SOUTH BEND — It's been nearly two months since the College Football Hall of Fame announced it will move from downtown South Bend to Atlanta. Local leaders are still searching for a new use for the city- owned Hall of Fame building. But, a WSBT investigation found that building is far from the only municipally owned property without a tenant.
More than 6,000 acres in South Bend have been designated as "development areas."
But, what does it take to actually develop them?
WSBT took a closer look to find out.
LEAVING TOWN
With all the fanfare of a heavyweight BCS title game, the clock began ticking in late September on the College Football Hall of Fame's high profile move to Atlanta. South Bend Mayor Steve Luecke (D) said the city of Atlanta put together an "impressive" $50 million package to lure the Hall away, including construction of a new facility. He also said the National Football Foundation did not ask South Bend to match Atlanta’s offer.
The proposed new building in Atlanta will be around 50,000 square feet--similar in size to South Bend's building--but it won’t be ready for occupancy until 2012.
That's left another uncertain countdown underway in South Bend over when the Hall might leave it's current home, and what might replace it once that happens.
"There's certain properties that we do own, and we continue to own. The College Football Hall of Fame is likely one we'll continue to own. I think we'll find some exciting uses for that facility," said Luecke.
But, seven weeks after The NFF announced the move, there is still no final date set for when the Hall's current home will close. Because of that, Mayor Luecke told city leaders he's formed two committees: one to oversee the Hall's move and one to search for future uses of the Hall of Fame building.
But, that building isn't the only city-owned property still in limbo.
No committees are set up to find uses for them, and in some cases, there are no future plans for them either.
So, where are they, and what's being done to put them back to productive use?
CITY PLANS
WSBT's search for the answers began with the current South Bend City Plan, developed in 2005. It lists more than 4,500 acres of land within city boundaries and more than 9,500 acres of land in the city's "service area boundary" as "available for development."
Just like the land the Hall of Fame sits on, the city does own a portion of that land.
Asked how much, South Bend Economic Development Director Don Inks replied: "I'm not exactly sure. It could be a couple hundred acres."
According to WSBT's research, the list of city owned properties includes:
-Land for "public use" properties like the Morris Performing Arts Center, Studebaker National Museum and Northern Indiana Center for History
-Coveleski Stadium, and several properties surrounding it--"land banked" by the city for future development
-Portions of The American Trust Building in downtown South Bend, which includes $800,000 in facade renovations funded by the city's Redevelopment Commission
-The former LaSalle Hotel/Hoffman Hotel complex. The 9-story structure at LaSalle and Michigan Streets has been on the market to developers for more than 5 years
-At least 85 acres in the former Studebaker Complex--much of it now dubbed "Ignition Park." The city hopes to turn the land into a technology park with spin-off companies from the newly opened Innovation Park at Notre Dame
-Vacant parcels of land at Main Street and Jefferson Boulevard and Main Street and Western Avenue. The city believes the land can be turned into retail development
-More than 100 acres of available development space in the Blackthorn Complex near South Bend Regional Airport
Like the situation governing the College Football Hall of Fame, many of those properties are owned by the city, but operated by a third party, like Blackthorn Golf Course.
Still, Inks says that's not the city's preferred approach.
"When we acquire a parcel, we typically have a type of development in mind for that area. We'll issue a "request for proposal" to developers across the area, and in some cases across the country. But, for the most part, we try not to buy property that could be redeveloped by the private sector," Inks said.
So, why have they?
A BASIC GUIDELINE
"We operate under a basic guideline of--if the private sector can do it, let them do it. If it appears that the private sector cannot, then it's something we ought to be addressing," Inks said.
In cases like Studebaker and Blackthorn, it was the only option left, Inks added.
"Those are classic examples of properties that the city needed to buy, demolish, remediate, and make available for new development," Inks said.
"We set the stage to make it as close to shovel ready as possible, so businesses can come in and don't have to do a lot of work. It's easy for them to plant their company and grow their company here," added Luecke.
But, turning that develop-able land around usually doesn't happen overnight.
"Big projects take a long time. Look at Eddy Street Commons. We're so excited about that being open now with new residents and businesses moving in. But, that's been in development for six or seven years. And, that's not an unusual time frame," Luecke said.
It's one reason why Luecke doesn't think the city made a mistake in purchasing things like the former LaSalle Hotel building.
"We worried that if the city didn't step in there, that that really could have deteriorated, or been taken over for a use that wasn't complementary to the other things that are going on downtown," he said.
RENOVATION VS. REVENUE
There is one potential problem with South Bend's approach. Municipalities are generally tax exempt entities, meaning none of the properties they own bring in a dime in property taxes.
"When property is acquired, typically it's put into the city's name. The city is tax exempt. So, we do not typically pay property taxes," Inks said.
But, Inks says, that doesn't necessarily mean the city is losing money.
"Typically, the owner is not paying the property taxes on [the building], so there's no revenue coming in anyway. Development is unlikely because of the status of the property and the problems on the property. So, in many cases, it's not that tax revenue is stopping. They weren't there to begin with," Inks said.
But, taking that chance of revenue loss is one reason why another local municipality redevelops using a different basic guideline.
A DIFFERENT APPROACH
"We believe government should limit its role to the services we provide. So, when we think of what we own, it's really limited to parks and utilities," said Mishawaka City Planner Ken Prince.
That's not to say that Mishawaka doesn't have its share of "land use" public use properties too--things like the Beiger Mansion. But, only about 50 total acres of city-owned land is listed on city GIS maps as "commercially develop-able," and almost all of it is in one place: the former Uniroyal plant in downtown Mishawaka along the St. Joseph River.
There were no bids from the private developers to purchase the land went it went up for sale in 2002, Prince said. That forced the city to step in and take action to purchase the property.
"We don't try to put ourselves in a position to have land that the city owns for development. When we do, we try to--as quickly as possible--put them back on the tax rolls. But, the city had to get involved because the private market wasn't able to take care of [the Uniroyal site] itself," Prince said.
That's also occurred with about 10 acres of land near the newly constructed Main Street underpass, Prince said. But, on the Uniroyal site, the city also reached out to develop the site after purchasing it.
There's one big reason why.
"If the sole intent was to sell the property, you could sell the property. But, you might not end up with what you want down in that location. Virtually all the properties the city owns, with the exception of the Uniroyal site, are intended to remain city owned and operated by the utility or parks system," Prince said.
But, there's a problem.
Recently developed high end office space and luxury condos on the Uniroyal site sit mostly empty, nearly a year after they were built.
Still, Prince says the city isn't worried.
"With the economy taking a downturn, that's now on hold if you will. But, I think when the market turns around, the demand will be there, and we'll see a lot of activity," he said.
Prince estimates the projects could ultimately bring in $300 million in new growth. Because of that, he says the city will see a return on its investment.
SEPARATE PATHS TO THE SAME GOAL
Experts say both types of redevelopment are used in communities across the country. And, in this case, it's a good move to use multiple approaches.
"We're really pretty well served in the community with a diversity of different development places that can meet the different kinds of needs that we see coming in," said St. Joseph County Project Future Executive Director Patrick McMahon. "To use different approaches--that is not unusual at all."
It also doesn't mean any one approach is wrong, McMahon said.
"Companies don't come in because of a specific piece of property. That almost never happens. But, if those functions didn't exist, that property would sit as being abandoned, non-tax productive, and a blight on the community. Because, there's redevelopment issues that need to take place related to assembly of property, demolition, and usually, there's an environmental issue," McMahon said.
"The municipality through a redevelopment function has to address those things and make those disappear. Unless you can put it into that balance with a clean piece of property that's a cornfield, it never even gets considered," McMahon continued.
Both approaches, McMahon added, have the same goal.
"It's not necessarily to own long term, but to create a marketable situation," he said.
That's the same goal South Bend has, Luecke says.
"In most cases, we do not want to own property long term, but to turn it over to the private sector," he said.
The focus now is on pushing through a tough economy to plan for a developing future.
"There may be some opportunities, but right now, we're seeing very few," Inks said. "So, we're concentrating on getting ready for tomorrow."
