South Bend council members on Monday gave the green light for the city tobuy Kelly’s Pub.
City staff told WVPE last week they wanted to buy the bar on Mishawaka Avenue to make the area safer following a fatal mass shooting in 2019 and two shootings since December.
On top of that, the city is planning on improving Mishawaka Avenue in 2025 and owning the property will alleviate potential headaches around construction.
As a stipulation of the purchase, Kelly’s Pub will close down on March 26 and the city will take possession in early April. The city plans to tear down the bar building and eventually resell the property after construction is finished. The city is spending $275,000 to buy the bar, which staff say is the average of two independent appraisals of the property.
A handful of nearby residents spoke in favor of the city demolishing the pub, including local attorney Chet Zawalich.
“My fellow neighbors and I were desperate, we were in dire straits. We were in fear of bullets coming through our front doors,” he said.
According to the South Bend Police Department, officers responded to Kelly’s 66 times from the start of 2023 through January 11 of this year, most of which were for loud music complaints.
The council approved the purchase with only Oliver Davis voting against it. Davis said "regretfully" voted no because he wanted to establish clearer criteria for when the city looks to purchase nuisance properties across the city.
"One guy called me up and said 'If they do that in their district, why can't we do that here?'" Davis said echoing the concerns of a constituent.
City staff pointed out that the city would like to address a variety of problem areas, but buying a property requires an owner willing to sell and for a price that's reasonable. State law restricts the city from bidding more than the average of two independent appraisals for any property.
