If the city of South Bend ultimately buys the historic State Theater, it will look well beyond using city tax dollars to bring it back to life.
City officials say they don’t yet know what it would cost to save The State but the timing is right to take a shot at it. On Thursday the city’s Redevelopment Commission will consider the Mayor James Mueller administration’s request to buy the building at 212 and 216 S. Michigan St. for $800,000.
Caleb Bauer, the city’s community investment director, says the city saw a chance to buy the property recently when a lender foreclosed on its buyer.
"We're not naive about the challenges that the building has," Bauer said. "It would need a lot of work, and really what the city is looking to do here is get this under control, we'll review what needs to be done to stabilize the building. Assuming we feel like that's potentially doable, we'd move towards closing."
Bauer says the city this year would spend some money, he says it’s too soon for estimates, to make sure all windows and doors are sealed and the roof is keeping moisture out. But after that, the city won’t pay to renovate it on its own.
"It's really going to be a community effort. It could take the form of kind of a traditional redevelopment RFP (request for proposals). It could be more like a philanthropic capital campaign. So those are pieces we're still working out.
