The city of South Bend announced the upcoming ground breaking of the new Ignition Park in the 83 acre lot just South of Sample Street and West of Chapin St. This is potentially some great news for the "Westside." I mean, multinational bio and electronic companies relocating to the old Studebaker site could mean a revamping of property values, job opportumities, tax bases, etc.
So, is this just "smoke in mirrors" or could this really help to spelll economic recovery for our fair city?
Experts from across the nation are saying yes.
In the Journal's conversation with international development planner Abe Farkas, we find out why this may transform South Bend's economic landscape forever. According to Mr. Farkas, the best way to grow jobs in a region is to first partner up with a particular industry by offering unbeatable incentives. In our case, the Federal government has provided more incentive than could be imagined. Technology parks such as this are being bankrolled by the feds in only four areas of the country. The four technology parks in the U.S. are as follows: Westcoast= Los Angeles, South= Austin, TX, Northwest= Albany,NY, Midwest= South Bend, IN.
WOW! Talk about exclusive!
The nanotechnology sector in the U.S. is currently (even in the midst of this recession) a 1 trillion dollar a year industry. This type of money is sure to have an effect similar to the one that (if not greater) the Eli Lilly Corp had in Indianapolis. "Federal programs such as these turn out to be gold mines not just for [the cities they are in], but for the entire region as well," said Farkas " I am confident that this will be the cause for some major long term revitilization efforts for the City of South Bend."
Could this be the "Studebaker" that leads us into the next century? The Journal hopes so, and we will keep our readers up-to-date on any new developments concerning this issue.
-stay classy South Bend
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