Redevelopment Commission Minutes 04.09.26 - Signed

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CITY OF SOUTH BEND REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING – April 9, 2026 Page | 9 challenges. Improving this connection would benefit nearby offices, including potential tenants and users of the Robinson Senior Center and Senior Apartments. Upon a motion by Ophelia Gooden-Rodgers for approval, seconded by Gillian Shaw, the motion carried unanimously; the Commission approved the Budget Request as presented on April 9, 2026. B. Redevelopment General Fund (a.k.a Pokagon-South Bend Fund) 1. Budget Request (Westside Greenway) Joseph Molnar, Deputy Director of Community Investment, presented a budget request from the Pokagon General South Bend Fund for the West Side Greenway Project in the amount of $50,000. These funds would serve as a match to a $50,000 grant the South Bend Greenway Conservancy has received from the Community Foundation, bringing the total project funding to $100,000. The South Bend Greenway Conservancy is a nonprofit organization focused on expanding accessible parks and green space in the Near West Side, with the long-term goal of creating and maintaining a walkable linear park and cultural trail through the neighborhood. The Community Foundation grant supports the first phase of the project, the Northern segment near City Cemetery, and this matching request would help advance that phase. The initial phase begins near City Cemetery and extends south, intersecting with the West Washington mid-block pedestrian crossing that the RDC funded at its previous meeting. The requested funds would primarily support improvements to privately owned parcels adjacent to the planned trail, enhancing placemaking efforts and creating small pocket parks as envisioned in the project application. These spaces will also provide educational opportunities related to native plantings and the relationship between infrastructure and the environment. The broader vision of The Greenway is a long-term effort to connect the City Cemetery area Southward through properties owned by the Conservancy and its partners, ultimately terminating near the Kroc Center. While this vision will take years to fully realize, the current request focuses on advancing the Northern section as proof of concept. Examples of completed pocket park projects demonstrate the Conservancy’s ability to transform underutilized spaces into attractive, usable green areas for the neighborhood. This $50,000 investment would allow similar improvements to additional sites and help begin establishing the long-term connection between City Cemetery and the Kroc Center.