Over the summer we invited Austin Pontius, Nicholas Hoch, and Justin Seyfert to take part in Vision One – our very first internship program. All three interns are 4th year Architecture students at Ball State University. The purpose of Vision One was to provide the students with tangible experience through a thought-provoking study of Fort Wayne’s urban area.

The Harrison Street Corridor was the focus of the project as the idea was to develop more of an entertainment district in the city. Austin, Nick, and Justin did an exceptional job creating two 3’ by 5’ models of the area and presenting them to potential stakeholders including business leaders and owners, government officials, and economic development teams. The presentation included the two 3D models and an interesting animation of the downtown vision.

The interns are back at school, but Vision One still remains critical to future development plans. We plan on continuing this initiative by collaborating with respective authorities and business leaders to improve Downtown Fort Wayne. The work the students put into this project is remarkable and has definitely helped jump start the initiative to make Fort Wayne a better place to call home.

If the initiative continues to gain attention and support, Downtown Fort Wayne will be a better place to learn, enjoy local restaurants, and have fun with friends and family.