With foreclosures on the rise and neighborhoods deteriorating, Fort Wayne wants to know how the community thinks the city should spend $7 million to fix things up.

Speaking in front of a vacant house in the 3100 block of Hanna Street, Mayor Tom Henry said the city, through the grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, plans to keep neighborhoods like this one looking good. But, before the city begins using the money, Henry said he wants people to review its plan and provide the “finishing touches.”

“These homes have not been taken care of and brought down the (value of) other homes with them,” Henry said. “I’m asking the community to look at it (the plan) and see what we’re trying to do.”

The bulk of the plan revolves around the acquisition and demolition of foreclosed homes in the southeast section of Fort Wayne.

“I’ve long had a commitment to strengthening and stabilizing our neighborhoods,” Henry said in a written statement.

“This new source of funding will help us address houses … either to tear them down or to rehabilitate them, and either way, the neighbors benefit.”

Mary L. Morris, president of the Oxford Community Association, said she is excited about the prospect of seeing revitalization taking place in the city’s more distressed communities.

“I look forward to working with the city to address this problem,” Morris said. “I’m so pleased a project like this is getting started in Fort Wayne.”

Community Development Division Director John Urbahns said it is very important for them to hear what residents have to say because the city wants this money to be as effective as possible.

“We’re going to be working with the private sector to really figure out how to pull this off,” Urbahns said. “You’re going to see a lot of activity very quickly on this project.”

In fact, the city has to work quickly. Fort Wayne must use the money within 18 months.

Since 2006, Paul Spoelhof, senior planner for Community Development, said foreclosures in Fort Wayne have gone up 25 percent. Around 2,174 foreclosure filings countywide and 1,938 citywide are expected by the end of 2008, he said.

Congress passed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act in July. Nationwide, nearly $4 billion is slated to be used for acquisition, rehabilitation or demolition of vacant and foreclosed properties.

The mayor’s office reports Indiana is expected to receive about $83 million and Fort Wayne may be able to leverage some of that in addition to the $7 million the city has been told it can expect. The funds are released according to a plan the community has to submit.

By Drew Stone

of The News-SentineL

why even the discussion we know hes going to tear them down and probably try to construct some kind of football stadium.

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