Fort Wayne could soon form a system that would fill hundreds of vacant properties across the city and address the housing shortage.

Fort Wayne City Council gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a $120,000 contract with Arkansas-based architectural firm Flintlock LAB to create a housing catalog that will provide sets of pre-approved home designs for builders to choose from. That will expedite the permitting process for builders, council documents said.

Paul Spoelhof, deputy director of planning and policy with the Department of Planning, said the goal is to build homes on vacant lots that will fit in with their surroundings.

“The market works in a lot of different ways,” he said. “We’re not trying to manage that. What we’re trying to do is provide builders and prospective homeowners with

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