Residents give input on plans for new neighborhood development to replace Rabbi Shulman, Monroe Circle housing

SOUTH BEND, Ind. --  A brand-new, vibrant neighborhood will completely transform a neglected block of downtown South Bend.

City stakeholders including the South Bend Housing Authority are looking to build new housing in a block off Western Ave. that holds the closed-down Rabbi Shulman apartment building and the empty field that once held the Monroe Circle housing units.

The project is called the Western Avenue Transformation District.

On Wednesday evening, residents saw early plans for the first phase of the major project, and were able to ask questions directly to developers as well as give their input on design elements.

City leaders say community meetings are held to make sure they're on the right track of building a new neighborhood that fits the community's wants and needs.

"We're into, now, the architectural design phase of this project," says Caleb Bauer, Director of Community Investment for the city of South Bend.

The new neighborhood is a small piece of the broader Downtown 2045 Plan that is currently in it's adoption phase.

"We're really excited about this development and the way it ties into the city's planning for the south end of downtown," says Vice-Chair for the South Bend Housing Authority Steve Luecke.

Phase one of the Western Avenue Transformational District project will be complete with 208 new units, outdoor open space, and room for retail.

It's a development on par with the $48 million renovation project happening next door at Four Winds Field.

"There's a huge amount of momentum in this area of town," explains Bauer.

The bigger picture of the project is to fulfill the need for affordable housing in the city.

The long-term goal is to replace the housing that was once on the block, the Rabbi Shulman apartment building which will soon be demolished, and the Monroe Circle units that were torn down two years ago.

Residents that were displaced by the loss of that housing will have first priority in moving into a low-income unit once they're built.

The development will be mixed-income: 30 percent of units will be public housing, 40 percent will be tax credit units, and the remaining 30 percent will be unrestricted units.

"In most neighborhoods throughout the community, you don't find just one strata of income," Luecke says. "You find a variety of incomes and that's what we want to have here we think it makes for a healthier neighborhood and opportunities for all of the residents."

City leaders say it's a step in the right direction in solving the affordable housing crisis.

"We got to keep our foot on the gas and we want to continue to see new housing units developed in South Bend and we want to make sure we're continuing to make it easy to develop new housing," says Bauer.

As of now there's a definite second phase of the project that will start to get drafted up once phase one is in construction.

There will be a couple more community meetings in the pre-development stage when there's more fine-tuned architectural drawings for residents to see and give more feedback on.