EKEP President, Rick Kinney discusses his vision for the Clyde Theatre and Quimby Village with Jim Mount of the Fort Wayne Reader.
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“The Clyde, as it currently stands, is the problem with the Quimby Village, Kinney says, not so much other issues that people may think. It’s not the parking lot, it’s not the crime rate — crime really isn’t all that bad in this area. It isn’t the neighborhoods; the neighborhoods are great, the neighbors are awesome, there’s some really great businesses located out here, and we’re across the street from one of the best parks in Fort Wayne, Foster Park. We’re also right down the street from Old Mill Road, the historic Oakdale neighborhoods, West Rudisill… it’s all awesome out here. Right now, the whole problem with this corner is the fact that this theater has been sitting empty for 13 years. We’re working to change that, the first thing we’re going to do is get the theater interior done, then the outside finally the parking lot and then we’re on our way to treating the disease.” “When I look at the Quimby Village situation, I look at in a holistic approach. The holistic way of treating a disease is to go right to the source and treat it from there. This is the only thing that ‘s going to save the Quimby Village, and not only will it save Quimby Village, it will have what I like to call the ‘contagious factor,’ where property values will increase in the area, people will want to fix up their own areas, other people from outside will start looking to invest in other properties in the area.”
“We’re talking about bringing in a lot of people from Ohio, Southern Michigan, all of Northern Indiana, these people are going too get hotel rooms, buy food from local restaurants, buy liquor from local bars and ours and ultimately they’re going to be patrons of local businesses and maybe spark an interest in wanting to move to and live in Fort Wayne. In regards to what the Broadway Corridor could look like my idea and my goal is like what Broad Ripple has done down in Indianapolis. Arts, entertainment, and an atmosphere of a fresh, reviving energy. I look at Quimby Village and the Clyde Theater as what could be the cornerstone of what could be the Broadway Corridor.”
