By Ryan Lengerich of The News-Sentinel

A woman walks under the bridge over the Woonasquatucket River in Providence, R.I.

Judi Wire, a Fort Wayne Plan Commission member, learned in Providence, R.I., that downtown development along the Fort Wayne’s rivers will take focus.

“The thing that stood out to me that I want to keep in mind and grow from, is this city needs to have a long-term vision that the community buys into and we need to take a leap of faith to make us move forward,” Wire said. “We have to be willing to take chances.”

Wire was among the 31 government and business leaders who paid their own way to spend Thursday through Saturday in Rhode Island’s capital studying river development and downtown revitalization. Local civic group Invent Tomorrow organized the community visit to the East Coast city. Last year a similar group toured Greenville, S.C., to study that city’s award-winning Main Street.

In the past 30 years, Providence has undergone a revival often credited to a massive project that uncovered the city’s three rivers. The water had been paved over by roads and train tracks, but after spending as much as $170 million of mostly federal funds to relocate and expose the rivers, the city has taken on a new identity.

“They had a positive attitude,” Wire said about Providence’s leadership. “It was unified that they were on the move, and they knew what they were going to do to make their community more viable.”

Invent Tomorrow Director Cheri Becker said the next step will be to form a group aimed at using the knowledge gained in Providence to brainstorm ideas that could work in Fort Wayne. A public forum to discuss the visit is being considered. She said it has not yet been determined if a group will make a visit next year and what cities are being considered.

“Something we came back with is really being fortunate in this community that we have a wonderful opportunity to build on the assets that we have,” Becker said.

Derrick Hayes, director of community development for National City Bank, said uncovering the rivers changed people’s attitudes. The Providence speakers stressed that the enhancements took time, and patience is important.

“The benefit of a Providence trip will be seen in how much momentum can be formed from ideas that were presented there,” Hayes said.

Jim Sparrow, executive director of Arts United of Greater Fort Wayne, was impressed by government and the private sectors’ ability to work together and accomplish their own agendas, yet keeping in mind what is best for the community.

“Everyone has their own agenda, they have to, but their strategy was come together and lay all your agendas on the table,” Sparrow said. “How can we achieve the agenda and the common goal?”

Karen Goldner, vice president of special projects at Fourth Wave LLC, said Fort Wayne’s challenges in commercially developing the rivers are far different than in Providence. While Providence’s rivers were hidden, they are not a flood concern. Fort Wayne’s rivers flood frequently, but Goldner said we should not let that deter efforts to find a solution to the flooding problem.

“The fact that we in this community haven’t figured out an answer doesn’t mean someone hasn’t somewhere else,” Goldner said. “The cheapest and fastest (way) is not always the best, and sometimes we in this community make that mistake.”