On Discovery Children's Museum, which is to open next school year in the old, art deco Central Library building downtown. "That's a project with a lot of visibility," Deig says.

The downtown office market remains affected by the move of Vectren and Old National to their new quarters, which left their old spaces vacant. There's still a quarter of a million square feet of space available in the central business district, and the vacancy rate exceeds 20 percent. But, says Newcomb, "we're getting a lot of inquiries about the space there.

The suburban market is a different story, with office vacancy rates in the 12 percent range. New developments include a $40 million project involving locally based Shoe Carnival Inc., which is planning a large, new distribution center on State Road 57 and a new corporate headquarters on the east side of town.

Newcomb says the Evansville area continues to experience a crunch in larger industrial space--those facilities in excess of 100,000 square feet. "Our vacancy rate for big-box space is zero. There is zero supply," he says. Newcomb has talked about the need for speculative industrial space for some time now, noting that some potential users have had to look elsewhere. "People are starting to take notice, but we don't have any on the drawing boards right now."

Medical space continues to grow, led by the January opening of the new Deaconess Gateway Hospital in Newburgh. Built by Industrial Contractors, the facility along Interstate 164 includes 116 beds and multiple buildings totaling about 400,000 square feet.

Fort Wayne. The industrial market in and around Fort Wayne continues...