RECONNECT | RESTORE | REGENERATE
In August 2023, the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture, in partnership with the City of Elkhart and the Greater Elkhart Chamber of Commerce, conducted its sixth Dean’s Charrette.
A charrette is an intensive planning session where architects, citizens, and community stakeholders collaborate to develop a vision for a project. The Elkhart charrette focused on strategies for affordable housing and future economic development for the South Main, Tolson and Benham West neighborhoods.
Dean’s Charrette #6 | Elkhart, IN
Restoration, Regeneration & Reconnection
of the Benham Neighborhood
PREPARED BY
The University of Notre Dame
School of Architecture
Housing & Community Regeneration Initiative
Key Findings
FINDING 1: THE COMMUNITY IS CURRENTLY FRAGMENTED
The Benham neighborhood is currently fragmented in four disparate areas: the Village (the former Benham West that was destroyed during Urban Renewal); the Housing Authority (disconnected and feels ‘other’) and Tolson Center area; commercial and mixed-use strips (primarily along S. Main Street); and the Benham East (the remaining neighborhood housing). While these areas are close in proximity to each other, large areas of vacant land and inhospitable streets discourage walkability and isolate residents.
FINDING 2: A STRONG CENTER IS NEEDED
A strong center is needed to unify the isolated fragments of the Benham neighborhood. The natural place to focus this center is along Benham Avenue. A redesign of the street is already underway by the City of Elkhart. The new street will include a multimodal trail to provide safer pedestrian access to downtown. To activate the center, new buildings are needed along Benham Avenue to frame the new street and form an outdoor room.
FINDING 3: THE COMMUNITY IS DISCONNECTED
The Benham neighborhood is currently disconnected both internally and externally. Internally, while it is possible to walk from one side of the neighborhood to the other in less than 20 minutes, the experience of doing so doesn’t currently feel safe. Externally, Benham is disconnected from the rest of the city primarily by the railroad tracks. Cars speed through the neighborhood with little incentive to drive slowly, which makes it unsafe for pedestrians. Safe street designs are needed to reconnect the community both internally and externally.
FINDING 4: DILAPITATED PROPERTIES NEED INVESTMENT
Decades of disinvestment have left the homes that remain in Benham in disrepair. Dilapidated rental properties, often owned in large portfolios by absentee landlords, create unsafe streets and housing conditions that are unhealthy for residents. Repairing blighted conditions is essential to regenerate Benham, but it must be paired with a housing strategy that offers safe and secure homes for those who require housing at a lower price point, as well as support for fixed income homeowners.
FINDING 5: EXISTING ZONING INHIBITS GROWTH
New growth in Benham is inhibited by the current zoning code and map. The neighborhood is currently comprised of ten different zones, none of which offer the right tools for future growth because they are based on outdated methods of regulating new development. Under the City’s leadership, plans are underway to write a new more form-based zoning code designed to facilitate the construction of neighborhood friendly homes.
FINDING 6: AN ENGAGED COMMUNITY WILL BRING SUCCESS
The Benham neighborhood is fortunate to have a strong community identity. Engaged residents have become active stakeholders in helping to shape their own future. These residents are supported by the surviving elders who were displaced during the destruction of Benham West, strong leadership from Mayor Roberson and the city staff, as well as the vision of the Greater Elkhart Chamber of Commerce. Together these individuals are the vision keepers for Benham.
Next Steps
Planning and Programming
1. Final Benham Neighborhood Master Plan
Notre Dame School of Architecture has completed a final report from the Charrette. It will be presented for final review to the City of Elkhart Plan Commission and Common Council before it is released as a completed and supported document.
2. Asset Mapping and Gap Analysis
The City has completed asset mapping and a gap analysis of service providers, for a broader look at support programs, in the Greater South-Central area including the Benham neighborhood.
3. Development of Toolkit
A toolkit to promote development through funding and programming is being put together. The review of current and pending state and federal programs is underway. This includes evaluation and development of programs that support housing rehabilitation.
Infrastructure Upgrades
1. Public Works
Public Works is evaluating their current projects and completion timelines in an effort to accommodate new development plans throughout the city and how they interact with statutory project requirements such as lead pipe replacement and water/sewer separation.
2. Stormwater Mitigation
Significant storm water mitigation at the Benham Underpass and Third Street realignment is anticipated to start construction in Summer 2024.
3. Unified Development Ordinance
Evaluation of current zoning throughout the city is taking place. A Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) is being created. The purpose of a UDO is to guide zoning decisions, including development standards, zoning districts, uses, and technical processes for development. New zoning ordinances are intended to ease the development process by clarifying zoning standards for both residents and developers within the City of Elkhart.
4. Environmental Remediation
Collaborating organizations are working to develop strategies, identify funding sources, and review site testing to create land remediation plans so that contaminated land that is currently undevelopable can be cleaned and re-activated for future development.
Acquisition and Development
1. 1000 Block of South Main Street
The demolition of the 1000 block of South Main has been completed. The City of Elkhart Redevelopment Commission has granted staff permission to begin negotiations with a developer to redevelop this area into a mixed-use space providing both residential and commercial opportunities within the same development.
2. Elkhart Housing Authority
The Elkhart Housing Authority has received architectural designs and is currently in conversations with Indiana Housing and Urban Development about next steps. The Elkhart Housing Authority Board has given approval to move forward in discussions with HUD.
3. Strategic Property Acquisition
To increase diverse housing opportunities in the Benham East area, the City is continuing to analyze strategic property acquisition for future development.
4. Benham West
Planning for the intentional restoration of the Benham West Neighborhood, historically called The Village, is an ongoing effort to return the community vibrancy to this part of the City. Meetings with key property owners in this area are continuing to ensure intentional planning for future development.
Continued Conversations
1. Meetings with Selected Property Owners
Meetings with stakeholders who own significant parcels and/or acres of land in the designated area are ongoing.
2. Community and Neighborhood Engagement
Efforts to continue to gain and provide opportunities for feedback from neighbors and stakeholders, a survey is being developed. This survey will serve the purpose of ensuring that community voices are continued to be heard and help inform development in the Benham Neighborhood.
Timeline of Initiative
THRIVE Community Engagement Series at the Tolson Center
The community engagement process included three events—an informational Launch Event on October 28th, 2021, a Complete Neighborhood Visioning Event on November 20th, 2021, and a Community Summit on January 22nd, 2022. All data and insights from each event were captured in a report for implementation.
Community Listening Session at Roosevelt Elementary School
Public Stakeholder Workshops at Hotel Elkhart
Following the daily workshops, the public was presented with the daily progress and given the opportunity to critique and provide suggestions for improving the final plan.
Final Proposal Presented to the Public at the Hotel Elkhart
Drawing from voices of the community, we will use the design process to formulate a vision and strategy to create a vibrant, thriving, walkable, public realm, as well as provide a catalyst for building critically needed housing in Elkhart. Our goal for this process is to generate a built environment that activates opportunities for members of the community to become local stakeholders by creating paths to affordable home ownership and entrepreneurship.
The Housing and Community Regeneration Initiative
The University of Notre Dame School of Architecture’s Housing and Community Regeneration Initiative provides assistance to municipalities and nonprofit organizations to improve communities through economic development by reimagining the built environment.
The work of the initiative targets immediate local impact as well as national and global influence through three interrelated activities: actionable projects, research and education. Faculty, students and collaborating professional teams carry out these activities under the leadership of the school’s dean, Stefanos Polyzoides, and Cusato.