South Bend's 'Madison Lifestyle District' to replace parking lots with apartments, hotel

The "Madison Lifestyle District" seeks to transform two surface parking lots between LaSalle Avenue and the hospital into about 240 new apartment units, a 100-room hotel and more than 40,000 square feet of commercial space up for rent. Parking needs will be met with 925 new spaces in public garages, replacing the current low-value use of land that isolates Memorial Hospital on downtown's northern edge.

A mix of public and private money will pay for the development. Great Lakes Capital, a real estate firm based in Granger, has agreed to invest at least $102 million in the the 300 and 400 blocks of North Main Street. Memorial Hospital sold the relevant parcels to the developer for $1.

The city of South Bend will spend $24 million of redevelopment bond money approved by the South Bend Common Council to build the public parking garages. The state of Indiana, through its Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative, will contribute $11.78 million to the garages.

The city will set aside 300 parking spaces for Beacon Health System employees and pay $2.5 million to demolish the nearby South Bend Medical Foundation building, on Lafayette Boulevard, to make room for additional parking for hospital staff.