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Looks like work has statred.
The former Studebaker Stamping Plant is being demolished to make room for new development.
South Bend Mayor Steve Luecke took the first swing at the building, while Congressman Chris Chocola blasted the walls with a water tanker.
The city is leveling the 40-acre site to develop land for industrial companies.
Transpo will relocate their bus maintenance and headquarters to the site as well, which has been vacant since 1999.
"This area went from employing about 25,000 people in 1950. Today, the same area employs about 50 people. So that's the difference. We want to turn that trend back around and have as many as 1000 to 2000 people working in this area in 5 to 10 years," said South Bend Project Manager Andy Laurent.
The demolition will cost $7. 9 million, and will take until July 2007 to complete.
The building once held the stamping and final assembly line for Studebaker, before South Bend Stamping bought the building.
The South Bend Board of Public Works awarded a $7.9 million contract to Michigan-based J&L Management Corp. to demolish the building. The plant is part of the Studebaker/Oliver Revitalization Project.
Andy Laurent, a city economic development planner, said it is the first part of demolition planned for the 80 acres in the Studebaker corridor. The plant and the area around it is 40 acres, which is a little larger than the former Uniroyal Plant in Mishawaka.
City engineer Carl Littrell said the company will salvage some parts of the building. Gary Gilot, director of public works, said about 75 percent to 80 percent of the building's materials can be reused. While the building is being demolished, Littrell said there will also be environmental cleanup.
There were talks about imploding the building, but Laurent said that would have raised the price about $250,000. J&L Management will begin preliminary site work later this month.
Laurent said a ceremony is planned before the wrecking ball takes its first crack at the structure sometime in January.
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