April 25, 2023 - Mayor Tom Henry and the City of Fort Wayne’s Neighborhood Planning and Activation Workgroup announced today that a record 47 neighborhood improvement grant projects are being awarded, totaling more than $200,000. These projects range from new landscaping in common areas to replacing neighborhood signage.
The announcement was held at Adams Elementary School on New Haven Avenue in the Harvester Neighborhood. Harvester is using their grant to install creative artistic crosswalks, ‘the JET-Way’ (school mascot), that promotes safety and connects students from the elementary school to nearby McCormick Park. Gret Machlan, Harvester Neighborhood President, Misty Zent, Harvester Neighborhood Vice President, and Allison Holland, Adams Elementary School’s principal, were at the announcement to celebrate the Neighborhood Improvement Grant program.
The program, overseen by the City’s Community Development Division, is designed to support neighborhood beautification efforts and strengthen neighborhood involvement. This year, neighborhoods were asked to incorporate additional community engagement in the grant application process to showcase how their projects are resident-led and resident-serving.
The projects selected will enhance neighborhood aesthetics, provide a clear community benefit, be accessible to all neighborhood residents, and increase civic pride. Expenses such as routine maintenance, major infrastructure projects, social events, or operating expenses were not eligible for grant funds.
“It is Community Development’s mission to develop and build strong neighborhoods,” said Director of Community Development Nancy Townsend. “It is clear that with the efforts made by our Neighborhood Planning and Activation group, along with the support of our neighborhood associations, we will be able to strengthen our neighborhoods across the City of Fort Wayne.”
“Fort Wayne is fortunate to have outstanding neighborhoods that work each day to provide, maintain and enhance vibrant amenities for individuals and families to enjoy,” said Mayor Henry. “Our Neighborhood Improvement Grant program is a great way for residents and local government to partner to help ensure we’re doing everything we can to be the best city possible.”
Each proposal was evaluated and scored based on grant criteria and available funding. The list below is the initial grant recipients, along with a short description of their proposed projects, which still require all necessary permits and approvals:
Aboite Lakes – Continue the improvements to the neighborhood entrance with the addition of new signage lighting
- Grant amount: $4,500.00
Beckett’s Run – Increase pedestrian activity throughout the neighborhood with the addition of walking paths
- Grant amount: $5,000.00
Bloomingdale – Incorporate the new Bloomingdale Neighborhood logo through the addition of decorative light pole signs and a new traffic box signal wrap at a primary intersection
- Grant amount: $4,836.00
Bluewater Estates – Improve the neighborhood entrance and restore the landmark lighthouse at the entryway
- Grant amount: $3,500.00
Covington Chase – Install native bush and landscaping at the entrance
- Grant amount: $1,330.00
Covington Pointe – Redesign and replace landscaping around the Covington Road entrance to the neighborhood to improve the line of sight and increase neighborhood safety for residents
- Grant amount: $4,078.07
Covington Reserve Phase I&II – Replace trees that were lost in the Summer 2022 derecho at the neighborhood entrance
- Grant amount: $5,000.00
Creighton Home – Replace non-native species plants with native plants to fill in neighborhood parks
- Grant amount: $5,000.00
Deerfield Estates – Improve the neighborhood entrance by adding lights, replacing brick, and updating the neighborhood signage
- Grant amount: $5,000.00
Forest Park Boulevard – Enhance neighborhood beauty with the addition of landscaping at the four existing stone entryways on State Boulevard
- Grant amount: $4,000.00
Glens of Liberty Mills – Improve the neighborhood common space, replacing existing trees and benches with new material
- Grant amount: $5,000.00
Hamlets West – Replace existing landscaping at the neighborhood entrance with native plants
- Grant amount: $5,000.00
Harrison Hill – Increase the neighborhood tree canopy by planting new street trees and native plants in the boulevard park strip
- Grant Amount: $3,060.00
Harvester – Enhancing pedestrian safety for neighborhood children by painting creative artistic crosswalks connecting students at key intersections to Adams Elementary School, in addition to renovating the Harvester Neighborhood sign
- Grant amount: $4,834.21
Hearthstone Village – Incorporating improvements for the neighborhood’s four-legged friends with the addition of doggy spot stations, in addition to new trash receptacles in the neighborhood common area
- Grant amount: $4,229.00
Hickory Hill – Replace the existing neighborhood entrance sign
- Grant amount: $4,459.40
Historic Oakdale - Install new decorative light pole metal signs promoting neighborhood identity
- Grant amount: $4,988.45
Historic South Wayne – Increase the neighborhood tree canopy by planting new street trees
- Grant amount: $5,000.00
Historic Southwood Park – Improve the neighborhood boulevard park strip on South Arlington by adding a new bench and landscape area
- Grant amount: $2,207.76
Hoevelwood – Develop and implement a home security and beautification program in the neighborhood
- Grant amount: $3,000.00
Imperial Swathmore Civic – Remove an existing tree, shrubs, bush, and shed in the common area, and replace them with grass to improve visibility and safety
- Grant amount: $5,000.00
Kensington Downs – Enhance the neighborhood entrance by replacing existing landscaping
- Grant amount: $4,785.00
LaCabreah – Continue the existing neighborhood entrance landscaping project and add rocks around retention pond
- Grant amount: $5,000.00
LaRez – Replace the existing outdated neighborhood marker on South Clinton to incorporate new identity and logo
- $4,650.00
Laurel Ridge – Replace existing ash trees in the neighborhood with new trees to improve neighborhood beauty
- Grant amount: $4,500.00
Ludwig Park – Increasing safety on Sharon Drive by incorporating two new lighted stop signs to warn drivers of a major intersection. The neighborhood will also include landscaping at both neighborhood entrances
- Grant amount: $5,000.00
Maplewood Community – Install new neighborhood benches at the future Sheldon Park location in the neighborhood
- Grant amount: $4,565.91
North Anthony – Create a space for neighborhood families to gather with the addition of a public chess table
- Grant amount: $4,813.00
Oak Borough – Enhance safety for neighborhood residents with the addition of lighting in both the common area and wooded trails
- Grant amount: $5,000.00
Oxford – The historic neighborhood gateway pillars on the Hanna Street Trail need to be repaired for safety
- Grant amount: $5,000.00
Pine Valley Community – Continue with the successful transformation of existing common space to the Traders Park Nature Preserve including the development of a rain garden
- Grant amount: $5,000.00
Sandy Pointe Estates – Replace existing deteriorating street signs on key neighborhood streets
- Grant amount: $4,850.00
Shannonside – Improve existing neighborhood playground and park areas, and add new benches
- Grant amount: $5,000.00
Mystic Woods – Improve the neighborhood gateway with new landscaping
- Grant amount: $4,434.00
Spy Run – Improve and enhance the neighborhood aesthetics through alley activation and the development of a new composting education program
- Grant amount: $2,600.00
Tamarack – Enhance neighborhood gateway through the addition of new landscaping features
- Grant amount: $4,368.55
Tanbark Trail – Improve resident gathering spaces by rebuilding the neighborhood pavilion
- Grant amount: $2,616.25
Trier Ridge Park – Remove the existing dead tree at the neighborhood entrance and replace and improve gateway landscaping
- Grant amount: $2,500.00
Village of Buckingham – Incorporate new neighborhood gateway landscaping at Buckhurst Run Boulevard
- Grant amount: $5,000.00
Villas of LaCabreah – Enhance the entrance to the neighborhood with the addition of trees, bushes, and additional landscape elements
- Grant amount: $4,675.00
Villas of Rock Creek – Remove and replace fallen deciduous and evergreen trees in the neighborhood
- Grant amount: $5,000.00
Westchester Glens – Replace trees that were lost in the Summer 2022 derecho at the neighborhood entrance
- Grant amount: $3,885.00
Westwood North – Provide community gathering space in the neighborhood with the installation of a new concrete pad and pavilion near the community pond
- Grant amount: $5,000.00
Wildwood Park – Restore the existing historic lamp posts in the neighborhood to extend service life and improve neighborhood safety
- Grant amount: $5,000.00
Williams Woodland Park – Replacing existing neighborhood signage and adding new signage on primary streets to enhance neighborhood identity
- Grant amount: $5,000.00
Winterset – Improving the neighborhood entrances with new landscaping and other improvements
- Grant amount: $3,500.00
Woodhurst Community – Replace the existing neighborhood signage that needs repaired
- Grant amount: $5,000.00