Fort Wayne just took another big swing at the affordable housing crisis. On Tuesday, the city opened applications for phase two of its popular “A Lot to Love” program, putting 29 vacant city-owned lots up for grabs at just one dollar each to small-scale developers who promise to build homes regular families can actually afford.

The move comes as home prices and rents keep climbing faster than paychecks in northeast Indiana, leaving teachers, nurses, factory workers and young families priced out of neighborhoods they grew up in.

Mayor Sharon Tucker, who made housing her top campaign issue, stood in front of one of the empty lots on Tuesday and delivered a simple message: “We are not waiting for someone else to fix this.”

How Phase One Changed Neighborhoods

The first round of A Lot to Love launched in 2023 under former mayor Tom Henry and quickly became one of the most talked-about success stories in the city.

Twenty lots were snatched up by local builders, nonprofit groups and even individual families with construction know-how. As of this month, 14 new homes are already finished or under construction in areas like Renaissance Pointe, Oxford, and the southeast side.

One of those homes belongs to Jasmine Carter, a single mom and nurse at Parkview who bought her lot for a dollar and worked nights and weekends alongside her dad to frame the house.

“I never thought I would own something brand new in my own city,” Carter told 21Alive. “This program literally handed me the keys to stability.”

City officials say phase one lots are turning into homes priced between $150,000 and $225,000, well below Fort Wayne’s current median sale price of $258,000.

What Developers Need to Know About Phase Two

The rules stay largely the same, but the applicant pool just got more competitive.

The city is accepting applications from individuals, small companies, and nonprofits until April 15, 2026. Each approved developer can take up to three lots.

Every project must include at least one home that stays affordable for families making 80% or less of area median income (about $64,000 for a family of four) for at least 15 years.

Developers also have to start construction within 12 months and finish within 24 months or the lot reverts back to the city.

“These aren’t handouts,” said Nancy Townsend, director of community development. “These are partnerships with people who care about Fort Wayne and want to build wealth here instead of extracting it.”

Why This Matters Right Now

Fort Wayne’s population grew by more than 12,000 people in the last decade, but housing construction never kept pace.

The waiting list for Section 8 vouchers in Allen County sits at more than 3,000 families. Average rent for a two-bedroom apartment jumped 28% in four years.

Vacant lots, meanwhile, became eyesores and crime magnets in some of the city’s oldest neighborhoods.

A Lot to Love attacks both problems at once: clearing blight and adding desperately needed homes without spending millions on big developers who often build luxury units instead.

The Bigger Picture for Residents

If phase two works like phase one, nearly 40 new affordable homes will pop up across Fort Wayne by 2028.

That won’t solve everything. Everyone knows that.

But it proves something powerful: local government can still move fast and smart when people demand it.

Mayor Tucker put it best on Tuesday.

“Every time we turn a forgotten lot into a family’s first home, we are telling every kid growing up in that neighborhood that Fort Wayne is a place where they can stay, build a life, and raise their own families one day.”

Applications are open now at fortwayne.in.gov/alottolove.

If you are a small builder, a nonprofit, or just someone with a hammer and a dream, the city is literally giving away land to people willing to help fix the housing crisis.

The question is who steps up next.