Former Salvation Army building in downtown South Bend to become 'entrepreneurship hub'
SOUTH BEND — City officials gave preliminary support this week to a plan to redevelop the former Salvation Army building in downtown South Bend into an entrepreneurship hub with co-working spaces, a commercial kitchen and even a cocktail bar.
The 1954 building at 510 S. Main St. has been more or less vacant since 2015, when the Salvation Army moved. The city bought the site in 2019, and for four years until its sale last summer, the building was used as overnight shelter for homeless guests during winter through South Bend's weather amnesty initiative.
The South Bend Common Council on Monday took the first step to waiving an estimated $830,000 in taxes over eight years in exchange for Momentum Development Group, a firm led by Bradley Company leader and local developer Mark Neal, to invest $6.3 million in the building's redevelopment.
Although the bulk of the space would function as private offices for an entrepreneurship hub, Navarre Hospitality Group intends to use a large portion as a private kitchen for its catering services. Developers envision 2,000 square feet of retail space and a 1,000-foot cocktail bar.
Kris Priemer, one of the partners in the Momentum project, said the hub aims to provide a home for the area's ecosystem of entrepreneurs. He said the center will offer not only office space but educational programming and scholarships for small business owners.
"When you have some place to go to find either other entrepreneurs or find a mentor, it really helps the ecosystem grow," Premier said, "and it also helps people stay in our region."
Under the proposed tax abatement, which the Common Council must pass in a confirming resolution March 25, Momentum would pay about $348,000, or 30%, of a tax bill while the remaining 70% would be waived.
No taxes have been paid on the building because it was previously owned by a nonprofit and then by the city, so officials view the development as a win-win. The city expects to collect at least $150,000 on the taxes annually once the project is finished. The new development is also expected to create 67 full-time jobs.
"The city is excited to be able to find a development partner that can take city-owned property that was bringing in zero, literally zero, dollars in taxes," said Erik Glavich, South Bend's director of growth and development.
"By incentivizing this development," Glavich added, "we're ensuring that it's going to bring in much more money in the future."
Momentum Development Group bought the property for $1,000 in May 2023 from the South Bend Redevelopment Commission. Developers agreed to begin construction by this July, a year after the sale's official closing date, and finish by July 2026. But developers says they plan for work to begin this May and finish within a year.
To continue its weather amnesty program after Momentum's purchase, the city gave the Center for the Homeless $1 million in federal American Rescue Plan money last year to support the addition of about 75 emergency beds.
The hub would be just north of a dilapidated apartment building at 536 S. Main St. where Neal and other local developers plan to build 12 new units, three of which are to be income-restricted. It would be the next-door neighbor of a 60-unit apartment complex to be called The Monreaux. Across Main Street to the west, plans are underway for 150 new apartments as neighboring Four Winds Field continues to attract larger crowds each summer.
Email South Bend Tribune city reporter Jordan Smith at JTsmith@gannett.com. Follow him on X: @jordantsmith09
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend entrepreneurship hub to replace former Salvation Army site
