2 Minutes 02-28-13 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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South Bend Redevelopment Commission Regular Meeting — February 28, 2013 3. APPROVAL OF CLAIMS (CONT.) 430 FUND SOUTH SIDE DEVELOPMENT TIF AREA # 1 Falls Creek Development, LLC & The Huntington National Bk 71,193.00 Main St/Lafayette Blvd Connector- Ireland Christopher S. Burke Engineering, LLC. 14,141.00 Fellows St & Ireland Rd intersection Improvements $382,410.65 Upon a motion by Mr. Varner, seconded by Mr. Alford and unanimously carried, the Commission approved the Claims submitted February 28, 2013. 4. COMMUNICATIONS There were no Communications. 5. OLD BUSINESS There was no Old Business. 6. NEW BUSINESS A. South Bend Central Development Area (1) Update on Silver Hawks and Coveleski Stadium. Mr. Andrew Berlin noted that he wanted to give a status report and heartfelt thank you to the Redevelopment Commission for its contribution towards the Silver Hawks and Coveleski Stadium. The stadium is city owned and, though there is a long term lease, there are a lot of happy things happening around and in the stadium. Mr. Berlin reported on how the team was turned around, the kind of attraction there is on the turn around, and why this season promises to be much better than previous ones. Mr. Berlin thinks that the Redevelopment Commission should care, because the promises that were made when he became the owner on November 11, 2011 at 11:11 a.m. are being fulfilled. The promise at that time was for the Coveleski Stadium to be the cornerstone of the redevelopment plan to stimulate the development of downtown South Bend. Mr. Berlin has been receiving phone calls from developers looking to build hotels, apartment buildings, plazas, malls, etc., because when there are several hundred thousand people gathered in any one place for a period of time, that will attract others who will want to take advantage of that kind of population. That, in turn, brings a higher tax base, more jobs, more residents, etc. to the city. Mr. Berlin noted that the first goal was to keep the team in South Bend, Indiana. The team was perilously close to leaving at one point. Joe Kernan and his group kept it here; however the enterprise had to become a profitable enterprise or at least stop losing money, in order to stay in South Bend. Mr. Berlin wants to turn this into a viable business; he also wants to create the "magical moments." He said you don't get into the baseball business, necessarily