MIDDLE MARKET HIGHLIGHTS, JUNE 2005

SOUTH BEND
Karen Stone, CCIM

South Bend, the fourth largest city in Indiana, offers businesses a variety of urban and suburban lifestyles with the amenities of a big city. With South Bend’s competitive costs of living and doing business, and its highly developed transportation network, the industrial sector continues to be a mainstay in the commercial real estate market.

The city of South Bend is spearheading the redevelopment of a former manufacturing site located at Chapin and Sample Streets southwest of the downtown area. The 36-acre parcel was formerly the site of Oliver Plow Works, and has been renamed Oliver Industrial Park. During a 3-year period, 36 buildings containing 1 million square feet of space were demolished and an extensive brownfield remediation was performed. The city has completed the infrastructure and is selling parcels for development.

Rose Brick and Materials, the first business to locate on the site, opened in mid-2004. The company built a 20,000-square-foot warehouse and renovated a historic Oliver structure of 8,000 square feet for their offices. Currently, there are three remaining parcels available for immediate development, ranging in size from 3.5 to 8 acres. “This is the first phase of the Studebaker Oliver redevelopment,” says Andy Laurent, project manager for Oliver Industrial Park. “The city is optimistic the park will be fully filled within 2 years. This is a great location for businesses that want to expand and relocate while maintaining a center city presence.”

The city is also leading the redevelopment of a new multi-use building on the site of a former parking garage at the corner of Jefferson and St. Joseph streets. The city plans to build a new parking deck that will contain 300 to 400 spaces on the site and bids are being accepted for the remaining retail and office components of the building. Preliminary plans include 15,000 square feet of ground level retail and approximately 38,000 square feet of office, which will be built on top of the parking deck.

Another mixed-use development, Portage Prairie, will be coming to the northwest side of South Bend in the near future. South Bend-based Holladay Properties is developing a 600-acre tract directly north of the Blackthorn area at the intersection of Adams Road and the St. Joseph Valley Parkway. Last month, Holladay jumped the first hurdle toward making the development a reality when the Common Council voted to annex half of the 600 acres into the city, which will make the necessary infrastructure possible. Holladay is now undergoing the annexation process for the remaining 300 acres. “Over the years, planners of land use and infrastructure have seen that this should be the path of growth for South Bend in the next generation. Our goal is to use the most modern concepts of mixed-use planning and development to reach that goal,” says Doug Hunt, senior vice president of development for Holladay. Holladay has chosen Charlotte, NC-based LandDesign as the design firm.  A contractor has not yet been selected.

Retail development in the Ireland Road corridor on the city’s south side is booming. Anchor Properties recently completed the land acquisition for Erskine Commons, a 425,000-square-foot strip center that will be anchored by a 203,000-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter and a 116,000-square-foot Lowe’s. Plans include up to 78,000 square feet of shop space and seven outparcels.

Already under way on Ireland Road one mile east of Erskine Commons is Erskine Village, a power shopping village being built by a partnership between Kite Development, Kimco and Schottenstein on the former Scottsdale Mall site. Anchored by a 120,000-square-foot Target that opened last July, and a 90,000-square-foot Kohl’s, which is scheduled to open in late summer, the development will be approximately 510,000 square feet when completed. The remaining 310,000 square feet will be comprised of shop tenants and six mid-size tenants, including a 50,000-square-foot PetsMart. 

Bill Schalliol, Economic Development Planner with the City of South Bend Community and Economic Development Department notes, “Pulling this many large retailers together at one time shows the great opportunity for further development in this corridor.” Herschman Architects, Inc. of Cleveland, Ohio is designing the project, and The Sullivan Corporation of Noblesville, Indiana is acting as general contractor.

©2005 France Publications, Inc. Duplication or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints of this article contact Barbara Sherer at (630) 554-6054.