SOUTH BEND — City officials this week marked the start of construction on a 60-unit apartment complex for low-income renters that will replace a vacant lot in the heart of downtown South Bend.
Just across Lafayette Boulevard from the South Bend Cubs baseball stadium, work is underway on the Diamond View Apartments, made possible through a blend of city money and low-income housing tax credits. The units must be finished by the end of 2025, in keeping with the rules for tax credits, but developers say awarded by the state last January they expect to begin leasing units by next summer.
The complex will be closely followed by two more neighboring buildings offering a total of 90 market-rate units, all on the grassy 500 block of Lafayette Boulevard between Monroe and South streets. Developed by the same Indianapolis company, RealAmerica Development, those two 45-unit buildings are to be called the Stadium Flats apartments. RealAmerica owner Mike Surak said construction on Stadium Flats may begin this year, but an agreement with the city doesn't require completion until around spring 2027.
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The 150 apartments, set to cost more than $25 million to build, are a major project in the city's recent support for hundreds of housing units across downtown, a market where lower-income renters struggle.
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