120 apartments to be built at Four Winds Field

Consider it an outside the park home run.

The owner of the South Bend Cubs has plans to build 120 apartments just outside the fence at Four Winds Field.

“You’re looking at two buildings that kind of begin in centerfield and them move toward the stadium and then you’re going to have more of those buildings extending to the right and kind of left field areas that will be able to look in, of course, the analogy is kind of a Wrigley Ville type feel to it,” said South Bend’s Acting Direct of the Community Investment Department, Brian Pawlowski.

Some of the buildings will even feature signature rooftop seating. “And those spaces you know in right and left field are envisioned as not just private space. There will be availability for public space as well, to kind of have events on that rooftop area to look in and things like that,” Pawlowski said.

Plans call for four buildings in all. Each will be three or four stories tall. The project would also provide 10,000 square feet of ground floor commercial/ retail space.

The path to the centerfield entrance of the park that fans now use to visit will be lined with dozens of opportunities to live there. “Again, that center field walkway is a really critical path to the stadium for our downtown, and that’ll be open, and if you envision kind of walking down there you know you’ll see shops on your left and your right and then the buildings going up. Similar to that Eddy Street feel,” Pawlowski said.

The $21 million development will be called “Berlin Place” after South Bend Cubs owner Andrew Berlin. In a proposed development agreement with the city, Berlin has agreed to invest $18 million on the project with the city kicking in $3.4 million.
The project is a sign that the St. Joseph River—where most recent housing projects are located—isn’t the only community asset in town.

“You know people come. The attendance records that they've been shattering for quite some time now I think are indicative of that, and it's a great experience,” said Pawlowski.

At a meeting Thursday morning the South Bend Redevelopment Commission will consider development and land purchase agreements for the project.

The idea has been in the works for about a year. Cubs owner Andrew Berlin first took out an option to purchase some city owned lots in July of 2015.