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bringing significant investment to underutilized land within the city and cleaning up the <br />environment at the same time. South Bend is also reclaiming its older industrial sites for new <br />development. The Oliver Industrial park has opened up 34 acres of land. We continue to have <br />interest in the available lots. It will be the new home for at least one business that is currently in <br />a former Studebaker building. Studebaker, of course, is our biggest legacy issue. Faced with <br />massive dinosaur buildings that continued to house some business for years, but had not been <br />kept up to code, and now could not be given away, residents kept asking when the City was <br />going to take care of this blight. We tried to bring new companies to the complex, but none were <br />interested in the space. We took on several structures, including the Transwestern building and <br />Studebaker parts warehouse, but there was so much more to do. We have finally put in place the <br />>T ., <br />~~_~. <br />resources necessary to acquire and <br />clear much of this area. In a few <br />weeks we will begin demolition of the <br />Stamping Plant, over 1.6 million sq. ft. <br />of space on 40 acres, to create a light <br />industrial park. Transpa will be the <br />first investor with its new maintenance <br />facility, But we also have arranged for <br />`'= . alaw-interest federal loan so that we <br />can acquire and demolish the other <br />Studebaker buildings south of Sample Street. This loan will be paid back with CRED funds <br />generated by new investment and jobs in the area. We are allowed to collect $1 million a year <br />that would have otherwise gone to the State. This support from federal and state government has <br />been critical to implementing a plan that will open up new land for development and remove <br />these blighting structures from our industrial care. This will be a dramatic change which will <br />also help neighboring businesses like Exacto, which recently was honored by the Chamber as <br />Small Business of the Year. This is a family owned business in the best Studebaker tradition of <br />hard work and ingenuity. This area has a proud past. With new investment it will have a proud <br />future and will become home to more businesses like Exacto. <br />~-~8 <br />