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