MSVW marks new downtown boundaries

DAVE MOSIER/independent/submitted information

On Tuesday, the Van Wert Area Chamber of Commerce helped Main Street Van Wert celebrate the expansion of its downtown service district boundaries, as well as the creation of a new logo for the downtown development organization.

The ribboncutting ceremony was held at Wassenberg Art Center, whose property line marks the southern boundary of the district, which the expansion more than doubles in area.

Van Wert City Council recently approved an expansion of the development-friendly downtown program to include Wassenberg, as well as both the YMCA and YWCA, The Salvation Army, Brumback Library, Eggerss Stadium and the S.F. Goedde Building complex, and an area north of Jackson Street. Several businesses, including Taylor Auto Sales, Wild Willy’s Pizza, and High Five Brewing Company, are also included in the newly expanded development district (click here for a map showing the original district (in green) and the latest expansion (in blue).

Before the expansion, the development area ended at Central Avenue to the south and Jackson Street to the north.

“It just makes sense [for the expanded area] to be a part of downtown,” Baisden said, noting that most of the buildings in the expanded area are part of the downtown’s history.

In addition to celebrating the development service area expansion, MSVW Executive Director Dan Baisden also was pleased with the fact that, after several years of effort, Van Wert was recently named a Certified Local Government by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke.

Grant funding, which is available once a year, will allow MSVW to apply and compete for project funding including design guidelines, educational programs, training, structural assessments, and more.

Also Tuesday, Baisden also unveiled an updated logo for the downtown development entity that was created by Amanda Miller Designs and features the design of several notable downtown buildings in a clean, modern design. The logo design also incorporates the word “historic” into the design to indicate MSVW’s downtown mission to enhance and promote the area’s historic nature.

Miller, whose “day job” is marketing director for The Van Wert County Foundation, said she also works on design projects for organizations that she cares a lot about.

For the MSVW logo, Miller said Baisden showed her logo designs from other communities, while they also looked at incorporating several downtown buildings with recognizable architecture into the design

“We wanted to keep the design very simple and yet allow it to be recognizable,” Miller noted.

Baisden also noted that his organization will be having its annual dinner on Tuesday, May 8, at Wassenberg Art Center. Speaker for the event will be Eric Doden, CEO of Greater Fort Wayne. Tickets can be purchased by calling the MSVW office at 419.238.6911.

For more information on the downtown development organization, go to www.mainstreetvanwert.org.

A number of local business and government leaders were on hand Tuesday as Main Street Van Wert Executive Director Dan Baisden cuts the ribbon on the latest expansion of the MSVW downtown service district. Dave Mosier/Van Wert independent