Plans to restore Center City Place to former glory

 

UPDATE (8:26 p.m.): The Common Council has approved an eight-year Real Property Tax Abatement for the project.

ORIGINAL: SOUTH BEND, Ind.-- The same people behind the Dainty Maid Food Hall in downtown South Bend are hoping to restore the building next door, Center City Place, to what it used to look like about a century ago and fill it with active business.

"Mostly, we just want to really contribute to the downtown and make it as beautiful and colorful and thriving as it can be," said co-owner Christina Miller. "There are doors that connect through to the Dainty Maid building, so we're just looking to do something synergistic between the two buildings that will support them both."

Many sub-projects are still on the drawing board, but Miller explained the general vision.

"For the first floor, we're lucky, we have three different entrances that we'll keep, so we can house multiple concepts within the building," Miller said. "The second and third floors, we're looking at some sort of potential residential or a small boutique hotel-style up there.

They don't exactly know just yet how much the total investment will cost, Miller said.

"The utilities have to be totally replaced, the roof has to be totally replaced," she said. "There's some significant water damage, and the thing we're most excited about, is restoring the facade, as well."

The current facade is made up of metal plates, she said, that are screwed into the stone underneath.

"The historic facade is beautiful. This building, we believe, was originally built in like the 1890s," she said. "Limestone, and big, beautiful windows."

It used to be the Grand Leader, a department store, until 1963, when it became the Frances Shop, a ladies clothing store.

Located next door to the DTSB offices, Executive Director Willow Wetherall is excited the project is helping bring new life into a largely vacant block downtown.

"The 100 and 200 blocks of South Michigan Street really are considered, like, the core, the heart, of downtown," she said. "But obviously the 200 block needs a lot of love."

According to the petition Miller filed for tax incentives for this project, more than six businesses, some local, are already interested in filling the space once renovated.

"Center City Place is a really iconic building," Wetherall said. "The idea that the whole building is going to be redeveloped is incredibly exciting."

They already have a purchase agreement from the private owner of this building, Miller said, but they are looking for an 8-year real property tax abatement from the City of South Bend.

The Common Council will vote on the abatement Monday night.