NEW HAVEN, Ind. – Community Transportation Network (CTN) is ready to open the doors on a new era. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the organization’s new satellite garage, the Memmer Family Garage, is scheduled for 4 p.m. on July 12 at 3401 S. Maplecrest Rd. in New Haven.
A private 501(c)(3) organization, CTN has worked for two decades to ease the burden of transportation, so more people are able to maintain life-sustaining and purposeful connections in the community. The organization provides rides to seniors, people with disabilities, low-income families, children, and youth, as well as the nonprofits that serve them. In an ordinary year, CTN provides about 100,000 rides to nearly 9,000 individuals.
The 15,000-square-foot Memmer Family Garage provides an indoor space to house 18 transit vans. This will make service more reliable in the winter months for people with mobility challenges—cold temperatures can cause the vans’ attached hydraulic lifts to freeze up overnight. The garage’s location also helps CTN save on fuel costs and offer more efficient service for riders in southeast Fort Wayne and east Allen County.
The garage can be expanded to 52,500 square feet, giving CTN the space to more than triple the number of vehicles in its fleet in future years.
“We are so excited to begin serving our riders from this new satellite garage,” said Justin Clupper, executive director of CTN. “The Memmer Family Garage creates a real and lasting future for our organization and helps ensure that we will be here for our riders for many years to come.”
The garage sits on a six-acre property on South Maplecrest Road. About half of the land was donated by the Memmer family, owners of Truck Maintenance, Inc., CTN’s vehicle maintenance vendor which is located next door to the garage. Other lead donors for the project include the English Bonter Mitchell Foundation, AWS Foundation, and the McMillen Foundation.
“We are incredibly grateful for the funders, as well as our builder, Felderman Design Build, who made this project a reality,” Clupper said.
The grand opening is the result of a three-year process; CTN’s board began exploring options for expansion in early 2019 and broke ground on the garage in August 2021.
CTN will continue operating its current facility at 5601 Industrial Rd. in north Fort Wayne, giving the organization the flexibility to dispatch vehicles from either of the two locations.
The grand-opening celebration is open to the public. Guests are invited to enjoy appetizers from the Memmer family’s Bent Wrench BBQ, drinks from a cash bar, and tours of the new facility. Attendees are asked to RSVP by emailing Molly Graves at mollyg@ridectn.org.
About Community Transportation Network (CTN)
CTN wants to provide full access to community resources through friendly transportation services for seniors, persons with disabilities, children, youth, and the agencies that support them. CTN is an effective and dependable transportation alternative in Fort Wayne and Allen County. We are a private nonprofit 501(c)(3) agency using a variety of resources to help break down transportation barriers in our community. Learn more at ridectn.org.
About Greater Fort Wayne Inc.
Greater Fort Wayne (GFW) Inc. serves Fort Wayne and Allen County, Indiana, as its primary point of contact for economic growth. GFW Inc. focuses on prosperity and community vibrancy through economic development, advocacy, programs, and resources that support business success, leadership development, graduate retention, and community engagement.
