The women-led projects creating downtown South Bend arts district

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind.-- A group of local developers, all women, are looking to revitalize one corner of South Bend, creating the Michigan and Monroe Arts District downtown. But one of those women says it's already the city's arts district.

"So this area already has a really strong arts and creatives presence," said Charity Stowe, founder of Herstoric Development. "There's already a big arts culture here, and so we just leaned into that with our proposal."

Plans for a thriving arts district on the south side of downtown South Bend are now picking up steam.

"I think it's like, overdue. I think the arts have thrived in this area without a home," said Alec Hoogland, Highland Studio owner.

Stowe is part of a proposal recently awarded $3.7 million in READI 2.0 grant funds from the Regional Development Authority.

"Our proposal was a joint proposal with three women," Stowe said, "individual, women-led, initiatives happening right in this corner of the city."

First is the project to revitalize the 500 block of South Michigan, a project from Stowe and Herstoric Development, which includes rehabilitating two historic buildings.

"These are buildings that have sat vacant for decades," Stowe said.

Stowe said they will also maintain community greenspace in the middle lot, completing the development they are going to call Milkweed Commons.

Next, the efforts to rehabilitate and lease out the "Inwoods Building," attached to the Monroe Arts Building right on the corner of Monroe & Michigan, is a project from Penny Hill Properties.

"This space has always carried arts in some capacity," Hoogland said. "And kind of see some kind of liveliness happen again feels really refreshing."

And finally, the 60-unit, mixed-income housing project from former Notre Dame basketball standout Devereaux Peters, The Monreaux to go in the vacant lot across the street.

The grant funds will cover about 12 percent of each project's budget, according to Stowe.

"Such a huge boost for all of us," she said. "I think it's going to help us land the rest of our fundraising much more easily. It really just gives us this vote of confidence in what we're doing here."

All three projects are still fundraising.