December 10, 2019 - Mayor Tom Henry today joined representatives from Easterseals Arc of Northeast Indiana, the City of Fort Wayne’s Community Development Division and City Council to announce that there is an agreement in place to begin implementing a portion of the City’s quality of life plan that was approved in October.

The partnership with Easterseals Arc is focused on vocational assessment and skills training, workforce development and accessibility for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This programming opportunity is a result of additional revenue collected by the State of Indiana through income taxes and distributed to the City of Fort Wayne. Mayor Henry’s Administration and City Council worked collaboratively to approve the quality of life plan that also includes addressing the opioid challenge by working with The Lutheran Foundation and Fort Wayne Police Department and enhancing neighborhoods through funding to the four neighborhood area partnerships in addition to the partnership with Easterseals Arc.

December 9, 2019 - The south half of the Civic Center Garage, located at the intersection of Jefferson Boulevard and Calhoun Street, is closed for approximately nine weeks, or until February 10. The closure could be extended if weather delays the work.

The construction is part of the City’s project to add approximately 225 much-needed parking spaces to the garage.

The skywalk to the Hilton Hotel is also closed, as are the machines that take cash payment for hourly parkers; only credit cards will be accepted until the south half is once again open.

December 9, 2019 - A 12-ton maximum weight limit for the Bluffton Road Bridge is in place until further notice.

During an annual inspection, City Engineers found maintenance concerns and hired an outside bridge inspector to take a closer look. The findings determined that the weight restriction needed to be in place. 

December 6, 2019 - Street Department Crews will begin the second pass of leaf collection in southside neighborhoods on Monday, December 9, 2019. Residents are encouraged to visit the webpage cityoffortwayne.org/leaves, for daily updates showing the neighborhoods they will be in each day. The webpage, along with a leaf phone line at 427-2603, are updated by 3:00 p.m. 

Cooler temperatures and windy conditions brought an abundance of leaves down in the past several weeks, and crews will still be collecting leaves in central neighborhoods through the weekend.  

December 5, 2019 -The City of Fort Wayne’s riverfront consulting team tonight revealed designs for the next phases of riverfront development, some of which could be under construction within the next 12-18 months.

The team from DAVID RUBIN Land Collective presented renderings for the public spaces on the north and south sides of the St. Marys River, from Promenade Park to the Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge and from Promenade Park to the Ewing Street Bridge, which is Phase II. They also presented Phase III public space concepts for the north and south sides of the St. Marys River from the Ewing Street Bridge to the Van Buren Street Bridge.

In addition to the renderings for the public spaces, the Land Collective team revealed concepts for private development, and recommendations for land use and zoning, infrastructure, and flood management in the Riverfront District.  

December 3, 2019 - Mayor Tom Henry, Parks and Recreation Director Steve McDaniel and Conjure Coffee owner Corey Waldron officially cut the ribbon on the new Conjure Coffee café inside the Botanical Conservatory on December 3.

Conjure Coffee has already become a Fort Wayne favorite at their home location on Columbia Avenue  which features their own locally roasted coffee along with a highly-seasonal menu which features many fresh, locally-sourced products. In addition to café products they offer an array of roasted coffee for packaged sale and their coffees are also featured at a number of local restaurants.

November 26, 2019 - The City of Fort Wayne’s Summit City Entrepreneur & Enterprise District (SEED) is partnering with a nationally ranked startup accelerator to launch a program for local emerging businesses.

genera8tor is a national accelerator that offers a program called gBETA. gBETA will offer a free accelerator for five early-stage companies in Fort Wayne. Participants receive intensive and individualized coaching and access to a national network of mentors, customers, corporate partners and investors. gBETA is designed to help startups gain early customer traction on their product or idea and establish metrics that make them competitive applicants for investment.