04-24-2011 Demolition to become visible on Studebaker buildings

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Mayor Stephen J. Luecke. "In the entire Studebaker Corridor, we will have torn down nearly 4 million square feet of dinosaur structures,returning 140 acres to productive use." Both projects are expected to be completed by February 2012, according to Ann Kolata, senior redevelopment specialist for the City's Department of Community and Economic Development. In both projects, more than 75 percent of the demolished materials is expected to be recycled. Shortly after becoming mayor, Luecke convened a public-private task force, which in 1999 announced a strategy for redeveloping the former Studebaker Corridor by clearing derelict buildings from the site. When the University of Notre Dame was designated in 2008 by the nation's leading computer-chip makers as home to a national research center, the Midwest Institute for Nanoelectronics Discovery, Luecke pledged that the City of South Bend would invest $50 million in support of commercialization efforts. The action coincided with the development of South Bend's two-site state-certified technology park, which consists of Innovation Park at Notre Dame and Ignition Park in the former Studebaker Corridor. South Bend's brownfield remediation and redevelopment efforts were featured in a video shown at the national Brownfields 2011 conference April 3-5 in Philadelphia. The conference was co-sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the International City/County Management Association. The City of South Bend promoted development opportunities in Ignition Park to the more than 6,000 participants, including developers, gathered at the conference. "With access to a robust electric power grid and the redundant, reliable Metronet, Ignition Park offers outstanding resources for advanced manufacturing, prototyping, product-development and other high-tech companies," Luecke said. "Ignition Park is a great place for new businesses to invest in our community." Dore &Associates Contracting Inc., of Bay City, Mich., was awarded the $5.8-million demolition contract in September 2010 by the City's Board of Public Works. The contract awarded to Dore & Associates was the first by the Board of Works to include a special clause requiring that local resident workers represent a minimum of 20 percent of all workers on the project. Ignition Park, together with the 12-acre Innovation Park next to the University of Notre Dame campus, constitutes South Bend's dual-site, state-certified technology park. Originally designated with 83 acres, Ignition Park is being expanded by City planners to incorporate as many as 140 acres of developable land near downtown South Bend. Located on the former grounds of legendary automaker Studebaker Corp., Ignition Park seeks to attract a variety of innovative companies, especially high-tech and research- based businesses. Some ventures under development at Innovation Park at Notre Dame are expected to put down roots and grow at Ignition Park. Ignition Park is generally bounded by Sample Street on the north, Lafayette Boulevard on the east, Indiana Avenue on the south and Chapin Street/Prairie Avenue on the west.