City of South Bend still seeking developer before demolition of Lafayette building

SOUTH BEND, Ind.- Lafayette Building Demolition Bids Approved, but South Bend Still Seeking Developer

The Board of Public Works voted Tuesday to advertise bids to demolish the historic Lafayette Building, but city officials say they are waiting on proposals to save the structure before taking action.

Architecture experts from the University of Notre Dame told ABC57 how devastating it would be for the city to lose the building.

Following mass clearance in the 1960s and '70s, downtown South Bend has only a few dozen early 20th-century buildings remaining. However, the city remains open to developers willing to take on the project.

"I think it is absolutely extraordinary that the city would tear a building like this down, particularly across from City Hall, and be surrounded entirely by parking lots," said Stefanos Polyzoides, dean of the Notre Dame School of Architecture. "I mean, that's 1960s thinking. Truly, it's 1960s thinking. I think that the future of the downtown is one in which no more demolitions of any kind should take place."

Polyzoides said deciding to demolish the 120-year-old structure — following a massive fire in June — rather than stabilizing it for a developer settles for short-term convenience at the expense of city heritage.

"It's reaching the point where if we demolish a few more buildings, this downtown is going to be without a past, without a history," Polyzoides said. "It's going to be devoid of a history, and that is really a very serious subject, because somebody can take this downtown and put it 40 miles away."

Stephen Hartley, associate professor of architecture, emphasized that the Lafayette Building was an architectural anchor built during South Bend's industrial boom.

"That building represents the heyday of economic growth in the South Bend area," Hartley said. "When we lose that connection to our past, we've lost what makes South Bend a city. Why is South Bend even a city?"

Where the city stands:

"Just want to clarify: This was just one of the steps in that demolition process. It's not a done deal yet, but we want to make sure that if we do have to make the decision to demolish the building, we can move forward at that time," said Joseph Molnar, deputy director for the Department of Community Investment. "We don't then have to wait two more months as we go through this process."

Molnar said he hopes there is still a future for the historic building.

"We're also still hoping that there's a way to save the building," Molnar said.

While the city could salvage certain aspects of the building, Polyzoides told ABC57 that simply saving fragments means nothing when trying to preserve a building's true history.