The Art of Urban Living®
This is a brief history of the East Bank neighborhood and how 300 East LaSalle fits within the neighborhood as part of downtown South Bend’s renaissance.
It’s our dream to make life more connected, enjoyable, easier, less isolating, more sustainable and fun. We want beautiful spaces that are walkable, promote interactions with neighbors, inspire a sense of community and foster a feeling of belonging. We believe that by putting our heart and passion into the minute details of design and construction we will create homes, shop spaces, parks, sidewalks, roads, trails and communities to positively influence how we live & interact with each other, thus making the world a better, more livable place.
Working towards this dream, the development team joined together in building 300 East LaSalle as a mixed use building on an old parking lot in downtown South Bend.
The 300 East LaSalle development is the latest in the rich history of South Bend. South Bend, founded on the southern bend of the St. Joseph River, was a portage point on a journey to the Mississippi River, and a center of trade. The elevation change of the river around the bend, created an industrial opportunity in the 1800s. A large dam and two raceways were built to harness the hydrokinetic power of the river. The water powered mills that spun wool, sawed lumber, and eventually generated electricity.
At one time, South Bend had over 150 companies who included “South Bend” in part of their name, including the South Bend Watch Company, South Bend Range, South Bend Lathe, South Bend Toy, etc.
In the early 1900s, the South Bend Electric company built a coal fired power plant along the East Race. It generated electricity for the town, and steam to heat downtown buildings. Electric generation was stopped In the 1950’s with steam generation shut down in the 1970s. The building was redeveloped into a multi-tenant building named, The Commerce Center on the East Race.
In the 1980s, the east raceway was rebuilt as a white water rapids course. Today river rescue trainers, kayakers, white water rafters, fisherman, and rowers are often on the river and in the East Race.
In today’s modern era, it’s easy to forget the St. Jospeh River’s importance to our development. We were founded around it’s south bend. Make your home here!
Matthews acquired the foreclosed Commerce Center in the 2010s as part of a vision to transform the East Bank neighborhood.
In 2016, the Commerce Center was awarded a Regional Cities grant. It took almost two years to navigate through the city and get approval for the project. During that time the design was changed multiple times, with many meetings with city council members, city staff, consultants, and interested citizens. The original 17 floor proposal was shortened to the current design and a patio was included along the East Race.
To support the goal of promoting a greater sense of community, building amenities are located in the immediate vicinity, instead of strictly inside the structure. With our community partners, including Matthews LLC, we offer a limited number of complimentary box seats to the South Bend Symphony, South Bend Cubs, and Broadway Theater for our residents. We sponsor music festivals and concert series (pre COVID), provide support for local arts, the dog park, and many other neighborhood activities. We discount rent for restaurants, and support the Commerce Center restaurant incubator program to help new restaurateurs get their start. Together, we are making our East Bank neighborhood one of the best places in the region. Please, join us on this journey to better living.
What information can we get for you?
Text or call (574) 500-2505 or message us today and we can answer all your questions or set up a tour. We can do virtual and video tours too so it’s very easy to see how you can call 300 E LaSalle home!