City wants resident input for improvements to South Bend's near northwest neighborhood

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The City of South Bend, along with consultants, will be holding a series of workshops to talk with community members and business owners to come up with a plan to better the near northwest neighborhood, the city announced on Thursday.

The announcement comes after the idea was discussed at the February 6 kick-off meeting.

The area is known for having a few abandoned homes, multiple vacant lots and crime.

"I would like to see this neighborhood to be brought up better, then what it is. Its a start but we could do a lot better,” said Almeter Miller.

Miller has been living in this area for the past 40 years and she raised all her children here and ran a business.

"It's a building for the young generation, the young kids, something like that to give the kids something to do,” Miller said.

The neighborhood plan looks at the area overall, using the community vision as a basis for a broad framework on where they need to start or where they can go from here.

Miller believes that if the community comes out it could really make changes.

"I think it would be a good plan,” Miller said.

The four-day workshop will give neighbors and community members multiple opportunities to share their thoughts and ideas with city planners and design consultants.

A final presentation will be held April 9.

All sessions will be held at the Near Northwest Neighborhood, Inc. Community Space, located at 1013 Portage Avenue. Parking is available north of the building and in the parking lot across Portage Avenue.

Saturday, March 9

10:00 – 11:30 a.m.: Opening Presentation – setting the stage for the workshop

1:00 – 6:30 p.m.: Open Studio – neighbors stop in and tell the design team their ideas

Sunday, March 10

10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.: Open Studio – neighbors stop in and tell the design team their ideas

12:30 – 1:30 p.m.: Walking Tour – walk through a portion of the neighborhood and discuss the future

5:00 – 6:00 p.m.: Midpoint Open House – informal review of in-progress drawings

Monday, March 11

10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.: Open Studio – neighbors stop in and tell the design team their ideas

12:00 – 1:00 p.m.: Brown Bag Lunch Talk – economics of neighborhood development (bring lunch from home)

Tuesday, March 12

5:00 – 5:40 p.m.: Wrap-Up Presentation – come see the results of the workshop