South Bend to put contested land up for auction

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The city of South Bend plans to hold a public auction to sell a piece of city-owned land it wanted to sell to a Roman Catholic high school.

WSBT-TV reports city officials decided on a public auction after U.S. District Judge Robert Miller again blocked the sale of land to St. Joseph’s High School. He twice ruled the bidding process included a stipulation that would lead a reasonable, well-informed observer to view the transaction as favoring a religious organization.

The city bought the land for $1.2 million and planned to transfer it to St. Joseph’s High School so it could build a football stadium next to a new $35 million school. Four city taxpayers challenged the plan.

City officials say the minimum bid would be $545,000 at public auction.