08-15-08 Study: Redesign LaSalle Square for mixed use

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northeast corner of the complex.” The analysis, prepared by consultants zpd+a, a Chicago-based architecture firm, and the Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology, is part of a presentation that will be made during a public meeting from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19 in the former Payless Shoes facility at LaSalle Square. In the meeting, the consultants will highlight what they learned from an earlier public meeting and market research. They also will present some conceptual site plans for public comment. The LaSalle Square Steering Committee, a partnership of residents, businesses and the City of South Bend, is overseeing the process to create an action plan for the site. They seek to leverage public resources in order to expand private investment at LaSalle Square, located at Bendix Drive and Ardmore Trail, just south of Lincolnway West. According to the presentation, “for LaSalle Square to meet its potential, the neighborhood around it must improve by: ?Upgrading existing housing and residential streets, and adding housing. ?Increasing local employment, especially in the industrial and logistics sectors. ?Improving the educational attainment of neighborhood students and workers.” “LaSalle Square must also be redesigned as an attractive space with limited retail use and additional recreational, institutional or other public use,” the analysis said. “An institutional use of the site, or a portion of the site, would be a good way to generate traffic to/from the Square to support retail.” This type of investment also will be an asset in retaining and attracting office and light-manufacturing businesses to the area. While 12,100 to nearly 15,000 vehicles per day pass by the intersection of Lincolnway West and Bendix Drive, traffic counts near LaSalle Square drop by more than half. The highest occur at Bendix and Ardmore Trail (6,893), with 5,337 at Ardmore and Prast Boulevard, and 2,487 on Ardmore, east of Bendix. The retail space of 20,000 to 40,000 square feet, proposed by the consultants, is comparable in size to the 36,970-square-foot McKinley and Grape Shopping Center in neighboring Mishawaka, which is anchored by a CVS Pharmacy and includes fewer than a dozen small retail outlets. Most area grocery stores are significantly larger, and the “big box” stores near Portage and Bendix exceed 100,000 square feet each. The consultants’ market analysis examined three areas: ?The immediate neighborhood – Within a one-mile radius of LaSalle Square. ?Much of the City of South Bend – Within a three-mile radius of LaSalle Square. ?The greater South Bend area – Within a five-mile radius of LaSalle Square. Residents within a one-mile radius of LaSalle Square are younger than residents of the rest of the city or the metropolitan area. A majority are African-Americans, a much higher percentage than citywide. Children, ages 5 to 19, represent 27 percent of the population, the largest age segment, while the largest age segment (also 27 percent) for other areas occurs among those ages 30 to 49. Median incomes were lower within one mile of LaSalle Square, the study said. The neighborhood’s median housing sale values have declined by almost 50 percent since