After 50 years, LaSalle Park Homes are getting some major renovations, expected to be finished late 2027
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The LaSalle Park Homes were first built in the 1960’s, in the wake of the Civil Rights movement. This was once a neighborhood plagued by toxic dumping, but now it’s getting a makeover.
The mission of the LaSalle Park Home Rehabilitation Project is to make these homes more sustainable for future and current residents. Lynn Coleman is the President of LaSalle Park Homes INC. He grew up on Kenmore Street, just a street over from the LaSalle Park Homes.
“This is home, this is where it started for me,” Coleman said. “These apartments were not here; that was not a park, that was a city dump, a city landfill, and so when I grew up here, none of these apartments were here.”
Coleman has watched the neighborhood develop into what it is today, but instead of watching, he’s helping it become a better place to live for future generations.
“To vision what it could be like and will be like four or five years from now is just absolutely incredible, and I am grateful to have the opportunity now to be a part of it,” Coleman said.
Wednesday marks the start of the major renovations at the homes, including new roofs and siding. Inside, there will be new appliances, floors, and plumbing. There will even be new amenities such as dog parks and bicycle racks for the residents.
The project will cost more than $40 million and was made possible through a private-public partnership, but also through the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program. The project is set to be completed by October 2027.