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South Bend Redevelopment Commission <br />Regular Meeting —June 14, 2011 <br />$10. He expects Mr. Matthews will find <br />there is a good market for condos at that site <br />and they may even sell with more amenities <br />and for more than $200,000, similar to how <br />the market was for the East Bank <br />Townhomes. Mr. Matthews said the East <br />Bank Townhomes are twice as large as these <br />will be. His intent with these is to see if <br />there is a market for the $200,000 price range <br />condos. That prorates to a $900 per month <br />payment which is about the monthly payment <br />that can be made on a $40,000 a year salary. <br />An average salary. The downtown is <br />physically attractive, but it needs a lot more <br />people on the streets to become vibrant. <br />Everyone wants to see a grocery store <br />downtown. The only way that will happen is <br />for a lot of moderate income people to want <br />to live downtown. We're never going to hit <br />that density level to attract a grocery store <br />otherwise. In his mine, this is an experiment. <br />Mr. Varner conveyed his concern that with a <br />purchase price of $300,000 - $400,000 per unit <br />and ten units, the city would be subsidizing <br />each unit at $40,000. The city can't afford <br />that kind of subsidy. It needs the cash return <br />to be able to invest somewhere else. It's <br />difficult to understand how we could buy <br />something in January for $400,000 and sell it <br />for $10. <br />Mr. Matthews noted that at the East Bank <br />Townhomes site he spent $200,000 preparing <br />the site. He hauled in 1,500 truckloads of fill <br />and a built a $100,000 wall. Instead he could <br />have paid for the land, got a tax abatement <br />and then had the Commission raise the site so <br />it was buildable. That is the harder way to do <br />it. Then, when the wall ended up getting a <br />lot more expensive than he expected, it was <br />his responsibility. <br />22 <br />