The 418. An 1866 Build with Modern Comforts

Hello! I am Tammy Wahli. I basically grew-up in Fort Wayne but have lived and traveled all over the world. I decided to get my General Contractor License after retiring from Fort Wayne/Allen County CCP (21yrs - 911, Police and Fire Dispatch). My husband Ben left his job after14 years, became a realtor and we hit the ground running! We have a passion for restoring old homes and seem to get the ones that everyone wants to tear down. A year ago, after spending years searching, 2 bottles of wine, 2 airline tickets purchased, we headed to San Francisco and fell in love with the next book of our lives. We purchased a 1962 wood hull sailboat named Lady Jade. We are in the process of restoring her. Our next chapter will include sailing around the world and more adventure. You only go around once!

I have a son, a daughter, a son in law, 2 grandkids who also live a few blocks away from us. I am super proud of them and the paths they have chosen and see them almost daily.

We have 5 rescue cats that adopted us from the area and 2 rescue Pitties and rehomed and fostered many cats and dogs through our lives.

We had been looking for a mixed-use building in this area for a couple of years before we made the right contacts to purchase this one. The first item on the list was a new roof. The next was a mural that represents a focus on community first and diversity second because we believe you need a diverse neighborhood to be a strong neighborhood. America Carrillo brought our thoughts to life with her creativity and ability to think outside the box.

The third on the list was to separate the original building from the added warehouse space. The 418 restoration began!

We put together a coffee table book sharing some history of the building and area prior to it becoming part of Fort Wayne. The original brick, the large barn door that still exists on the multi-use side but had to be bricked in on The 418 side to meet fire safety code were a couple things we loved about this piece of history.

We also purchased the large brick house on the west side of the alley. This was originally the police chief's home. It began as a single family and we are restoring it to be a 4-plex (please disregard the construction!)

Thank you for choosing to stay at this very special and unique space. We have supplied many amenities and extras to make this a home away from home for you. Please enjoy and again, thank you for adding to the history of this original blacksmith shop.