No. 2383 contracting the boundaries of the West Washington-Chapin Development Area

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• HISTORY OF PROJECT AREA The West Washington-Chapin Development Area is located in what is commonly known as the Near West Side Neighborhood in South Bend, Indiana. The Neighborhood is located immediately west of the South Bend Central Business District. See Map 2. One of the earliest additions to South Bend's original 1831 plat, the neighborhood became the site for large homes of many of the community's early industrialists, such as the Studebakers, Olivers, O'Briens, and Birdsells, during the latter part of the 19th Century. With large factories constructed within or very near the neighborhood, the Near West Side also became the location for more modest housing for the many workers employed within these factories. The South Bend community was thriving at this time, having become a major industrial center. By the late 19th Century several commercial districts had developed within the neighborhood along West Washington, Chapin and Western Avenues. Most shopkeepers owned their own businesses and 1 ived in apartments above their stores. Over time the Near West Side Neighborhood changed. Following the Depression and World War II, the neighborhood experienced significant physical and economic decline. Problems of crime, neglect and negative image increased. Property values declined. Gradually upper middle and middle income residents moved out creating a predominantly low income neighborhood. In recent years, however, some reinvestment has occurred in both the residential and commercial areas of the neighborhood. Attracted by the opportunity of rehabilitating an older home, a number of families and professional offices have moved back into the West Washington historic District. The City's Bureau of Housing has administered residential loan programs within the neighborhood over the last twelve years. • In addition, South Bend Heritage Foundation, a Community Development Block Grant sub-grantee and a non-profit corporation that has been active in the neighborhood over the last fourteen years in both residential and commercial building rehabilitation, has administered a commercial loan program which has focused on the West Washington Commercial District since last year. Both efforts have done much to encourage additional investment. Despite these efforts and those of Federal programs through the 1960's and 1970's, problems remain, particularly within the commercial districts along West Washington and Chapin Street. Of the 32 commercial structures on West Washington, 22 are now vacant. Of the 15 commercial structures along Chapin Street, 6 now stand vacant. Based on 1980 census information and recent field surveys, 16 percent of the residential structures throughout the neighborhood are vacant. W W/6 • 10!23/87