2 EDC Meeting Minutes 2.5.2026 - Signed

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CITY OF SOUTH BEND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MEETING – February 5, 2026 Page | 5 The only additional commitment from the City and State relates to stormwater management. Much of downtown west of the river uses a combined sewer system, where stormwater and wastewater share the same pipes. Under the City’s EPA-mandated Long Term Control Plan, South Bend is working to reduce sewer overflows into the St. Joseph River. This is a long-term effort with costs exceeding $600 million. Because of the combined sewer system, stormwater management can be challenging in dense urban areas. While developments are typically required to store stormwater on site, that can be difficult when buildings cover most of a parcel. For this project, the developer will store as much stormwater on site as possible, and the City is already designing a shared stormwater solution that will connect to an existing outfall. This system would serve multiple development sites and would involve utility funds already planned for this purpose. As of today, February 5, this project is in the second step of the approval process. The Common Council has completed the first reading of the related bond ordinance. Today’s actions include a public hearing and a resolution to adopt the financing documents. If approved, the item will be returned to the Common Council on February 9, with final approval expected at the Redevelopment Commission on February 12. The requested bond authorization is up to $30.8 million. This amount represents a maximum cap. The final bond amount will be set at closing and will not exceed this authorization, as final documents and projections are completed. Tom Sardelli with Ancora stated that we are partnering with the University of Notre Dame on the development side of this project. I want to express our sincere appreciation for the City’s support. Quite simply, without the City’s partnership, this project would be financially challenging to deliver. We are grateful for the collaboration and for the opportunity to move this forward as a catalytic project—not only for the Tech and Talent District, but for downtown as a whole. Thank you for your continued consideration of the Colfax Corner project. A question was then raised by Secretary Matousova regarding bond financing: Since this is a developer-purchased, negotiated bond, how is the interest rate determined? Additionally, if project revenues do not fully support debt service, is the City responsible in any way for repayment? Caleb Bauer responded that the interest rate we have been using is based on monitoring comparable taxable and tax-exempt issuances as a general benchmark; however, the final rate will be negotiated. We will finalize the interest rate as we get closer to closing, but in general it is expected to be lower than what we would obtain through the public bond market.