New Developments in the effort to unload the troubled Chase Tower.
South Bend's tallest building is in desperate need of a new buyer.
And Monday the Common Council put the issue front and center.
The South Bend Common Council unanimously approved a resolution that puts a renewed focus on revitalizing the Chase Tower.
Councilman Henry Davis Jr. drafted the resolution.
It basically re-affirms that revitalizing downtown South Bend and dealing with the Chase Tower are both top priorities.
Davis says he believes a bid was accepted this week for the purchase of the building, but no word on whether that will stick.
He says if not, the city really needs to take a closer look at making sure the building gets sold.
"Well, this building is very important. It's 25 stories in the central location of our downtown. It houses a number of businesses and obviously those businesses pay taxes so we want to keep that kind of traffic in the downtown area to make sure it's viable for years to come," says Davis.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg was at the meeting.
He says he's all for the resolution passed by the Common Council, but wants to make sure there's more meat to it.
"I think I'm looking for more construction direction and steps from Council members on how we can cooperate to make that a reality but I think any of us who cares about the city cares about downtown being in good shape," says Buttigieg.
Buttigieg says he's frustrated with the bank for not having the building sold yet.
He'd like to see the bank make more investments into fixing up the tower to help it sell.
He says he doesn't want the city footing a multi-million dollar repair bill.
Davis says if the latest sale attempt flops, the city should work towards finding a way to take control of the building.
He says there are actually two ways to do that:
Condemning the building, or, Davis believes the Chase Tower is behind on taxes, so there might be a way to put it up for a tax sale.
The city could make a bid and take over that way.
