12-03-2010 City, owners plan renovation for downtown landmark

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Office of the Mayor NEWS RELEASE December 3, 2010 10 a.m. City, owners plan renovation for downtown landmark Contact: Mikki Dobski, Director of Communications & Special Projects, 235-5855 or 876-1564; Don Inks, Director of Economic Development, 235-9371; Melissa Collins, Senior Vice President for Marketing, 1st Source Bank, 235-2495; The 1st Source Center, a nine-story, glass-and-steel landmark built 30 years ago in the heart of downtown, will undergo a $14.2-million renovation, according to a public-private agreement announced today by the City of South Bend. Two buildings, connected by an atrium, are home to a Marriott Hotel and the 1st Source Bank corporate headquarters as well as offices for Barnes & Thornburg LLP (an attorney group) and Merrill Lynch among others. The agreement includes a multi-year commitment from the principal occupants – 1st Source Bank (the principal tenant) and Host Hotels & Resorts (owners of the Downtown Marriott) – to remain downtown, the latter in the form of an “upscale or upper-upscale hotel.” The agreement, which follows months of negotiation, is subject to approval by South Bend’s Redevelopment Commission and the Common Council. The Commission will hear the proposal in its Dec. 3 meeting with the matter on the agenda for the Council’s Dec. 13 meeting. “These major re-investments will freshen and update a landmark in our city skyline to prepare it for another generation of service as we retain key businesses in the heart of downtown,” said Mayor Stephen J. Luecke. “I welcome this new investment in our downtown, the jobs it will create during the renovation period and the jobs it will keep in South Bend for the long term.” According to the agreement, the City would purchase the facility’s parking garage for $6.5 million, with the owners of the buildings remaining responsible for all operating, maintenance and capital costs.