I sure hope this Fort Wayne reboot gets off the ground.

[gazhekwe]

Historic Ft. Wayne in SW Detroit is poised for a reboot

By Daniel Bethencourt and Dan Austin, Detroit Free Press8:08 a.m. EDT July 15, 2015
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[[Photo: Daniel Bethencourt/Detroit Free Press)

As Historic Ft. Wayne in southwest Detroit prepares for a potentially serious revamping in its future, residents gathered Tuesday night to share their hopes for what the site could be.

"I'm excited," said Detroit City Council member Raquel Castañeda-López. "I think this is what true community engagement looks like. This is key to what actually happens."

Historic Ft. Wayne consists of nearly 40 buildings sprinkled across 83 acres in southwest Detroit. It originated in the 1840s to protect Detroit from Canada — a now-unlikely enemy.

But despite the rough appearance of some of its buildings, the fort has never seen any battles, thanks to diplomacy. Over the last few decades, many of its buildings have fallen into disrepair. Volunteers with the Historic Ft. Wayne Coalition have worked to maintain what they can of the site.

And recently the site has seemed poised to receive some major upgrades.

Last fall, the Michigan Economic Development Corp. sent out a request for proposals that could investigate future uses for the site. The state went with New York-based HR&A Advisors — best known for its High Line project in Manhattan — to come up with a new use for the old structures on the base.

The RFP specifically calls for the adaptive reuse of the historic buildings, while also looking at educational and recreational development; commercial uses, such as a hotel and residential, and more.

Tuesday night's meeting was the next step in the early stages of those plans. Funding has not been secured, and there are no firm architectural plans for what kind of development could happen.

But Kumar Kintala, a consultant with HR&A, told the group that even though the site gets only 15,000 or so visitors a year, there is plenty of potential for expansion.

Historic Fort Wayne on West Jefferson in Detroit Thursday, July 31, 2014. Regina H. Boone/Detroit FreePress [[Photo: Regina H. Boone)

Among the site's advantages: a valuable strip of riverfront property that's unusually accessible to the public, and close proximity to the International Trade Crossing, the $2.1-billion publicly owned bridge project to Canada that will likely lead to increased traffic along that part of the border. That's all in addition to the historical value of the site itself.

"This is an amazing opportunity, because there's a lot of visibility," Kintala said. "The view from the bridge … is going to be Ft. Wayne."

Participants grouped around tables to discuss the site's possibilities. Perhaps the most often-cited conclusion that the residents shared was better access to the riverfront, while still preserving the fort's historical buildings.

A few residents emphasized that the fort could see a similar transformation in the vein of Belle Isle.

"People really care about this place," Jo-Ann Sheffer of Beverly Hills told the crowd.
Ft. Wayne — like Wayne County — was named after Gen. [[Mad) Anthony Wayne, who clobbered the British in 1796, helping the Americans seize the Northwest Territories.

But the fort's first real action didn't come until the Civil War, when Michigan's Boys in Blue showed up to enlist. Indeed, Ft. Wayne was the state's primary induction center, where tens of thousands of Michiganders reported for duty, from the world wars to Korea to Vietnam.

The Army stopped using the fort in 1972, and the property was turned over to the City of Detroit to run. A lack of funding and visitors has led to many of the structures to become rundown.

"Ft. Wayne is very dear to my heart," Castañeda-López told the nearly 100 people who had gathered at the visitor center. "We want to make sure that it remains the gem that it is."

http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/wayne/2015/07/15/fort-wayne-southwest-detroit-redevelopment/30166403/


I want to live on this street. I could always see it as a great family street, kids on bikes, a nice big park, river view, what's not to like? Maybe four units per building?

[Bobl]

Took my pre induction draft physical there, during the Vietnam War. Passed, but was fortunate enough to grab a high number in the first draft lottery. A friend drew number one, then immediately joined the navy.
The fort and surroundings certainly have a lot of potential for restoration and re purposing, and it will be interesting to watch how this plays out.
I sincerely hope that there will never be draft physicals there, or anywhere else, again.

[Richard]

It is nice to see everybody is involved in something that is an important part of the city's history,hopefully they will gain the support they need.

[Hermod]

My father was called to active duty there [[ROTC commission in 1935) in 1941. I bought my uniforms there just before I went on active duty in 1961.

[Spartan]

I play soccer there in the DCFL every week. I think the site itself could definitely have a lot of potential, but if it were revamped to include commercial/residential, it would be quite isolated. You have to go about half mile to get to anything, and there's not even really anything once you get there aside from I-75.

[mb1]

Is there any way that Fort Wayne's renovations could be linked to the new cross river bridge [[Gordie Howe Bridge) and the West Riverfront plans involving the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy? Seems like there could be some potential for a bridge-to-bridge-to-bridge trail that would extend the length of the river walk and link Fort Wayne to downtown to Belle Isle. There appears to be a lot of abandoned industrial property in the general area and the location isolated. However, the current river walk has had great success in transforming similar types of abandoned properties and is now one of Detroit's greatest attractions.