09-26-08 With Innovation Park Under Way, South Bend Area Continues to Break New Ground

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Plans are being developed for future expansion at this location. The property at the Edison Road location will cost an estimated $10 million to $15 million in the construction of its first facility There is space available for up to three additional buildings, with another 146,000 square feet of space, to be developed as demand dictates. Total cost of the construction is estimated at $10 million to $60 million, with a minimum of $500,000 in new equipment. An additional 83 acres in the former Studebaker Corridor on South Bend’s near west side represents the city’s portion of the dual-location site, providing space for firms that outgrow or relocate from Innovation Park. The Studebaker Corridor site was built in 1917 as the machine shop and engine plant of the Studebaker Corp., one of South Bend’s early manufacturing giants that made the area famous for innovation. The site has been vacant since 2003, and demolition of the derelict buildings began earlier this year to make way for new facilities. “We have known for some time that we wanted to find a new use for the site of the old Studebaker facility,” Mayor Luecke said. “Innovation Park provides us with a specific market for the property’s redevelopment.” The new research facility has generated enthusiastic support from beyond the South Bend area, including Congressman Joe Donnelly, who recently secured funding though the Congressional appropriations process to help purchase laboratory equipment. The Office of Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, who announced in a separate release sent today that the park is now a state-certified technology park, which paves the way for the region to leverage state funds in support of the facility. “Notre Dame and north central Indiana have a rich history in innovation and technology,” Daniels said in the release. By investing in the park, we are providing the foundation for those technologies to be transformed into job- creating businesses for Hoosiers across the region. Senator Evan Bayh, D-Ind., sent words of support from his office in Washington. “Innovation Park will bring new jobs to the South Bend area and stimulate economic growth in our state,” Bayh said. “Innovation drives the economy of tomorrow, and this project will help Hoosier businesses compete in the global marketplace. I look forward to working with the City of South Bend, the University of Notre Dame and Project Future as preparations are made for the many technological developments to come at Innovation Park.”