Buttigieg supported a proposed high-rise development in South Bend's East Bank neighborhood that would greatly exceed the existing height ordinances. In the weeks after the Common Council voted against the development in December 2016, Buttigieg and his administration negotiated a new compromise plan with the developer, Matthews LLC, that reduced the height from twelve stories to nine. In January 2017, the Common Council voted to approve a ten-year tax abatement for the $35 million development. In February, the Common Council raised the height limits for the East Bank neighborhood to facilitate the development. The city later committed $5 million in tax increment financing to the project.
