Fort Wayne, Indiana
ACP was hired by the City of Fort Wayne, Indiana to help develop BlueprintPlus—a vision to guide public policy and private investments in downtown, design the public places and the buildings that frame the vision, and identify site specific catalyst projects. As BlueprintPlus progressed through an intensive, three-part charrette process, the need to integrate the areas surrounding downtown, particularly the North River area, emerged as an integral part of the BlueprintPlus vision. ACP was subsequently re-hired to design and facilitate North River Now—a vision and strategic planning process for the North River area.
Highlights:
- A steering committee representative of the varied interests in the city served as stewards of BlueprintPlus, ambassadors of the charrette to greater Fort Wayne, and a compass for the emerging ideas.
- Promising call-to-actions include: mixing uses downtown; introducing regional attractions such as a baseball stadium and sports complex; expanding shopping; improving parking and traffic; cleaning the rivers and introducing boats; expanding walkways; expanding cultural activities and events; improving housing choices; and creating diverse downtown neighborhoods.
- The City is in the process of acquiring land to implement the North River Now vision.
- ACP also used the North River Now charrette process to formulate a development regulations plan and design standards, which will serve as a preamble to the City’s form-based code.