The City of Fort Wayne is working with the Downtown Improvement District (DID) to help local restaurants and businesses weather the economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic by: 1) offering free meal delivery from participating restaurants to Fort Wayne residents 2) helping downtown restaurants expand, add or enhance outdoor dining options, and 3) extending the Clean & Green program beyond downtown into several urban corridors.

Mayor Tom Henry and local community leaders gathered recently to celebrate the completion of improvements to Ardmore Avenue from Airport Expressway to James Ross Drive near the entrance to Fort Wayne International Airport. The improvements, which include a 25-foot lighted gateway marker, create an attractive first impression for visitors traveling to and from the airport. Photo: Creative Sign Resources

A new seven-story mixed-use building at the southeast corner of Main Street and Maiden Lane received Redevelopment Commission approval recently.The project will provide commercial and retail space, as well as much-needed downtown public parking.

The City of Fort Wayne's Lead Paint Remediation Program is helping homeowners like Luz and Leo Garcia, who participated in the FREE program to help take care of the dangerous lead paint hazards in their home. The Garcia children's blood lead levels were high so Luz and Leo knew it was critical to reduce the lead hazards in their home.

The Fort Wayne Public Art Commission recently supported Northeast Indiana Mural Fest by investing in a downtown mural created by Key Detail, an artist team from Belarus. The large mural on the side of the Fort Wayne Orthopedics building at 201 W. Wayne St., incorporates images of local waterways in a nod to the city's history. Mural Fest was organized by the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership and featured the painting of 11 murals in 11 northeast Indiana counties over 11 days.

Build Institute Fort Wayne is now accepting registration for classes that support early-stage startups. The Institute, powered by SEED, is a nine-week basic business planning education program that covers topics such as Establishing a Business Entity, Market Research and Cash Flow Management. Classes take place via Zoom.

The 2020 Fair Housing Summit webinars may now all be viewed online. Hundreds of residents attended the virtual summit in real time, which featured webinars about Sexual Harassment in Housing, the Eviction Crisis in Fort Wayne, Discrimination in Zoning and a keynote address by anti-racist author Tim Wise. The Summit was hosted by the Office of Housing & Neighborhood Services and Fort Wayne Metro.

This year's Tall Grass/Weed Season is coming to a close October 23. To date, Neighborhood Code Compliance has ensured that more than 5,900 properties have been mowed once tall grasses reached more than nine inches. That number is slightly lower than last year, likely due to the hot and dry summer and more people home because of the pandemic.