Committee forwards confirmations for three tax-abatement packages including HRP headquarters and Inwoods rehabilitation

A City committee voted to send three confirming tax‑abatement resolutions to the City Council with favorable recommendations, advancing incentives tied to a new HRP Construction headquarters and to a downtown rehabilitation project.

The resolutions confirm previously adopted designating resolutions and would finalize abatement terms that were presented two weeks earlier, staff told the committee. The HRP related abatement would apply to a parcel recently annexed into the city, and the Inwoods proposals would support rehabilitation of a long‑vacant, mixed‑use building.

The confirmations matter because state law requires separate designating and confirming resolutions for tax abatements, staff said. The measures will return to the full council for final action.

Staff described the HRP project as a seven‑year real‑property tax abatement for an entity called Blueprint LLC related to HRP Construction. HRP is planning a new regional headquarters on land recently annexed to the city. Staff estimated the developer’s total project investment at about $7,300,000, said the expansion would create six new full‑time jobs (with payroll around $500,000) and retain 48 current employees, and presented tax estimates showing a jump from a largely undeveloped parcel with roughly $6,000 annually in taxes to about $130,000 a year after the project is complete.

Staff also estimated that, over the seven‑year abatement period, the company would be abated about $500,000 in property taxes while paying about $400,000 in taxes during that same period. Presenters paused for the developer to answer technical questions; HRP representative Matt Cain identified himself and gave a local address for the record.

The committee heard two confirming resolutions tied to the rehabilitation of the Inwoods Building, a roughly 1920s storefront that operated for decades as a grocery and had been vacant for about 25 years. Penny Hill Properties purchased the property and has begun cleanup and stabilization work, staff said.

Staff estimated the Inwoods investment at about $1,440,000, said the project aims to reactivate storefronts and provide space for small businesses and artists, and gave a conservative employment estimate of at least eight new jobs. Current property tax receipts for the building were described as about $6,700 annually and estimated to rise to roughly $35,000 after rehabilitation. The committee was presented with two abatement structures: a vacant‑building abatement to reduce existing taxes during rehabilitation and a mixed‑use real property abatement that would apply to incremental assessed value after the project completes; a 10‑year abatement term was described in the declaratory resolution.

Committee members offered supportive remarks about the projects as local investment. No public speakers registered for any of the three bills during the committee hearing.

Votes at a glance

Bill 25‑17 — Confirming resolution (HRP/Blueprint LLC), seven‑year real property abatement Motion: Move that Bill 25‑17 be sent to full council with a favorable recommendation. (mover/second not specified in the record) Vote: Unanimous roll call; committee recorded all ayes (Committee member Gooden Rogers, Committee member Bolden Simpson, Committee Vice Chair White, Citizen Member Thomas Gray, Citizen Member Kane Kancheski, Committee Chair Warner). Outcome: Sent to full council with favorable recommendation.

Bill 25‑18 — Confirming resolution (Inwoods Building), vacant‑building tax abatement Motion: Move that Bill 25‑18 be sent to full council with a favorable recommendation. (mover/second not specified) Vote: Unanimous roll call; all ayes recorded. Outcome: Sent to full council with favorable recommendation.

Bill 25‑19 — Confirming resolution (Inwoods Building), mixed‑use incremental value abatement Motion: Move that Bill 25‑19 be sent to full council with a favorable recommendation. (mover/second not specified) Vote: Unanimous roll call; all ayes recorded. Outcome: Sent to full council with favorable recommendation.

What officials said

"They will be consolidating operations around the region, into South Bend. So, it's an exciting project that we're happy that they've chosen South Bend to continue their operations," staff said while describing the HRP submittal, and council members thanked the developer for keeping jobs in the city and for engaging with local schools.

Why it matters

If adopted by the full council, the confirming resolutions would finalize abatement terms that reduce near‑term property tax receipts in exchange for private investment and projected new jobs. Staff presented estimates of post‑project assessed value and ongoing annual tax receipts for both projects to show projected fiscal changes.

The committee advanced the measures without public opposition and will reconvene for final council consideration later in the evening.