Fort Wayne needs homes.

The city particularly needs to diversify its housing stock to support evolving demographics, said Sherese Fortriede, senior planner for the Planning and Policy Department. Fortriede is a member of the Housing Options Work Group, a joint effort by the city and Allen County planning staff that is focused on addressing the area’s needs. The goal is to eliminate barriers to various housing options and create incentives for developers to diversify the kinds of homes they build.

“It’s sort of like matchmaking,” Fortriede said. “You have developers sometimes with buyers, sometimes you have developers who are seeking buyers, and so it’s in that way meeting people where they are and trying to fill gaps and build housing for people.”

City officials say it’s a comprehensive

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