Greetings Neighbors!
It’s another great day in the ol’ West End Neighborhood.
Our March meeting had a packed house at Emmanuel Lutheran, which was just amazing to see. If we keep getting attendance like that, we’ll need to be looking for a larger venue – which would be a great problem to solve!
Elex Update
Several of the board members recently were invited to a “hard hat tour” of the progress at the Elex, the apartment buildings currently under construction just north of Electric Works. In the picture below, we’re standing in the living room of a future apartment in the 55-and-older building which runs along Broadway. You can see the kitchen in the picture further down.
Kevan Biggs from the development team was on hand at our March meeting to provide details, along with Chris Faurote of Weigand Construction. The first units should be available for rent starting this fall, with the other two buildings on campus coming online early in 2026. Unlike the building along Broadway, the other buildings are available to renters of any age. While the 55-and-older building will have most apartments reserved for lower income adults, the other two buildings will be predominantly “market rate” units. Specific details on these market rents won’t be available until closer to the completion date.
Chris informed the group that the huge crane that has been up and running since the project started will start coming down in the coming months. Because it’s so large, it takes more than a dozen semi trucks to haul it away, which means they’ll need to shut down parts of Van Buren and Lavina to allow safe ingress and egress. More details will follow on that so keep an eye on our Facebook page.
Yesterday’s West Central
At each membership meeting we open the evening with a brief presentation on the history of the neighborhood. This month featured how every parking lot in downtown Fort Wayne has a story. In nearly every case, there was a historic asset lost to the wrecking ball to make way for asphalt and painted lines. To see the glory of what used to be on just a sampling of West Central parking lots, view the slides from our March meeting by clicking here.
If you’re interested in being the presenter for an upcoming “Yesterday in West Central,” please let me know. We’d love to have you. These are just short (5 – 15 minutes) presentations showcasing West Central’s unique history and historic buildings and homes. Upcoming topics include: the Thieme Overlook & Fort Wayne boulevard system, taking advantage of historic renovation tax credits, historic hotels of West Central, famous fires of West Central, and more.
West Central Green Team
Neighbor and member Mike Rogers is starting a new group he’s dubbed “The West Central Green Team.” He is looking for volunteers to “adopt” a street or section of West Central to pick up litter and keep our neighborhood beautiful. The WCNA will provide clean-up kits with trash bags, gloves, grabbers (so you don’t have to handle the trash directly) and high-visibility vests.
If you’re willing to volunteer or just want more information, please contact Mike at greenteam@westcentralneighborhood.org.
Announcements
This year’s Egg Hunt will take place at Moody Park on Sunday, April 13th. The festivities begin at 4 pm sharp and you are strongly encouraged to be on time. In years past we have had large groups of egg hunters (children) and the 800+ eggs disappear in a matter of minutes. The kids are separated by age so even the youngest trackers have a sporting chance.
The annual Block Party will take place on Saturday, July 26th from 11 am – 2 pm. If you’re interested in volunteering please contact Tyler Bowers at Tyler.Bowers713@gmail.com.
The city has preliminary plans to re-mill and resurface the 800 – 1100 blocks of West Jefferson this year. They can’t give a specific date range yet, but it’s on their 2025 list.
March Gift Direction
At each membership meeting, those in attendance get to choose a charity that touches West Central and provide them with a $250 donation. For the March meeting, Washington Elementary was chosen for this gift to be used for filling their food pantry on West Washington Blvd and/or to buy much-needed clothing (such as socks and underwear) for their students who need them.
Coming in second, which means we’ll consider for April’s gift, was Wellspring Interfaith Social Services.
That wraps things up! We’ve had a few amazing glimpses of warmer weather over the past few days which means . . . we’ll be back on the front porch in no time!
Joel Sauer, President
(260) 433-3672
2025 Board Officers
- Membership: Anita Kuker membership@westcentralneighborhood.org
- President: Joel Sauer president@westcentralneighborhood.org
- Secretary: Bethany Pruitt secretary@westcentralneighborhood.org
- Treasurer: George Taylor treasurer@westcentralneighborhood.org
- Vice President: Kelly Benton VP@westcentralneighborhood.org