Two Fort Wayne neighborhoods have been awarded $2 million for improvements through the “Connected Neighborhoods Initiatives”.
Fort Wayne Mayor Sharon Tucker announced Thursday that the Northwest Central Collaborative and East State Village Neighborhood Group received funding.
The East State Village Neighborhood proposal will focus on the East State Village commercial corridor. This includes sidewalk repairs, streetlights, and commercial facade improvements.
The East State proposal was submitted by the Beacon Woods (formerly Frances Slocum, Brentwood, Hazelwood and Bellair Civic neighborhoods), Forest Park, North Anthony and Northside neighborhoods.
“We are excited to collaborate with our nearby neighborhoods to help revitalize the East State Village commercial corridor,” said Lori Stombaugh, president of the Northside Neighborhood. “Our goal is to encourage economic investment and growth for the businesses along East State and make the corridor a source of pride and place of connection for our residents.”
The Northwest Central Neighborhoods Collaborative will focus on improving neighborhood-to-neighborhood connectivity through better pedestrian and bike infrastructure.
The Northwest Central Neighborhoods Collaborative is comprised of the Bloomingdale, Hamilton, Nebraska, North Highlands, and West Central neighborhoods and focuses on connectivity and safety, according to a release.
“In the short term, we envision better neighborhood-to-neighborhood connectivity through improved pedestrian and bike infrastructure. Enhanced safety measures such as crosswalk improvements, traffic calming, and signage can encourage walking and biking, reduce car dependency, and prevent injuries, said Lindsey Keller, president of North Highlands Neighborhood. “As a result, residents will be more physically active, and our neighborhoods will feel more accessible and livable.”
In 2027, a new round of applicants will be chosen. According to the city, the main source of the funding comes from the land sale proceeds from the Google Data Center.
