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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Office of the Mayor <br /> <br />NEWS RELEASE <br />September 29, 2008 <br />11 a.m. <br /> <br />Demolition to begin Oct. 1 on Gates Chevy World site <br /> <br />Contact: <br />Mikki Dobski, Director of Communications & Special Projects, 235-5855 or 876-1564 <br />or Bill Schalliol, Economic Development Planner, 235-9371, or Toy Villa, Public Construction <br /> <br />Manager, 235-9251 <br /> <br />The former Gates Chevy World building, at the southwest corner of Western Avenue and <br />Lafayette Boulevard, once home to a downtown Sears department store, will undergo <br />exterior demolition work beginning Wednesday, Oct. 1. <br /> <br />Crews from R&R Excavating of Mishawaka have been gutting the building’s interior <br />since the City of South Bend acquired the property Sept. 1 as part of plans for public- <br />private redevelopment near Coveleski Regional Stadium. Demolition will begin at the <br />south end of the building. The City will recycle the concrete as a sub-base for road <br />projects. Work is expected to take about two weeks. <br /> <br />Gates has had a Chevrolet dealership in downtown South Bend since 1939. It purchased <br />the Sears building in 1979. Earlier this month, Gates Toyota opened a new facility on the <br />south side at Erskine Commons, while the Chevy dealership was consolidated at other <br />properties, including another facility now under renovation along Ireland Road. <br /> <br />The City now is in the middle of a planning process with HOK Sport Inc., based in <br />Kansas City, Mo., to develop master plans for the ballpark property as well as for the <br />blocks surrounding the stadium. HOK, the architect when Coveleski was built in 1987, <br />also designed Baltimore’s Oriole Park at Camden Yards and Cleveland’s Jacobs Field. <br />Initial concepts include a reoriented entrance to Coveleski Stadium through centerfield <br />and expanding the ballpark’s concourse to provide 360-degree seating. <br /> <br />“This provides a great opportunity to shape the destiny of development around Coveleski <br />Stadium, providing the facility with sufficient parking and potentially other <br />improvements,” said Mayor Stephen J. Luecke. “We’ve heard interest from businesses <br />who believe they would have great synergy from being located near or next to the <br /> <br />