11-14-16 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

REGULAR MEETING NOVEMBER 14, 2016 Kim Teska, stated she owns Kim's Cafe in the Emporium Building and lives at 1710 Hoffs Drive, sated she is Mr. Mathew's mother and all of her children went to Adams. She stated Mr. Matthews knows when you build something, expect it to last for one hundred (100) years because it is important to our community. Cassie Skidmore, 724 West Colfax, stated she is a new resident of South Bend. This is the type of development that South Bend needs in order to flourish. South Bend has really changed for the better the past few years and we need to encourage more of it. Mark Tamer, 1502 East Lasalle Street, stated he is in favor of this proposal and he owns a business downtown and owns a factory on the Westside of South Bend. South Bend has changed in the last twenty -five (25) years and we have all been a part of that. When Oscos left downtown South Bend, businesses tried to get another grocery store downtown and everyone said it couldn't happen. Not one (1) grocery store even wanted to think about it. Following rules are only guidelines, we have to seek change and South Bend is behind the curb. South Bend can do this but we need to unlock our potential. Barton Bennett, the owner of a business called Odyssian Technology which is on Colfax between Hill and Niles, stated in 2008 we moved from Mishawaka to South Bend. We purchased a building and put an incredible amount of money into it. Mr. Bennett explained that they looked long and hard to find a good location for their building. They wanted a class A really nice office space with room for a lab. Elkhart only had disgusting and ugly buildings available so we came to the East Bank. We had a great reception and were told this vision of the East Bank Plan. We have been very fortunate to have Mr. Mathews in this area developing buildings. If we are not careful we may screw this up and right now. We certainly don't want Mr. Mathews to walk away but we do want to make sure the building fits the character of the neighborhood. We need to change our approach to parking so the City should pay for the parking garage so that Mr. Mathews can bring the building down to seven (7) floors which would fit with the neighborhood. That will guarantee we have public parking in the neighborhood. Aman McFarland, stated he is the owner of Render Kitchen and Bar in the East Bank, they are trying to contribute food and culture to the East Bank. We knew we were taking a risk when we were investing in South Bend and one (1) of the reasons we decided to open the restaurant was the Smart Streets project. It showed them that the City was willing to invest in order to promote growth for businesses. The more people who can spend money in downtown the better. Adding the grocery store certainly feels like a no- brainer. David Mathews Sr., 54609 Bradley Street Elkhart, stated he is Mr. Mathew's father and also a developer in the area. He stated big economic cycles are converging on South Bend right now. We have the Millennials who want to live downtown and don't want to own a car and live in dense urban settings. Then you also have ten thousand 10,000 baby boomers a day retiring in the United States for the next twenty (20) years who will be downsizing and want to live in areas that are more dense and convenient. Areas all over the U.S. are trying to attract Baby Boomers by offering them walkability. Density makes value for people and also enhances the value of the property for any of the people living in the area. We also have had a huge investment from Notre Dame in the past few years. Notre Dame is essentially a factory producing knowledge workers. This is the service economy coming our way. Our law offices are used by law firms across the country because our wage rates are much more reasonable than bigger cities. We have a disproportionate number of legal professionals doing work here in South Bend which is being shipped over the internet where people are using it. The goal of this development is to build South Bend so that we can take advantage of these converging opportunities between the Boomers, Millennials, and Notre Dame. Those from the public wishing to speak in opposition to the bill: S.J. Szabo, P.O. Box 555 South Bend IN, stated he doesn't know where to begin after following such a lengthy dog and pony show including expensive out of town talent putting forth a brand new theory of demographic that all South Bend needs to grow is build more apartments. This is a tough bid. The fact is, there is only one (1) real issue here and it is not that the apartment block is too big or recently swathed in a now passe Las Vegas design. The issue is, cities have plans for very good reasons. They have them because there is a vision determined not just by a small 20