07-25-13 Redevelopment Commission Minutes

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South Bend Redevelopment Commission Regular Meeting — Thursday, July 25, 2013 6. NEW BUSINESS B. Airport Economic Development Area (1) continued... thousand automobiles and trucks were built there each year. Studebaker abruptly ceased auto manufacturing in the United States and closed the plant in 1963. The plant was mostly underutilized after Studebaker. About Oliver Plow. The site is located generally near Chapin Street south of the Conrail tracks. Oliver developed a best - selling hardened steel plow in the late 1800s. By 1910, the company was manufacturing a wide variety of farm tillage implements in addition to the chilled plow. At the peak of production in the early part of the 20th Century, the company used over 40,000 tons of iron per year. All manufacturing activities at the site ceased in the 1980s. South Bend is meeting the challenge of returning its historic industrial core to a job providing, taxpaying and physically attractive part of the community. In 2000, at the 104 acre former Studebaker automotive manufacturing facility, there were 3.6 million square feet of buildings which were 83% vacant. At the 36 acre former Oliver facility, over 900,000 square feet of buildings were 87% vacant. Many of the buildings were obsolete and in deteriorated condition. Multi -story buildings with low ceiling heights, mismatched floor levels, small bay sizes and large numbers of structural columns were not in demand for manufacturing or warehousing. The costs and uncertainty associated with environmental conditions created by Studebaker, Oliver and other former industries also deterred redevelopment. The accomplishments are many. The Commission has demolished nearly 5 million square feet of buildings in total. At Studebaker, the Commission demolished 2.8 million square feet of buildings, reconstructed and extended streets (with more to come in 2014) and sold two sites for new development: Transpo, a 160,000 square foot $22 million LEED Platinum building; and Data Realty, a 45,000 square foot, $15 million facility. In 2009 the area south of Sample Street was renamed Ignition Park, a state certified technology park designed to attract high -tech and research based businesses. Private development of the 804,000 square foot former Studebaker Building #84 is beginning. At Oliver, the Commission demolished over 900,000 square feet of buildings, created Oliver Industrial Park and constructed Oliver Plow Court and sold three sites for new development: Rose Brick; Underground Pipe & Valve; and ABC Plumbing Supply. These businesses added 97,000 square feet of new development with new investment of $5.2 million. At both Studebaker and Oliver, the Commission has remediated environmental conditions left behind by years of heavy industry, coordinating with and reporting to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) throughout the process. These environmental conditions include asbestos in building construction, PCB - containing 4