Area residents gathered at the Grand Wayne Center Thursday evening to offer their ideas for the next phases of Riverfront Fort Wayne.

During the meeting, residents learned about the progress being made to design Riverfront Fort Wayne beyond Promenade Park. The next steps include creation of a comprehensive riverfront neighborhood master plan, analysis and recommendations for infrastructure to serve new private development and manage the floodway, and schematic designs and construction documents for further public improvements along the rivers’ edge.

Residents visited several interactive stations and offered ideas for what they’d like to see in the still-evolving riverfront district. Residents offered ideas about ways to connect residential neighborhoods to commercial areas, provided insight about elements they think need to be improved upon in the riverfront area, and also provided feedback on draft guiding principles for the current work.

“These next steps are all about creating a vibrant district that is unique to Fort Wayne,” said Mayor Tom Henry. “We want to create the right mix of commercial, retail, housing and public space that will be welcoming to all residents and will be a point of destination for our region.”

Professionals from DAVID RUBIN Land Collective, the landscape architecture and urban design firm contracted to lead Phases II and III of Riverfront Fort Wayne, led the public input meeting and will use the input to ensure they design a riverfront experience that reflects the vision of local residents.