South Bend's Redevelopment Commission today authorized seeking up to $4 million in state grants for Innovation Park, and approved requests from the University of Notre Dame for tax abatements on the project's buildings and equipment.

Both steps represent procedures that immediately precede the start of construction of a first three-story, 54,000-square-foot building on the site, anticipated to begin this fall. The first building, estimated at $10 million to $15 million, would be completed in one to two years. Three additional buildings, with another 146,000 square feet of space, would be built in phases between 2010 and 2018. Total cost of the construction is estimated at $10 million to $60 million, with a minimum of $500,000 in new equipment.

On 12 acres along Edison Road west of the proposed Twyckenham Drive extension, Innovation Park @ Notre Dame Inc. represents the campus site of the city's two-site technology park. The tech-park certification also includes 83 acres in the former Studebaker corridor. While both sites are anticipated to house start-up companies seeking to commercialize research at Notre Dame, the city property southeast of Sample and Chapin streets is expected to serve as the primary location for firms that outgrow or relocate from Innovation Park. This includes enterprises related to MIND, the Midwest Institute for Nanoelectronics Discovery, one of four national research centers funded by the world's leading computer chip makers.

The City of South Bend filed a formal application in March for designation of the two sites by the state as a certified technology park. The Commission approved submitting a revised application Friday, based on technical changes growing out of continuing dialogue with the Indiana Economic Development Corp., which sets requirements for tech park designation. Also, the Commission approved an application for state grants of $2 million for operating costs and $2 million for capital expenditures for the technology park.

The City expects to have serious conversations with the IEDC in the coming weeks on certification of the technology park and the grant assistance, according to Don Inks, director of economic development for the City. South Bend already has committed $1 million to the MIND site.

In addition to having two sites, the City's proposed certified technology park would be the first in Indiana affiliated with two research institutions: Notre Dame and the Indiana University School of Medicine at South Bend.

The first building at Innovation Park will house a reception area, administrative space and a greenhouse incubator facility as well as space on the second and third floors for client/tenants to work to transform research into marketable enterprises. The building and equipment would be owned by the University and leased to Innovation Park.

In petitions approved by the Redevelopment Commission, the University and Innovation Park sought:

• A special exception to enable a 10-year property tax abatement for Phase 1 of the project. Assuming a total cost of $15 million and a 10-year abatement, Innovation Park would pay an estimated $2,726,286 in taxes during the period, while $1,871,533 in taxes would be abated.
• A 5-year personal property tax abatement on no less than $500,000 in new equipment to be purchased for Innovation Park's first phase. Taxes abated during the first five years would total an estimated $19,550 with taxes paid of $15,763.

Innovation Park's first phase is projected to create 17 to 23 permanent, full-time jobs and one part-time job during its first year of operation with an annual payroll of $1.15 million to $1.45 million. There are no projections at this time for the number of jobs anticipated to grow out of the project as start-up enterprises are transplanted to other sites. The property, now valued at $210,000, is estimated to have an assessed value of $51 million after improvements.

Tax abatements are not an elimination of taxes, but a phase-in of the new taxes on new investment over a defined period. All abatements require final approval from the South Bend Common Council.

Contact:  Mikki Dobski, Director of Communications & Special Projects, 235-5855 or 876-1564 or Don Inks, Director of Economic Development, 235-9371