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The City of Mishawaka, the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture, and Habitat for Humanity fine-tuned a potential project Thursday that would help make housing more affordable in St. Joseph County. This project would help save families about $7,000 a year on housing costs if it moves forward. Experts from around the world have been here all week to offer their input and feedback.

This potentially $3.5 million development would be built on city land. The 21 acre plot is just off Dragoon Trail, west of Marian High School. The two groups say they want to develop a mix of affordable and market-rate housing. 60% of the homes built would be designated for Habitat families, and the other 40% would be priced at market rate. The team also wants to create different styles of homes to meet the needs of different demographics; including starter homes, a house to fit a family and even empty nesters.

A design charrette and report sponsored by the City of South Bend focuses on the cloverleafs and the surrounding Farmers Market District. The work, organized by a Notre Dame team in 2021, met its immediate goal—the city recently garnered a $2.4 million federal grant for planning and engineering study of removal of the four cloverleafs and other access ramps, a substantial and fast return on planning investment.