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CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF THE CLERK
<br /> Jamie Reese, 112 W. Jefferson stated, I'm here representing the building owners and developers
<br /> of the Studebaker Lofts project. This project was done previous to the two (2)year extension, so
<br /> we received this abatement in June of 2015. The project opened on March 15, 2017,which was
<br /> prior to the June 22nd 2017 expiration. However,based on the timeline that Mr. Mueller shared
<br /> earlier,that Form 11 didn't get picked up until July 17, 2018 because as of Jules, the
<br /> building was not technically fully completed. The 322 has been filed based on that Form 11 that
<br /> we received in July of this ye , so everything should be fine other than the timing issue of just
<br /> one (1)month.
<br /> AJ Patel, President of JSK Development, 247 Dixie Way North, stated, We finished the
<br /> courtyard back in April of 2018, and the Hall of Fame just closed recently. We opened the
<br /> [Holiday Inn] Express on the south side in Jam, so we're pretty close to our time limits.
<br /> Kevin Smith, 635 S. Lafayette Blvd., representing the Studebaker District stated, The major
<br /> pieces that we found were 40,000 yards of bricks in the parking lot which we didn't anticipate.
<br /> The other is that because of the age of the building, the water mains were old and much more
<br /> difficult than expected. We just had to work around things to reestablish them. Also, because of
<br /> all of Notre Dame's investment, it was a challenge to get resources, contractors and materials.
<br /> Those were the three (3) main elements that drove our timetable up.
<br /> Matthew Huff, 1302 W. Sample Street, representing Imagineering, stated, Our project was
<br /> originally going to be developed for one (1) customer in a very large facility. That ended up
<br /> falling through at the end, so we had to reevaluate the whole situation.Now instead of adding
<br /> one (1) line, we're adding three (3) lines and so our project became much larger.
<br /> Mark Neal, 112 W. Jefferson Blvd., representing the Tower at Washington Square, stated, The
<br /> building was expected to have a$30 million renovation, the focus was on the shell of the
<br /> windows, hotel and garage. We are already about $10 million over the original investment
<br /> amount expected for the entire building with just the hotel and the garage completed. The
<br /> residential and retail portions are looking to be completed in the next year. The owner is
<br /> spending quite a bit more than expected, so he wants to make sure that all of the decisions he
<br /> makes are good ones. He is excited to complete the project in 2019.
<br /> Sue Kessim, 4022 Kennedy Drive, stated, I am probably most familiar with the Renaissance
<br /> Project. I've been to a lot of meetings there and I think it's a great thing to save that building. I
<br /> really appreciate not putting it in the landfill, especially with all of the asbestos and lead, so I
<br /> really appreciate, not only from an economic standpoint, but from an environmental standpoint,
<br /> all that you've done to repurpose and reuse and do it properly. I know that project has taken way
<br /> longer, but I think it was a good investment and I appreciate all that you've done. I took a tour
<br /> recently and it was really nice. I researched abatements from 2011 to 2017. In 2017 there were
<br /> $36 million given in abatements. Hopefully they will make good on the promises. A lot of them
<br /> they call a phase in,there's no phase in if there is zero (0)taxes for ten(10) years. In other
<br /> communities in my research on the TIFs, when you give TIF money, the taxpayer is already
<br /> investing. They don't typically get the abatements. The taxes are where the taxpayer gets paid
<br /> back for making the investment with the TIF. South Bend seems to be more unusual in that. In
<br /> Chicago,they're in financial crisis because they used TIF and abatements. As you're considering
<br /> this, I want you to consider in general, the process of having so many abatements. A lot of the
<br /> EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT
<br /> 455 County-City Building 1227 W.Jefferson Bvid I South Bend,Indiana 466011 p 574.235.9221 If574.235.91731TTD574.235.5567Iwww.southbendin.gov
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