Section of Fort Wayne’s South Calhoun Street continues to improve

By Lisa Esquivel Long | News-Sentinel

A $200,000 renovation project currently going on at St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store is just one of many improvements to businesses in that area of South Calhoun Street over the last few years.

To the south of the thrift store, 1600 S. Calhoun St., are Neighborhood Health Clinics and the Oyster Bar. Oyster Bar, 1830 S. Calhoun St., was one of 10 businesses in 2014 to receive a total of $200,000 in city of Fort Wayne facade grants. As part of the work, the restaurant’s facade got eye-catching paint to highlight its architectural features. A year earlier, Neighborhood Health Clinics used federal grants to build an $8 million garage. It also added a connecting pedestrian bridge and expanded its building at 1717 S. Calhoun St. at a cost of another nearly $750,000.

While the clinic expansion has increased space, that doesn’t necessarily translate to a greater capacity in patient load, said President-CEO Angie Zaegel.

“We are very dependent on medical staffing,” she said.

Last year the clinic was down two providers each month, so recruiting health professionals is an ongoing issue. While it now has its own optometry area, thanks to a 2015 grant, it took over a year to get an optometrist in the position.

To the north of the thrift store, on the other side of the railroad overpass is Citilink’s $4 million transfer station at Calhoun and Baker streets, which opened in 2012. It features restrooms, an indoor waiting area and covered bus bays to shield riders from wind, rain and snow.