A building boom going on in South Bend and Mishawaka

And with developers poised to plow more than $200 million into the local economy over the next 12 months, 2017 is shaping up to be a transformative year for both South Bend and Mishawaka.

Construction is underway or slated to begin this year on more than a dozen high-profile projects that promise to reshape both city centers, transforming old buildings and vacant parcels into hundreds of thousands of square feet of new residential, commercial and office space.

And although much of the proposed development consists of upscale condos and apartments, developers seem confident that the market can handle so much new product.

Here are just a few of the projects to keep an eye on.

The LaSalle

Real America announced plans to redevelop the former LaSalle Hotel in downtown South Bend into a mixed-use apartment building in 2014. Work on the $12 million project is nearly complete. The nine-story building will feature 67 market-rate apartment units plus 8,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.