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CITY OF SOUTH BEND REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING – May 8, 2025 <br /> <br />3 <br /> <br />President Warner and Vice President Relos asked that the <br />Commission receives a summary prior to the July 10th RDC meeting. <br /> <br />Upon a motion by Eli Wax to refer the proposals to staff for review and <br />recommendations, seconded by Ophelia Gooden-Rodgers, the motion <br />carried unanimously; the Commission approved the Proposal <br />Openings as presented on May 8, 2025. <br /> <br />2. Agreement to Release Easement (JC Hart) <br /> <br />Danielle Campbell Weiss, Senior Assistant City Attorney, presented <br />the Agreement to Release Easement benefitting the River Glen Office <br />Park site. On January 9, 2025, the Redevelopment Commission (RDC) <br />and JC Hart Company (the Developer) executed a Development <br />Agreement to work together on a transformational project on the <br />western bank of the St. Joseph River in downtown South Bend. This <br />project is located just north of the old River Glen Office Park, which the <br />RDC bought on May 6, 2024. As the owner, the RDC is the beneficiary <br />of a non-exclusive ingress and egress easement that allows pedestrian <br />and vehicular access to get to and from Wayne Street/Jefferson <br />Boulevard. <br /> <br />As part of the Development Agreement, the Developer agreed to <br />create the Riverwalk Project, and the RDC agreed to build and <br />dedicate certain public roadways, sidewalks, and other related <br />improvements. These improvements are mostly funded by a READI <br />2.0 grant from the State of Indiana. Once finished, these roads will <br />provide access to and from the RDC-owned property at the River Glen <br />Office Park. <br /> <br />On March 13, 2025, the RDC approved an agreement to temporarily <br />suspend the use of the path during the Riverwalk Project's construction <br />and to relinquish the easement entirely once the new roads are <br />completed. This agreement has been held in escrow, waiting for the <br />Developer to close on the acquisition of the property and has not been <br />recorded yet. Recently, the Developer asked to replace the previous <br />agreement with the new one before the Commission today which is <br />entitled “Release of Easement.” This new agreement would release the <br />path sooner, instead of waiting until construction is finished. If <br />approved, the new agreement would replace the old one, making it null <br />and void. <br /> <br />The need to release the path has always been at the center of the <br />Developer’s needs for the project. This new agreement, in addition to <br />causing the release of easement to occur sooner, will also help explain <br />the situation to the Developer’s construction lender, clarify title records,