FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – The City of Fort Wayne is hoping a new resource can help address local housing shortages.
A new catalog will feature homes on vacant lots that have been turned into housing for a range of income levels.
Information about the catalog can be found HERE
The City released the following:
The Housing Options Made Easy (HOME) Catalog includes six building plans specifically designed to fit urban lots and meet the changing needs of today’s families. Each plan has been pre-reviewed by the Allen County Building Department and Department of Planning Services to help streamline the construction process. All plans are available at no cost for participants in the A Lot to Love program, which offers discounted City-owned lots to small-scale developers. Plans in the catalog are also available for a nominal fee to builders or property owners who wish to build on privately owned lots.
“Increasing access to housing options at a variety of price points is one of my administration’s top priorities, and that’s why I’m excited for the launch of the HOME Catalog,” said Fort Wayne Mayor Sharon Tucker. “These plans will help speed up and simplify the process of building homes on vacant lots, as well as reduce costs for both small-scale developers and their buyers.”
The six housing plans in the HOME Catalog are flexible, with architectural variations and options to add accessory dwelling units (ADUs), as well as additional bedrooms and bathrooms. Some can be built as either single-family homes or duplexes. The floor plans range from 560 square feet for a one-bedroom backyard cottage (ADU) up to 2,368 square feet for a three-bedroom home with an integrated accessory unit.
Thanks to support from WindSwell Foundation, some of the designs are fully ADA compliant, meeting a growing need for accessible housing for individuals with disabilities. The catalog also includes optional design details intended to improve accessibility of each home plan.
“We expect the HOME Catalog to accelerate the success we are seeing with our A Lot to Love program,” said Planning & Policy Director Paul Spoelhof. “Turning empty infill lots into housing is a win for our community – previously vacant land is returned to use, neighborhoods are revitalized, homebuyers have more affordable options, and emerging builders have more opportunities to enter the market.”
Since A Lot to Love was launched in March 2025, Community Development has committed 25 vacant lots to development partners. To date, 20 homes have been built or are underway (a duplex is counted as two homes).
Fort Wayne Community Development contracted with Flintlock LAB, an architecture, landscape, and planning firm based in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to develop the HOME Catalog. Additional support for the project was provided by WindSwell Foundation and the National Association of REALTORS®.
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