WAYNEDALE BUSINESSES CLEAN UP WONDERFULLY!

With the onset of the new year, the Waynedale business community has become noticeably revitalized. Throughout 2014, it has been exciting to watch the progress of the many companies giving their storefront a facelift. The improvements not only make Waynedale look better from the street, but also show that companies are making a significant investment and a show of faith in the community.  
In the late summer of 2013, over 50 area businesses met at Kingston Residence for a presentation by The City of Fort Wayne’s Redevelopment Specialist & Grants Administrator, Aliza Tourkow about the Facade Grant program. This program assists businesses plan, design and fund a facelift of a storefront within the program’s guidelines. While this is a city wide opportunity, businesses in the Waynedale Community received  4 of the 13 grants given.
 Recipients included Curly’s Village Inn, The Waynedale News, Coe Heating & Air Conditioning, and Colony Shops of Waynedale. Depending on the project size and other variables, not all the businesses are completed with their revamp, but look forward to completing their project in 2015.
Tina Brown, of Curly’s Village Inn commented at the completion of their project, “This program gives small businesses a chance to do much needed improvements that they might not normally have the financial ability to do. The fact that they focused on Waynedale this time around definitely improved the look of the community. We have seen an upswing in new business. Many people have commented that they like the new look, and it enticed them to come in and see what we are all about.”
Home-grown communities with generations of small and medium sized locally owned businesses like Waynedale depend on the continued patronage of community members to continue to prosper. Updating a building’s appearance is just one way to help attract more customers.
The facade grant recipients weren’t the only ones to recently make improvements to their curb appeal. Notably, Azar’s Big Boy, Something Old Something New, Verizon and Waynedale Car Wash contributed new aesthetics to the Waynedale business districts.
As many other area businesses have commented that they too will be improving their storefronts, the trend is undoubtedly growing. As these projects continue into 2015, community members anticipate the refreshing  updates to this old town.