Grow Wabash County, City of Wabash & Manchester University class collaborate on Market Street project
Students in a public policy class at Manchester University are learning by doing: Putting together a policy analysis about the Market Street corridor in Wabash, Ind., in cooperation with the City of Wabash and Grow Wabash County.
The students in Leonard Williams’ class will report their findings to Mayor Scott Long of Wabash and Keith Gillenwater, president of Grow Wabash County.
”This is a great opportunity for the Wabash community to have a bright group of minds come in and present us with some ideas on potentially redeveloping a section of our Market Street Corridor,” Long said. ”We are looking forward to working with Professor Williams and his students.”
“I’m excited to engage Professor Williams and his public policy class on a project that has been talked about time and again in the community,” Gillenwater said. “We’ve formed a great partnership with Manchester University and I am thrilled that we were able to build yet another bridge between the University, their students, and our communities.”
This semester, the students will take a close look at the area of East Market Street between South Huntington and South Allen streets in Wabash.
They will examine how the corridor is now being used; asking questions about what options might make sense to redevelop the area. They include:
- How might redevelopment be financed?
- What opportunities are there for public-private partnerships?
- What would be the effects of redevelopment on residents, businesses and the city?
- What additional factors should be taken into consideration?
The students will interview a variety of people, including residents, entrepreneurs, public officials and nonprofit leaders about the needs, possibilities and challenges of redeveloping Market Street. The class will also collect and review relevant housing and economic data.
The class will complete its report before the spring semester ends in May.
“I’m delighted to be able to work with Keith to arrange this collaborative, community-based project for our students,” Williams said. “It is this kind of practical experience that best prepares students for careers and helps them develop skills that can benefit others.”
March 2018