SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The City invites the community to join in the planning process of the LaSalle Park Neighborhood. 

The planning process takes place in three parts: a housing panel discussion, a neighborhood visioning workshop and a priorities workshop. 

Major James Muller says the City is committed to moving every neighborhood forward. 

"This planning process invites all voices as we reimagine the future of LaSalle Park together," said Mayor Mueller in a press release. "The resulting plan will provide a strategy for allocating our resources and implementing priority projects and initiatives to improve the LaSalle Park neighborhood.”

The planning process will kick off with a housing panel on Tuesday, October 24, 6:00 p.m., at the Charles Black Community Center. 

Keynote Speaker Marques King and local developers will host a Q&A discussing the opportunities and challenges for building new housing.

In the second stage, the visioning workshop will follow on Thursday, October 26, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., also at the Charles Black Community Center. 

The workshop is an open forum to provide ideas on housing, infrastructure, land use, amenities, and other key topics.

Lastly, the priorities workshop will take place on Thursday, November 16, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., at the Charles Black Community Center, as an open discussion to talk about future priorities. 

For anyone who can't attend, the City has a survey open to community members until November 3. 

Caleb Bauer, Executive Director of Community Investment, is excited to begin the engagement process. 

“Our team encourages residents to take part in this process and set the future vision for public investments in the neighborhood," he said. 

Despite Bauer and the City's sentiments, the LaSalle Park Neighborhood Alliance Association Inc. doesn't feel their concerns are heard, after organizing neighborhood meeting that City leaders haven't attended.

They stated that the "planning process that in no way is in meaningful partnership with stakeholders and residents in the neighborhood."

The Neighborhood Alliance, in league with Councilman Davis, demands "dollars be allocated in the 2024 budget for the neighborhood and that the city conduct meaningful engagement with neighborhood residents," and have "serious concerns" about the plans moving forward.