Special Exception - 121 North St. Louis Blvd.

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.~f ~ ~~~~ ~~~ Zoning Board of Appeals City of South Bend South Bend, IN. To whom it may concern: Northern Electric Company, Inc. 116 North Hill Street • South Bend, IN 46617 Phone (574)289-7791 • Fax (574)289-7795 12/26/06 I am the owner of Northern Electric Co., Inc. and have a rental home at 121 North Saint Louis Blvd. South Bend, In. 46617. The home is now zoned Mixed Use and I am asking for a Special Exception for a Group Residence. The home could accommodate a maximum of 4 residents. I now have off street parking for one car and the property had a second home which I had torn down a few years ago. This open area, as shown on our print is where I propose to put in according to code, the additional paved parking. We have talked with several paving contractors and are accepting bids to put in the additional parking at this time. With the University of Notre Dame along with Saint Mary's University, Holy Cross University and Indiana University all in this area, I see a need for off-campus housing. I have attended meetings of other business owners in this area and many say if more people to lived in the neighborhood, they would bring business to the eating establishments and retailers. The additional people living in the area will also help reduce potential crime and will keep our East Race side of the river vibrant by the residents becoming more involved in the City's activities. The students from the above mentioned universities are people of good standing with high moral values and the universities will oversee serious problems with their students living off campus. Since 1967 my family has purchased property in this area and now owns the complete %Z block on the east side of Hill Street between Washington and Colfax streets. My sister, brother and I also purchased a home and property across the street from our shop to the west which eventually was taken by the city under Eminent Domain at the time of building the East Race Water Way. We were told the reason for this was to enable the city to control the development on all vacant property on the East Race side of the river to the center of Hill Street. The City then sold the property to a developer who went bankrupt during the building process. The building was completed but was not successful in selling the units as condos and the owner eventually set the units up as single family apartments, but it still did not generate sufficient income. The building was sold to Dumus / Kramer Property's about three years ago, and they changed the units into rentals for collage students. I have been told they are doing very well. Only positive benefits have come from the addition of the students. We have had no problems generated by the change and I have seen the residents of the building walking and jogging in the area and parks and eating in several of the area restaurants. Page 1 of 2