Renaissance Pointe--

Mayor Graham Richard today announced plans for Renaissance Pointe. According to the City of Fort Wayne Website an urban revitalization initiative will be coming to the Hanna-Creighton neighborhood. This area would be zoned for mix use. Mixed use generally would mean low to middle income, but more than likely, the local elected officials use the term mix use to mean businesses and residential housing.

According to the website

"The Renaissance Pointe development would include plans for nearly 400 new homes, the rehabilitation of more than 100 existing homes, a greenway trail, and improved infrastructure. The Renaissance Pointe area is bounded by Creighton Avenue on the north, Pontiac Street on the south, Hanna Street on the west, and South Anthony Boulevard on the east. An internet address for those wanting additional information is under construction."

I talked with 6th District Councilperson Glynn Hines, about the layout of the Renaissance Pointe Development in the Hanna-Creighton area.

Councilperson Glynn Hines, pointed out existing houses, new homes, townhouses and retail/commercial districts. Also, Hines pointed out the green space around the Phoenix area.

I asked who would be building the housing. Three developers, Lancia Homes, Delagrange and Ideal were named.

The website:

"The City of Fort Wayne is partnering with Mansur Real Estate Services, Inc. on the new development. Lancia Homes, Delagrange Homes and Ideal Builders have agreed to build homes at Renaissance Pointe. In addition, NeighborWorks will administer a homeowner rehabilitation program for existing residents in Phase I of Renaissance Pointe. The City and its partners have worked closely with the Hanna-Creighton neighborhood in the planning of the new development."

The curbs appeal from the website:

"Amenities would include a greenway trail, new street lighting, alley upgrades, curb and sidewalk improvements, traffic calming, stormwater upgrades, and streetscape enhancements."

I asked what would be the price of the new homes. I was told the prices would be based on the specifications of the homeowners, which cost between $80,000 to $175, 000. I asked when would these new homes be built and I was referred to Maye Johnson. I was told that around September, 1 model home would be built. The ground breaking for the home would be during the fall.

I asked about the funding for rehabilitation for the those homeowners remaining in the area and was directed to Heather Presley. I was told that grants were not being given, but loans to cover Phase 1 of the project that would cover an area between Hanna-alley and Gay and Smith. The loans would be handled by NeighborWorks, and I was referred to talk to Nicole Turner-Abrahams-Ridley, former Executive Director - Project Renew, current Executive Director of Neighborworks. I was told that the loans for homeowners could be up to $20, 000 for a period of 20 years with 3% interest and homeowners would have to have insurance, the repairs code related or involving health issues.

From the website:

"The targeted housing market includes existing neighborhood residents, first
time homebuyers, young professionals, and newcomers to the region. Homebuyers will be offered incentives including:
Households below 80% of area median income will receive up to $15,000 in downpayment assistance grants
30-year fixed mortgages with lower interest rates
Flexibility with private mortgage insurance
Real property tax abatementszzzzzz'

The same old stuff, with the same schemes, with some of the same players with a few new ones. The folks buying in the schemes are hoping that the outcomes are not coming to be the same. In other words a whole lot of money, over $70 millions dollars, to built one home does not sound like a project is on the right track. Folks like me, want a row of housing completed in 2 months, to be convinced that elected officials are doing right by the African-American community. What's the name of the those guys on extreme makeover, call them in because it's obvious, that the folks running this project are bend over with their heads between their legs. One model house with $70, 000,000?

When I read about the Phil Market taking part in the demolition, it sounds more like an interest in a land grab by investors. Still sounds like a land grab, with a nice drawing of what could be accomplished if these folks were about the right things. This appears to be strategy to avoid the Southtown Mall and Belmont eminien domain headache.

I thought I would check it myself. My instinct was telling me something was up, but sometimes, I don't follow my instincts. But, this time, I tracked back, when I saw little droppings that was leading me to someplace that of course I was not invited. But one has to understand that when something is held in the public arena, that it meant for the public. I am public and it sad to see warmed up hash all over again, with potical puppets in attention to speak in behalf of the taxpayers!!!

When you enter the room, you are able to eyeball the players. What I saw was the same old players. Remember Hanna -Creighton rising from the ashes under Rev. Ternae Jordan, that worked closely with the former Mayor Helmke. Up from ashes was the theme at the time, and out of the deal was nine houses and a senior citizen apartment complex. The meeting was held in the basement of the church about new housings and businesses...let the Mayor Graham Richard tell the story in an excerpt from his A Wired and Inspired City speech:

..Let me talk about another challenge. Things happen in
a city and you just feel terrible about them. In 1998,
tires that were illegally stored behind our police
station, that tall building on the left is our police
station, went up in flames. Burned for over 10 days.
Evacuate 2,000 people. This is the census tract that has
the concentration of many of the most poor families in
our community. What did we do? How did we respond? We
put together a plan, and today, Phoenix Manor rising from
the ashes, a senior complex by a community-based, faithbased
not for profit. Phoenix Place, Project Renew,
built these homes, new, owner occupied at market rates
for suburban homes.

These are the data. It's not pretty. This is one of
the poorest census tracts in the State of Indiana. Look
at that home ownership and renter occupied, 68 percent
rental units versus the city as a whole with 38.
Vacancies, abandoned properties, just the list goes on
and on. A lot of female heads of households, poverty
rate over 50 percent.
What did we try to do here? A partnership with all of
these faith-based organizations came together, and
sometimes people forget the convening power of the mayor.
We didn't really put a lot of money into this. Bruce, we
didn't just throw the Community Development Block Grant
money in there. We said, what can we do to leverage?
It's steering, not rowing. It's trying to figure a way
to make things happen. And we knew that the library
wanted to build a new branch there. We knew that the
Urban League needed a new headquarters. We knew that the
Headstart Program which had moved out of the area needed
a new location. And we obviously needed a better citylinked
transportation facility.
So there one block, and I'm sorry I don't have more
current photos, and I'm getting these, but one block
which had a liquor store and it was really in bad shape,

and we worked with the local project development company
there, Project Renew, and now today we have open all of
those buildings that you see there. And there are
hundreds of families and kids every day learning at the
After- School Learning Program, and that library, one of
my friends went by and he said, mayor, I don't think you
should have built that library, that big, special
library, in that area. He said, there's no cars in the
parking lot. It's never being used. I looked at my
friend and I said, come some night. It's a walk-in
place, buddy. The place is packed, tons of families.
It's a virtual microcosm of those 74 languages being
spoken in our community. Their numbers went from 4,000
to 16,000 a week of utilization.
We've got goals, very specific. New housing units to
be built, condos. We want this to be the most wired,
inspired, central city new development anywhere in the
country. Town houses being proposed. There are empty
vacant lots. We've got a comprehensive project called
Synergy that we're going to develop, 340 new homes,
102 attached town houses, 36 new live/work town houses,
100 owner rehab, 95,000 square feet of new retail space
in that project. All of our partners, twenty-five signed

agreements to partner with us to have educational
accomplishment and achievement, not just space and place,
Bruce, it's about the kinds of things Brookings has been
writing about. Sustainable families, taking the
toughest, most difficult community from that tire fire in
less than 10 years to a place that people want to live,
where there's hope and safety in the neighborhoods and
they feel good about it.
Did I talk about our one-hundredth anniversary? Onehundred
miles of trails and greenways we're building. So
when you come to Fort Wayne we'd love to show you those.
And, yes, it doesn't always snow, and you can enjoy those
great greenways.

You got to attract investment, real quickly here. We
put into place the Billion Dollar Urban Investment
Strategy. With tax incentives that we got from the
state, the Community Revitalization Enhancement District,
the Urban Investment Strategy that we had put in place,
to date, this is going to be a 3-year goal, we've
attracted to the urban core $450,000 of that billion of
private investment. We don't include any of the public sector
investments in those dollars. The tax credit
that's helped us the most for those of you interested in

the Community Revitalization Enhancement District tax
credit, two of them, one at Southtown where there was 100
acres of abandoned shopping mall, and then the urban
downtown core. That 25 percent--carry forward against
your Indiana income tax is one that's driving a lot of
relooking at our downtown and our distressed areas for
investment.

The old Devilbiss and Knoche addition created in 1904 in the Pontiac Anthony area has the right name...it seems like in the words of Jerry Lee Lewis "there's a whole lot of devilment going on". I am going to go with my gut and suggest a take over of property is on the horizon without just compensation for the property owners.

With downtown development to bring back the wealthy baby boomers who left the city and building lofts to bring in young wealthy, artist type individuals from Grabill and other suburbs, one has to question is the city really going to build unaffordable housings for folks living in the poorest neighborhood in the country? I heard that description at another meeting that I attended.

If you think about it Fort Wayne was not platted until 1794, this neighborhood has been around for a long time, but used as a ghetto, to sustain and keep African-Americans in a specific area. So who is Renaissance Pointe being created for?


Here is one more thing to chew on. Downtown Development, South Anthony Pointe and Renaissance Pointe have a few things in common, what are they? I have to get back to you on this one.