Join the Steering Committee working to develop an ‘Amenity Plan’ for Van Wert. 

The Center for Regional Development (CRD) at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) recently launched their initiative “Reimagining Rural Regions,” or R3 for short. The R3 Initiative is a two-stage process that begins with a community-led CRD facilitated process to identify assets, opportunities, challenges regarding current and future placemaking opportunities. Part one of the process will involve significant public outreach and engagement and ultimately result in the identification of 2-3 placemaking projects. Part two of the R3 Initiative will use teams of BGSU undergraduates from the Placemaking and Community Engagement (PaCE) program to provide capacity to move the projects identified by the community toward implementation.

Van Wert was selected as one of three communities in the CRD’s inaugural R3 cohort. Building off the 2021 Downtown Redevelopment Master Plan, The Van Wert County Foundation (VWCF) and Van Wert Forward wants to use the R3 process to determine what types of community amenities will successfully attract a wide array of Van Wert residents and visitors to the downtown core, with a focus on the residents. An amenity is “A regular, intermittent, or singularly occurring indoor or outdoor element, program, or event available to all residents and visitors of the City of Van Wert, that helps establish a sense of community identity and provides comfort, ease and/or enjoyment.”

The VWCF is seeking interested individuals who would like to serve on the R3 Steering Committee to help guide this process forward and determine initiatives included in the amenity plan. If interested, please complete the following form if you would like to be considered for the steering committee or would like more information about the R3 project.

***THE STEERING COMMITTEE INTEREST FORM IS NOW CLOSED***