The Legacy Fort Wayne initiative was developed by Mayor Henry in 2011 to determine the best way to invest nearly 75 million in funds contained within a trust fund created from proceeds from the 35 year lease of City Light and Power utility infrastructure to Indiana Michigan Power as well as the proceeds from the sale of that infrastructure once the lease had ended in 2010.
As a part of the initiative, Mayor Henry established a task force to oversee a comprehensive public engagement process and make recommendations on the investment of the funds in a way that would create transformational change for our community. The Legacy Fort Wayne Task Force recommended areas for the investment of funds including: Economic Development, Youth Development and Prep Sports, and Downtown/Riverfront Development. Mayor Henry went on to establish Champion Teams in each of these areas to further refine and develop recommendations for funding. After reviewing the recommendations of the Champion Teams, the Mayor presented initial funding and investment recommendations to Common Council in late 2012. These projects, grouped under Legacy Fort Wayne, are now in various stages of implementation.