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South Bend Redevelopment Commission agrees to contribute $480,000 for affordable housing development

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South Bend’s Near Northwest Neighborhood could be getting more affordable housing, thanks to a local nonprofit and the city’s redevelopment commission. Cross Community plans to build a six-unit apartment building and two single-family homes on Allen Street.

The apartments would be affordable to households earning less than 80 percent of the area’s median income. The single-family homes would be affordable to households earning up to 100 percent of the area's median income.

Last week, the redevelopment commission agreed to chip in $480,00 in TIF revenues toward the cost of curbs, sidewalks and foundations. In return, Cross Community promises to contribute at least $1.3 million and finish construction by the end of 2028.

For decades, the Near Northwest Neighborhood had seen a significant population loss, but the city's assistant director of growth and opportunity, Joseph Molnar, said it’s starting to fill back up. “It’s exciting to see some of that development now keep moving further west in the neighborhood,” Molnar told the redevelopment commission.

Cross Community President Tina Patton noted that out-of-town developers are looking to add about 150 homes to the area over the next five years. Her organization previously partnered with the city to build five single-family homes.

“We have built those homes, and the families are happily in those homes, and they’ve been maintaining those homes since they’ve been in them,” Patton said.

She said her organization has also trained more than 250 families in financial literacy, positioning them to pursue home ownership. “They have been told ‘no’ so many times, but we’re getting them to a place where bankers are telling them ‘yes’ and they are becoming homeowners,” Patton said.

Michael Gallenberger has been a weekend announcer and newscaster at WVPE since 2021. His radio career has included stints at WKVI-Knox, WYMR-Culver and WVUR-Valparaiso.