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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Office of the Mayor <br /> <br />NEWS RELEASE <br />October 23, 2009 <br />11:15 a.m. <br /> <br />Plan will increase Innovation Park, Ignition Park ties <br /> <br />Contact: <br />Mikki Dobski, Director of Communications & Special Projects, 235-5855 or 876- <br /> <br />1564, or Jeff Gibney, Executive Director of Community and Economic Development, 235-9371 <br /> <br />The South Bend Redevelopment Commission today approved a contract that will visibly <br />strengthen a seamless relationship between its two state-certified technology parks while <br />developing a formal business plan for Ignition Park. <br /> <br />On a day marking the opening of Innovation Park at Notre Dame, one site of South <br />Bend’s two-site state-certified technology park, the Redevelopment Commission <br />authorized a contract with South Bend-based Hathaway 2 Inc. to develop a 10-year <br />“strategic vision and development plan” for the other site, Ignition Park. <br /> <br />The plan will place a consultant, operating on behalf of the City of South Bend, in offices <br />at Innovation Park, enhancing what officials describe as a “seamless” relationship <br />between the sister technology parks. Among other things, Ignition Park is expected to be <br />a landing site for firms that emerge from Innovation Park, where research innovations <br />become viable marketplace ventures. <br /> <br />“The strength of South Bend’s efforts to power the new economy lies in strong <br />partnerships, through which innovative research is finding new expressions in <br />commercial products and ventures,” said Mayor Stephen J. Luecke. “The seamless <br />relationship between Innovation Park and Ignition Park highlights those strengths. With <br />personnel based at Innovation Park, working collaboratively on a daily basis, the <br />connection between our two-site technology parks will be even stronger than first <br />envisioned.” <br /> <br />The Redevelopment Commission already is in the middle of a multi-year marketing/ <br />communications contract with The Blue Waters Group, a firm with offices in Madison, <br />Wis., and South Bend, focusing on communication about Ignition Park and economic <br />opportunities in South Bend. <br /> <br />