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9. DOWP REDEVELOPMENT (Cont'd) statements made here today - -I have been here from 'day one' and our under- statiding from ten (10) years ago was that it was possible to come up with a new plan, a new schematic out of this material, and remove the old and falling-down buildings, and then we should see them rebuilt, along the dec aratory pattern. This is what we thought would happen. In the feasibility reports, and then in trying to get actual participation ,we found that it is not the way to do it at all. In some approximately 600 cities in the range of 35,000 population and over, in none of these where there substantial changes of this nature- - complete rebuilding- -and I am advised that in terms of downtown projects, more has happened in South Bend, Indiana than in any other place in the United States. This is probably all that we can expect. Our consultants- - our viable people we hired- -the first thing they said that the method we are using in only advertising the parcels locally was not the way to do t. We need to go nationally for developers. The chief things involved if you are going to change this treatment- - if you are going to compete with shopping centers - -you are going to compete on that type of a level, and we have to put it in a package, or it will not go. You will not find people of that type of capital to go into that type of business. You may find people who will prepare and lea ;e it - -and that is what Associates proposed to do. The original int nt was to build a fairly substantial office-type building, bring in i number of employees, in- house population downtown that would enc urnge retail development that would serve its people, if nothing els . South Bend is a center of a large shopping area. The latest survey indicates this is a handy place to shop. Real Estate Research, undoubtedly in a reasonable amount of time, can bri g back depending on transportation, whatever other means are available, and this puts the downtown under a different light and restores, to a deg ee, the sale of the land in the downtown to develop. It takes a sal for it to happen. This will have to happen on a large scale." Legal Counsel, Mr. Butler, said if anything comes out of this part of the meeting--I hope it is the point you made, Mrs. Allen- -which is what I tried to make and I am glad you emphasized it. There is no 'hold' on that pro- perty. For the actions taken in the past, if we need to place thE: fault, I w'll.take the blame myself for that, as Mr. Donaldson just said to me, in n aside, we can't get those two (2) years back. Let's profit on whatever mistakes we have made in the past and not make them in the future. Connissioner Chenney referred to the time when shortly after Associates submitted their proposal and then changed it. Mr. Brownell replied the day the bid was presented and I want to make it clear, that under HUD reg lations, we are not permitted to accept any bid with conditions. This bid had so many things listed as a contingency to their bid that we could not accept it. As to the change, when we met to negotiate with the Associates people, Mr. Van Mele, as one of the representatives, we ointed out to them some of these problems. That brought up the que tion that they had changed their attitude and mind as their architect fro Skidmore & Merrill, and stated for us to have a row of parking for 9'?