The City of South Bend is poised to break a long dry spell with the downtown’s first multi-story office building project in two decades.

River Park Leasing Corp. wants to spend $9 million to put up a six story building at Main Street and Jefferson. The ground floor would be used as retail space but five floors of office space would lie above. The company is seeking six year tax abatement worth nearly $1.3 million.

For decades, city leaders have viewed the site in question as a key downtown parcel because it lies a half block from city hall and in close proximity to the federal and county courthouses.

The last building to stand on that corner was a Hardee’s Restaurant, but when Hardee’s was torn down in 2000, dormancy followed the demolition…until now.

“A new office building in downtown South Bend, it’s unbelievable,” said downtown business owner Mark Tarner (South Bend Chocolate Company). “I have a little office space, but downtown is probably 90 percent occupied you know, and this office, another 38,000 square feet, it’s unbelievable.”

Paperwork shows that the developer is a South Bend native who is “pursuing this venture after witnessing a revitalization of downtown South Bend” over the past ten years.

Peg Dalton’s business—Peggs—has been downtown for 17 years: “I know that people are looking for offices. People are wanting to be in downtown. It’s very convenient for people with all the apartments and new housing down here; I would imagine many people in the offices will live downtown.”

It appears that the last multi-story downtown office buildings to go up in South Bend were both completed in 1986: One Michiana Square and Teacher’s Credit Union.

“Just continued activity in downtown South Bend and continued interest in folks wanting to invest in downtown South Bend. It’s a really good thing and a really exciting thing for our community,” said Councilman At Large Gavin Ferlic.

The Indiana Secretary of State’s office lists the corporate officers of River Park Leasing as a couple of Elkhart area businessmen.

The tax abatement request will make its initial appearance before the South Bend Common Council at Monday’s scheduled meeting.