The city of South Bend is buying the historic State Theater downtown.
It sits on the local Historic Preservation Commission’s 10 Most Endangered Properties list, and the city says it’s finally time for it to step in.
At its meeting Thursday the city’s Redevelopment Commission will consider a request from the Mayor James Mueller administration to buy the theater for $800,000.
The theater, built in 1917 at 212 and 216 S. Michigan Street, has sat vacant for decades, changing ownership many times. City records say it’s now owned by a Utah-based financing company, which recently acquired it when Mishawaka-based Toscana Capital Group defaulted on its mortgage payments.
In a memo to the commission, Joe Molnar, the city’s assistant director of growth and opportunity, said the administration thinks there’s “the potential for a higher and better use” for the historic building.
The building has suffered major water damage over the years, and it’s unclear how much money, if any, the city wants to invest in trying to save the structure.
That block of Michigan Street is drawing some new attention lately. Across the street from The State, the city’s common council Monday night approved a property tax abatement to a developer who plans to renovate the former City Center Place building. They plan to bring back the building’s original early 1900s facade from when it was The Grand Leader Hotel. That developer, couple Ben and Christina Miller, plan to open a hotel on the top two floors.
