RM 04-13-89 - Laserfiche WebLink

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South Bend Redevelopment Commission Rescheduleq Regular Meeting - April 3, 1989 6. NEW BUSINESS (Cont.) b. Continued... buildings on Chapin and Washington Street, which contain approximately 165,000 square feet of space, 50% of this space is vacant. According to the market overview performed by our planning consultants, this amount of square foctage significantly exceeds existing, as well as future, demand. Given the extremely substandard conditions of most of the buildings along the 1200 block of We.ct Washington, the costs of rel ilitation would be very high, recuiring that rents would be much too hic h relative to existing demand. x conditions that our Plan seeks to :come include the pockets of severe .dential deterioration, especially - the Chapin and Washington/Walnut lercial areas, the excessive amount of ie in the neighborhood, including open illegal drug sales, and continuing ►tings and murders. Other conditions our Plan seeks to overcome include thirty year pattern of population Ine, and, last but not least, the negative image of the Near Westside Elting from all of these problems - an fe that discourages new home buyers businesses from relocating in our bborhood, while at the same time ouraging existing owners from vying their properties. In light of all these factors, it is the reommvmdation of the WWCRP that our commmty begin a physical development action program that should be implemented first in the Washington/Walnut commercial are5L and then in the South Chapin Street comnercial area. We are recomnnerAing tha 40 to 60 new units of housing be co tructed along the 1200 and 1300 bl of West Washington, and also a newly constructed small neighborhood commercial center within the same area. In order to make way for this new -12-