The South Bend Common Council approved a tax abatement Monday for a proposed affordable apartment complex downtown. The project is being proposed by Devereaux Peters, a former University of Notre Dame basketball player who went on to play in the WNBA.
Her company, The Monreaux LLC, wants to build a four-story building on a vacant lot at the corner of Michigan and Monroe Streets, just a few blocks east of Four Winds Field.
The first floor would have commercial and retail space and a parking garage, while the top three floors would contain 60 apartments ranging from studios to three bedrooms, with 77 percent of those units being set aside as affordable for lower income residents.
Because of that, the project qualified for an eight-year city property tax abatement.
It was offered as part of The Monreaux LLC’s application for Indiana’s state Rental Housing Tax Credits, which are extremely competitive. Last year, both South Bend projects were waitlisted, although a complex in Warsaw did win a state credit.
So, the local abatement would only come into effect if the project wins one of the state credits this November. If that happens, Peters told the council they plan to start construction in July 2023.
The vacant lot is currently owned by the city — so it collects zero dollars in property taxes — and would be sold to the developer if the project goes ahead.
Contact Jakob at jlazzaro@wvpe.org or follow him on Twitter at @JakobLazzaro.
If you appreciate this kind of journalism on your local NPR station, please support it by donating here.
