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South Bend Redevelopment Commission Regular Meeting – December 8, 2022 <br />potential $5M grant awards for the comprehensive Kennedy Park improvements. <br />We are discussing some potential additions and a form of aquatics, potentially a <br />public pool. $2M for Portage/Elwood sidewalk project. We announced yesterday <br />a partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency for cleanup of Drewry’s <br />site. We are taking a look at the Portage and Elwood intersection and to the west <br />of there, improving pedestrian connections along the business corridor. <br />Additionally, $3M for River Bridge connector pedestrian bridge. This bridge would <br />cross the river south of Leeper Park as part of the broader trails network. Then a <br />couple projects related to the Martin Luther King Jr. Dream Center project <br />including Linden Avenue streetscape improvements. The other would-be park <br />improvements for the Dream Center including new sports courts, basketball courts <br />and a splash pad. <br />River East projects are a few streetscape projects at the LaSalle Avenue <br />streetscape improvements including dedicated turn lanes and bump outs for <br />pedestrian safety at major intersections. The same type of treatment will also <br />happen along Mishawaka Avenue from Cooper Street or Eddy Street bright to the <br />railroad tracks near Bamber’s and the Farmer’s Market. $300k for Couillard Park <br />splash pad upgrades. There is a splash pad there, but it needs significant <br />updates. We have added $2M to a couple of trail projects $2M for Hill Street trail <br />project. Downtown South Bend and Notre Dame are interested in partnering and <br />funding a significant portion of the trail, however, we are waiting on final decisions. <br />The Hotel/Motel tax board is interested in providing some funding to support the <br />trails project. $2M for South Bend Avenue improvements which includes a multi- <br />use trail and other street improvements for pedestrian safety (Notre Dame to Hill <br />Street). <br />Commissioner Wax asked when the projects will begin. And how long would it <br />take to cash flow instead of issuing a bond. <br />Mr. Bauer stated that some would start in 2023 and some in 2024. Mr. Bauer <br />states it would be a little longer timeline. <br />Commissioner Wax asked is there a reason we want to leverage 20 years of <br />revenue vs spanning the money we have? <br />Mr. Bauer states we have seen some transformative projects lead to <br />transformative investments on a smaller scale. Things like the Western Avenue <br />streetscape project driving private investment in small businesses along the <br />corridor. On LaSalle Avenue there are some larger projects like the streetscape <br />improvements or park projects. We can equate some of those to the Howard Park <br />improvement where we have seen transformative change in a short period of time. <br />We believe that making these transformative investments now can allow us to <br />really continue to build on the moderate growth that we have seen in the last ten <br />years and really accelerate that into the future. That concludes Rental Revenue <br />Bond Series A.