November 21, 2019 - Mayor Tom Henry today joined representatives of Fort Wayne UNITED, the TenPoint Coalition, the Oxford Community Association and the local construction community to celebrate the kick-off of the TenPoint Façade Program.
The program, funded with the City’s Housing & Urban Development federal funds, will provide up to five façade grants to homeowners on Woodview Boulevard in the Oxford neighborhood. The grants will pay for improvements on the exterior of the homes, and may pay for some lead paint remediation in the interiors of the homes. Applications for this round of the grants is currently closed.
A home owned by John Bugg will be the first to see improvements, including roofing, painting on the outside, repairing and replacing gutters and remediating lead paint inside the home.Mr. Bugg is a veteran who has lived in his home on Woodview Boulevard for forty years.
The TenPoint Coalition, which is part of Fort Wayne UNITED, has been working in the Oxford Neighborhood since October 2018 to address violence and improve the quality of life for residents in the areas of education, health and housing. The TenPoint patrols work in a limited geographic area in order to develop relationships with residents and concentrate efforts to make a significant impact. TenPoint leaders worked with the City’s Office of Housing & Neighborhood Services to develop the Façade Program.
“We know that improving our neighborhoods starts with addressing safety concerns, but we must also look at economic stability, housing, education and health,” said Mayor Henry. “The TenPoint Façade Program helps address the issue of safe and affordable housing and we hope it will encourage other nearby homeowners and residents to improve their properties as well.”
The general contractor for work on the first home is Legacy One, owned by Linda Golden. The company and Golden have worked in the Oxford area for decades to improve the quality of life for residents. The lead remediation contractor is SDG, owned by Tom and Carole Heil. SDG hires and trains ex-offenders to perform municipal work for the Allen County Building Department and the City of Fort Wayne.
Fort Wayne’s TenPoint Coalition has become a national model for how communities, law enforcement, and local government can work together to curb the