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

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2003. Three times as many neighborhood residents make their living through manufacturing and transportation (48 percent) than do citywide (16 percent). The study showed that 31 percent of LaSalle Square neighbors are employed in service jobs, compared with 69 percent citywide. LaSalle Square area residents spend about the same for housing as others. Yet the 32 percent who rent pay a larger percentage of income for housing, leaving few resources left to support local businesses, according to the study. Foreclosures around LaSalle Square have risen rapidly since 2001, but at a rate comparable to the rest of South Bend. More than 5,000 people work within one mile of LaSalle Square – a number that, consultants said, adds to the neighborhood’s market potential. After the Aug. 19 meeting, zpd+a will gather all information into a draft action plan for presentation to the city’s Redevelopment Commission for approval. Final action is anticipated in September. A valuable aspect of the planning process is that it brings together community members with common interests and gives them an opportunity to network. Many participants of Neighborhood Transopoly said they would like to see a Farmers Market at LaSalle Square. Now, a group is organizing a Farmers Market for the west side, planning for a trial run this fall at LaSalle Square. “Ultimately, implementation of the final plan will need committed citizens, like the residents organizing the Farmers Market, and dynamic community partnerships to succeed,” Vitton said. “This isn’t a technical plan for bureaucrats to follow and implement. It is a plan for the neighborhood and community as a whole to follow and implement in order to bring their vision to reality.” In summer 2007, the Redevelopment Commission added LaSalle Square, the Marycrest/Hurwich area and the former Sample-Ewing Development Area to the Airport Economic Development Area. Mayor Stephen J. Luecke has pledged to make LaSalle Square a priority for investment, committing $2 million to support those planning efforts and serve as seed money for substantial private investment. The project is funded by tax increment financing (TIF) revenue from the west-side Airport Economic Development Area, the city’s largest TIF district. In a TIF district, the increase in tax revenue generated by new development stays within the boundaries of the district to fund infrastructure improvements, including curbs, sidewalks, streets, landscaping and other public improvements. These resources are available for economic development but not for general city services – a point often misunderstood as the City faces the loss of $21.3 million in annual revenue from the property tax caps advocated by Gov. Mitch Daniels and adopted by the legislature. “If the City chose not to make these investments in LaSalle Square, we wouldn’t save a single police officer or firefighter, or prevent the closure of a single park facility or recreation program,” Luecke said. “By state law, these dollars can only be used for economic development in the same way that individuals cannot use a retirement plan to pay for rising gas and food prices. Just as families use certain funds for their future, the