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Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry has passed away after a brief battle with cancer.

Arts United Launches Study For Future Renovation & Expansion

Arts United

As Fort Wayne focuses on development projects like riverfront and the Landing, some local businesses and organizations are looking to join the process.

Arts United is launching an economic study for long-term expansion of its arts campus, in an effort to increase accessibility in downtown Fort Wayne.

The goal is to make the campus more visible, while ensuring people can travel to and from the campus conveniently from the Landing and riverfront developments. Renovation of the Arts United Center and redesign of the outdoor campus are included in the organization’s goals.

Arts United president Susan Mendenhall says trying to improve access of the campus to projects like the riverfront is an important factor in Fort Wayne’s continued efforts to improve downtown.

“This is something that we see as a symbiotic development of downtown, that we are creating nodes of activity that reinforce each other and that we are creating a place of desire for the whole region that makes Northeast Indiana more attractive,” said Mendenhall.

Westlake Reed Leskosky is the firm overseeing the project, and held focus groups last week to gauge the needs and desires of residents. The firm’s managing principal Paul Westlake says the process wouldn’t be possible without input from the community.

“We had 25 distinct suggestions about how to make this a really beautiful, cool district of desire; really out-of-the-box thinking,” said Westlake. “I think they can be simply applied to what we hope to do.”

The Arts United Center itself is entering its 44th year as part of the Fort Wayne community. It was designed by Louis Khan and opened in 1973. The building is revered by the architectural community for being Khan’s only work in the Midwest.

Westlake says he wants to emphasize and honor the building’s historic value.

“I just want to help the region understand what it has, both in the building and the master that created it,” he said. “This itself is a work of art; it’s an international prize.”

While development is still years away, Mendenhall says this renovation and expansion of the Arts United Center and the campus as a whole sets the table for the next generation of artists and art enthusiasts. She believes the project could have a big payoff for the region.

“If we can make Northeast Indiana a place of desire, a place that people want to come and work and live and play, we are going to be competitive with the culturally-rich communities of Austin, Chattanooga and Des Moines,” she said. “We are going to be able to play in that field.”

The economic study and early conceptual designs are expected to be complete within the next year, before capital funding can begin. Mendenhall and Westlake say ideas from residents are always welcome.

Zach joined 89.1 WBOI as a reporter and local host for All Things Considered, and hosted Morning Edition for the past few years. In 2022, he was promoted to Content Director.
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