Move of Knute Rockne house fumbled

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Former Notre Dame Football Coach, Knute Rockne, is not just a South Bend legend, but also a South Bend local for much of his life. Now, one of his former homes, right next to the bustling Eddy Street, is being relocated as that development expands.

But it seems plans were set in motion without the proper paperwork for the City of South Bend. In order to move the home, trimmers cut down tree branches along St. Vincent Street, just to be stopped by city workers.

“I don’t know why; it was a very visceral reaction to seeing trees just taken down for no reason,” said Erin Ryal, who has lived on the road for about two decades.

Ryal was on a Zoom call, when she looked out her window and saw branches from the trees in her yard cut down and littered on the grass.

“I was stunned and horrified at the same time,” she said, “and came out and made those feelings known to the people doing it.”

But it was too late for this stretch of the Harter Heights neighborhood.

The trees were trimmed to make space to carry a 29-foot-wide house on at 1006 St. Vincent Street.

That home was formerly owned by legendary Notre Dame Football Coach, Knute Rockne.

Neighbors tell ABC57 the Harter Heights neighborhood is known for its greenery and the expansive canopies covering the streets. Now, the canopy in this one part is gone.

“We shut them down as soon as we got here and now, we’re dealing with the aftermath,” said Brent Thompson, urban forrester for the City of South Bend.

The tree trimming, stopped by Thompson, who confirms they had no permit to touch any of those trees.

Now, to remedy the situation, the groups responsible, including the team at Irish Realty, must approach each affected resident and find a compromise.

The home relocation and eventual resell was intended to raise money for the Covenant Christian School in Mishawaka.

“Obviously, we were so sorry to hear kind of about the tree trimming debacle we weren’t really a part of that…again, we’re just incredibly fortunate to have been chosen as the beneficiary of this project,” said Claire Freddoso, Director of Mission Advancement at Covenant Christian. “Covenant Christian School is a parent-owned independent school, so we’re not funded by a particular church, we’re not funded by the government, so donations and gifts like these make a tremendous difference in our ability to love and serve our students.”

The nonprofit behind the home relocation is Habitat for Missions, a 501(c)3 which renovates and resells distressed homes, and then donates 90% of the property to charity, in this case, the Covenant Christian School.

Rockne’s house at 1006 St. Vincent was donated to Habitat for Missions, who purchased a lot at 1105 Foster to move the house to.

The team at Irish Realty, who coordinated the whole thing, was unavailable for an interview Tuesday, but they’ve apologized for the lack of notice and communication in a statement to ABC57.

The company hired to trim the trees did not reply to the request for comment.