Fort Wayne, the 2020 PNC Community of the Year, is flourishing.
Downtown revitalization – $681 million in projects this year alone – and new business investment/expansions are driving growth. Underpinning all of the projects is an emphasis on quality of place and community engagement. The current issue of BizVoice® magazine takes you to Fort Wayne with insights from city leaders and photos illustrating efforts underway. Read story.
“One of the greatest compliments our city receives are from young people who left and have now come back,” Mayor Tom Henry comments. “That speaks volumes about our city.”
Community development director Nancy Townsend describes the city’s “robust” arts and entertainment culture as a unique strength. She’s also passionate about the impact of combined retail and housing options.
“(These) are the types of projects that are really going to change and advance our downtown to become the live, work, play area that we desire,” she asserts.
Gary Duff, plant executive director at General Motors Fort Wayne Assembly, points to the city’s outstanding workforce. A Hoosier native (he grew up in nearby Henry County and spent the past 34 years at GM plants across the country and in Canada), he refers to Fort Wayne as “a hidden gem.”
“When I found out I was coming back to Indiana (to work at the Fort Wayne facility), I was excited,” he recalls. “I’ve been by this plant many times right when it was being built (in the mid-1980s) and afterwards – because I went to school in Michigan and went back and forth – and it was actually quite an honor to come back and work in this facility. And then you meet the people and you see the relationships. Everybody’s working toward the same goal.”
Symone Skrzycki is the senior communications manager for the Indiana Chamber. She is also a senior writer for the Chamber’s award-winning BizVoice magazine and has been with the organization for 20 years.
