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South Bend Redevelopment Commission <br />Rescheduled Regular Meeting -August 25, 2006 <br />6. NEW BUSINESS (CONT.) <br />A. Public Hearing <br />() continued... <br />Would the jobs created address the issues of <br />unemployment and poverty in the inner city? <br />Portage Prairie is a long way from <br />downtown South Bend, and there have not <br />yet been any plans, to my knowledge, to <br />provide for public transportation to the <br />development. It took years before bus <br />se~^vice was established to Blackthorn. <br />Would growth in Portage Prairie come at the <br />expense of commercial development in other <br />parts of the city? It seems likely that the <br />demise of Kroger's and Target in LaSalle <br />Square was hastened by the new Wal-Mart <br />and Meijers stores that opened on Portage <br />Avenue near Cleveland; they, in turn, were <br />likely attracted there by the increase in <br />residential development in the area neaN <br />Blackthorn. <br />In addition to these concerns, there is also <br />the following problem: if Portage Prairie is <br />incorporated into the Blackthorn TIF district, <br />any increase in tax revenue from higher <br />assessed property values will not benefit City <br />residents generally; the incremental tax <br />revenue will have to be used for <br />infrastructure projects within the confines of <br />the Blackthorn TIF. Indeed, much of it is <br />likely to be used to benefit the fastest- <br />growing area in the Blackthorn TIF, Portage <br />Prairie itself. <br />What should be done? How can economic <br />development increase living standards and <br />opportunities for all area residents? <br />One idea for achieving this goal has been <br />37 <br />