Amenities, opportunities entice people to the Maple City, Goshen residents says

Goshen is a small city that offers extensive interconnecting bicycle/pedestrian trails, parks, unique shops along with bigger national chain stores, a thriving arts scene that draws national musicians and filmmakers, festivals, neighborhood associations and a growing diversity of cultures.

Local employers, real estate agents and Chamber officials say it’s those amenities that can help entice people to move to Goshen.

“We rely on the fact that this is considered a small, non-metro area,” said Norm Bakhit, senior director of human resources at Goshen College.

Like larger cities, Goshen offers diversity and lots of things to do, he said, all while not being a large city. For those who seek the big city feel, Chicago, Detroit and Indianapolis are within a few hours' drive. South Bend is a short distance away for more entertainment and sports, including Notre Dame and the South Bend Cubs, he pointed out.

“People do the research,” Bakhit said. “People say this is the kind of community they are looking for.”

The city’s growing ethnic diversity, good private and public schools, lower cost of living and a growing arts community are all attractive to potential Goshen College employees considering a move to Goshen, he said.

Goshen is also family oriented, but has activities for young adults, including downtown breweries. “That’s been helpful,” Bakhit said. So has First Fridays and popular downtown meeting spots, such as The Electric Brew, which have made the downtown a hub."

And to get downtown, the commute is short and easy — except during road construction periods, he added.

“You get the small-town feel, but have access to a broader commercial base,” Bakhit said.

Quality of life

Whether or not it’s Goshen’s downtown, local parks and recreation, or job opportunities that attract new residents and keep families planted here, Goshen is a vibrant community with a high quality of life, said David Daugherty, president of the Goshen Chamber of Commerce.

“It’s a cool place,” he said. “There is something about it that is special.”

Goshen Hospital, one of the city’s largest employers, primarily attracts local talent, some who may be moving back to the area to be closer to family, said hospital spokeswoman Melanie Verburg.

“We feel that although Goshen is not a large city, we do get a solid amount of applicants who have heard great things about the health system,” Verburg said. “We think that being between South Bend and Fort Wayne as well as being closer to Chicago helps.”

Daugherty said Goshen has developed a good reputation and continues to be a growing community. He used the hospital system, and the growth in the industrial sector on the south side of the city as examples.

“A lot of different things are happening across the community,” Daugherty said.

The Glo Hotel, an upscale lodging option for travelers, and other high-end housing planned for the Goshen community, are signs the city is trying to accommodate all income groups, according to Daugherty.

While there is some crime in the community, Daugherty believes it is a negligible amount, only further contributing to Goshen’s positive quality of life.

“I don’t see that as a deterrent to the Goshen community,” Daugherty said about crime. “You have to feel safe in the community and Goshen gives you that. It’s vibrant, alive and doing things.”

A place to call home

Cressy & Everett brokers Kent Kauffman and Pam French spend their days helping people find housing — a sometimes difficult task in the current tight housing market.

“I have had some younger couples saying they wanted to be in Goshen — even downtown Goshen,” French said, “because they felt like Goshen was improving with the coffee shops and the breweries and the art and the greenspaces and the walkability and the bike paths and all of that.”

Kauffman added, “I think part of it too, is the conveniences of a town, with a tight-knit community, small town feel. You don’t get that in Elkhart or for that matter anywhere else in the county.”

But like much of the county, just being able to find a place to purchase in Goshen is difficult, the brokers said. French added that on the rental side, “We don’t have a lot of ‘adequate’ rentals.” So the new high-end apartments and the artists apartments are going to be a draw, French said.

She also pointed out, “We don’t have a lot of new builds.” A few have popped up, but it could be that the economy has not rebounded enough for that yet, she said.

But the developers who are building, Kauffman added, are including greenspaces and sidewalks as amenities.

This creates a neighborhood feel, they said, which is another must-have for some homeowners. Along with neighborhood associations, which Goshen has encouraged for several years, neighbors are using social media to communicate, French said. She sees that sort of involvement among neighbors as a quality of life draw.

“I think that kind of brings those little areas together as a community,” French said.