As impressive as Chattanooga's downtown revitalization is, local real estate agent Jeff Vaughan came away from his visit there more optimistic about Fort Wayne.

“We have so many more assets and so many fewer problems than Chattanooga,” he said upon his return this weekend. In the quality of housing stock and condition of commercial buildings downtown, Fort Wayne outshines Chattanooga, he said.

“We're so much farther ahead, except for capital,” said Vaughan, an agent with Coldwell Banker Roth Wehrly Graber.

Capital is a difference found in the attitudes of foundations in Chattanooga.

“What really drove change in (Chattanooga) was the insightfulness of one of the foundations,” said Joe Dorko, CEO of Lutheran Hospital.

More than 20 years ago, the leaders of Chattanooga's Lyndhurst Foundation decided that reviving the city's economy was a more pressing need than supporting any single charitable cause.

That foundation — along with many others — has contributed millions of dollars to the city's revitalization every year since. Lyndhurst grants directly linked to revitalization totaled more than $4 million in 2005, for example.

That continuing dedication of foundation funds to revitalization has insulated resident taxpayers from much of the cost. It also protected the revitalization movement from shifting political opinion. But it's far from the only thing that helped the city.

As Invent Tomorrow delegations found in Greenville, S.C., and Providence, R.I., in earlier trips, Chattanooga's leaders and major institutions appear to work together much more smoothly than in Fort Wayne.

“You can get an awful lot done when you don't care who gets the credit,” said Cheri Becker, executive director of Invent Tomorrow.

“It's truly a cooperative effort. They don't have the turf wars we have here,” said Courtney Wagner, director of marketing and public relations for Arts United. “It really struck me.

“I don't know how the turf wars here developed, but they're strong. We saw a different way in Chattanooga.”

Dorko mentioned the consolidation of permitting processes in Chattanooga and Hamilton County, Tenn., which means developers can obtain permits more quickly and easily than in many cities, including Fort Wayne.

Becker and Wagner both were impressed by the profusion of public art in Chattanooga. Wagner said major public construction in Chattanooga requires that 1 percent of its cost be devoted to public art. Sculptures, stone inlays and other art adorns parks, the riverfront and city streets.

Could proponents of downtown revitalization in Fort Wayne persuade local foundations to provide the financial support that Chattanooga's foundations have?

Because the most important foundations here — such as Foellinger and Lutheran foundations — are so heavily invested in social services and education, there would be opposition to shifting funds to bankroll revitalization.

But Dorko suggested this line of argument: If economic development improves the prosperity of people in Allen County, it could reduce the need for the social services. And he said more businesses, such as the hospital he leads, might be persuaded to lead economic development, too.

“Lutheran Hospital is committed to economic development,” he said. “And it's in our self-interest. If more people have good jobs and insurance, they'll be able to get health care.”