WAYNE COUNTY, Ind. – The Wayne County Land Trust is purchasing properties as part of a long-term effort to revitalize historic downtown spaces.
The land trust is a nonprofit entity formed by the Wayne County Foundation, focused on renovating historic commercial properties, particularly along Main Street and in Richmond’s Depot District.
The Foundation has worked in downtown revitalization for nearly a decade through its partnership with Forward Wayne County, a countywide community development initiative that works to strengthen the local workforce, quality of life, and support economic growth.
“We did a feasibility and structural assessment of any building on Main Street across Wayne County,” said Rebecca Gilliam, Executive Director of the Wayne County Foundation.
Gilliam said the assessments helped determine the condition of buildings, their current use, and what would be required to renovate them.
“Most of those buildings either had limited tenants or some were just vacant and they were in disrepair,” she said.
The Foundation has also worked alongside organizations such as Richmond Neighborhood Restoration and Revitalize Richmond and, through that work, identified a gap in long-term restoration efforts and ongoing building upkeep.
“There was a gap where we were seeing the different development activities happening, but what was going to keep it together long term,” Gilliam said.
This is when the trust officially formed, established in May 2025 to address that need.
“That’s where we came into the picture,” Gilliam said. “We can continue this work long term. We will start working in the spaces with building owners and businesses that aren’t part of these other projects and see what their interest is.”
Shortly after forming, the trust began working with building owners. While governed by the Wayne County Foundation, the trust operates with its own board and property management team.
“The trust board is who is in charge of making the decisions about the scope of the project, the buildings that will be acquired, and managing the work that’s happening,” Gilliam said.
So far, more than 20 properties have been acquired. Gilliam said the trust is now entering the design and development phase and plans to hire a design and architectural firm in the near future.
Foundation leaders emphasize that community input played a key role in shaping the initiative and encourage ongoing public engagement. More information is available through the Forward Wayne County website and the organization’s Facebook page.
“This is an initiative with the community,” Gilliam said. “This is based on lots of feedback that we received, work that Forward Wayne County has been doing across the county in community development. This arose from a need.”
