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Hillcrest Commons, A New Beginning: Around The Frame

Back on September 9, 2016, The Waynedale News published my column entitled Hillcrest School: Out of the ashes, Hope! Now eight years later that hope has turned into reality. After a lot of planning, budgeting and finding the right partners, there is a new beginning for Hillcrest. Unfortunately, not for the school building- due to the vandalism, fires, and neglect which have taken such a toll that it will be demolished soon. Before that day comes, a professional photographer will document its interior and exterior and share the photos on the Facebook “Hillcrest Elementary School Fort Wayne” page.

Hillcrest Commons will be built on the site of the former Hillcrest School to offer stable housing to unhoused individuals. Photo by John P. Felts.

Once the site has been cleared, construction will begin on Hillcrest Commons which will have 24 one-bedroom subsidized apartments to help unhoused individuals get their lives back in order. People who lack housing along with needing the stability of having a living space may need other services as well. Parkview Behavioral Health Institute will have an on-site presence to offer wrap-around-services that the residents may also need. Hillcrest Commons is ideally located close to the Community Harvest Food Bank and across from Southtown Crossing with Wal-Mart, Menards, and other businesses. A Citilink bus drives past it and there are discussions of adding a stop in front of it. Hillcrest Commons will have laundry facilities, computer room, fitness room, and a community space with a kitchenette. Out in the back there will be an outdoor patio and a community garden. The plan is to try to preserve bricks from Hillcrest School to use in the outdoor patio.

The people involved in the project are keenly aware of what Hillcrest School meant to the thousands of children who attended over many decades. They are saddened that the school is beyond rehabilitation. They want the people living in Hillcrest Commons to know how much this school meant to them. They are planning a memorabilia display and are seeking alumni help in donating or letting them borrow items to copy for the display. It will only be as good as the items shared. It could be a shirt from when you played Little League, pictures your parents took of you at the Christmas program, or maybe when you were in the annual play. If you want to write down special memories and share them, that would be welcomed too. The goal is to infuse Hillcrest Commons with a deep sense of what it and still means to the alumni, teachers, principals, and staff. I have already asked if when Hillcrest School turns 100 in 2029 if we could have our celebration in their community room and they thought that would be a great idea!

Work on Hillcrest Commons began October 2, 2024, and will be finished in spring 2026 and occupied by fall 2026. Memorabilia is needed as soon as possible so they can determine the space needed for it.

At the October 1st groundbreaking, G. Herb Hernandez class of 1960, who serves on a Fort Wayne Housing Authority committee, represented the alumni. I also participated by wearing a hard hat and shoveling ceremonial dirt. Before the ground was broken, I addressed the gathering by introducing myself and relating what Hillcrest meant to me. I shared how many of the alums have shared on the school’s Facebook page how upset and heartbroken they are that their school will not be saved. Still, when they learned the new vision and how Hillcrest School transformed our lives as students and now how Hillcrest Commons will transform the lives of the people who will find stability and hope by living there, they were very happy to learn of the great transformative endeavor to take its place. Hillcrest School will live on in our hearts and minds forever!

If you have memorabilia to donate or share, contact the Fort Wayne Housing Authority at 260-267-9300 or dchristian@fwha.org.

Lois Levihn is the owner of Born Again Quilts at 4005 South Wayne St. If you have a quilt or textile you’d like to share with her readers contact her at 260-515-9446 or bornagainquilts@frontier.com.

Lois Levihn
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Lois Levihn

She is the author of the "Around the Frame" quilting column. She is a graduate of Wayne HS. Quilts have always been important to her, she loves the stories surrounding them, the techniques used in making them, & restoring them. > Read Full Biography > More Articles Written By This Writer