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Mayor Tom Henry Highlights 2016, Future Developments In State Of The City Address

Twitter (@MayorTomHenry)

Mayor Tom Henry delivered his annual State of the City address Wednesday at the Grand Wayne Center. The theme of Mayor Henry’s speech was consistent with his speeches over the last year: making Fort Wayne a “point of destination.”

Henry looked back on some of the plans he announced over the last several months, including an investment in neighborhood infrastructure, expanding the size of the police force, and moving forward on The Landing and riverfront development projects.

In last year’s address, Henry mentioned developing a potential arena downtown. The “arena” is now being referred to as an “event center,” and while updates have been minimal over the last year, he says research is still being done to make that vision a reality.

“My team and I appreciate the work being conducted by the Capital Improvement Board and architecture team to put together the schematic designs and cost estimate for an event center.”

Henry also spoke about two potential hotel developments: a 125-room hotel from White Lodging next to the Courtyard by Marriott, and a downtown “boutique hotel” project led by Vera Bradley and Provenance Hotels.

Henry says the city can’t get complacent in its efforts.

“We can’t stop and be satisfied with what we’ve accomplished. It’s simply not an option. Together we’re better; it represents who we are and what we’re going to do to make Fort Wayne the best it can be.”

You can find Mayor Henry’s full State of the City speech on wboi.org Thursday morning.

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.