The Van Wert County Foundation invites Van Wert County residents and workers to share their thoughts regarding desired amenities in downtown Van Wert through an online survey. Potential amenities may include additional food and beverage outlets, events and festivals, open space, and various retail and commercial business types. The Foundation wants to ensure Van Wert Forward’s business attraction strategy reflects the needs and desires of the Van Wert County community. 

The survey is part of a broader amenities plan developed by the Van Wert Community Steering Committee, a branch of the Reimagining Rural Regions (R3) Initiative. The R3 Initiative is an effort that identifies assets needing to be redeveloped to improve an area’s quality of life and aid in the retention and attraction of a highly skilled workforce. The R3 Initiative is coordinated and funded through the Center for Regional Development (CRD) at Bowling Green State University. 

The Van Wert County Foundation is one of three organizations throughout northwest Ohio participating in the inaugural cohort of the R3 program chosen through a competitive application process. CRD provides capacity and expertise to the Steering Committee as they craft an amenities plan resulting in downtown amenities accepted and utilized by residents and frequent visitors to the City and County of Van Wert. 

“The R3 Initiative is an incredible opportunity to help craft a redevelopment strategy resulting in a downtown that all County residents can view as their neighborhood. This survey is an excellent opportunity to gain input from residents and workers and underscores the community-led nature of this program. Maintaining our community-led focus is critical to the success of our downtown redevelopment,” said Seth Baker, CEO of The Van Wert County Foundation.

The survey is open to all residents, workers, and frequent visitors of Van Wert County over the age of 18. The survey can be accessed through The Van Wert County Foundation’s Facebook page as well as directly at www.tinyurl.com/VanWertSurvey. 

For more information contact The Van Wert County Foundation at (419) 238-1743