In just a few weeks, the City of Fort Wayne will begin its formal process in launching Housing and Urban Development projects for 2016. Before these begin, the city has to submit an annual performance report on past projects to the federal government, which will serve as a basis for future funding.
In 2011, Fort Wayne entered a five-year program that aimed to distribute federal HUD dollars across various areas of need. Some of these included home and rental unit repair, decreasing homelessness and improving community wellness.
Now, that five-year cycle has come to an end, with a new one set to begin this year. Fort Wayne’s Director of Community Engagement for Housing and Neighborhood Services Rebecca Karcher says some of the priorities have changed in that time.
“Not everyone’s American Dream is home ownership,” said Karcher. “Rental is the choice of a lot of people. Millennials like rentals because they’re less tied to a property and maintenance. Sort of the empty nester kind of folks are thinking, ‘Hey, you know, an apartment downtown looks like a really more fun thing than this house.’”
During the upcoming five-year cycle, the city is focusing on improving housing opportunities and making them more affordable. More money will also be invested in combating and decreasing homelessness.
Karcher says the formal process of signing on to projects for 2016 should begin within the next month, with actual building and social projects beginning during the summer. Public comment on the City’s use of HUD dollars in 2015 as well as the last five years is being accepted through March 24.
