Adaptive reuse of a former Studebaker automobile manufacturing facility (built between 1923 and 1946) into office, education, incubator, advanced manufacturing and training space. The Studebaker Innovation Center is the redevelopment of the formerly shuttered Studebaker complex, once one of the largest automakers in the United States. Studebaker closed its doors in 1963 and left the City of South Bend struggling to revitalize the neighborhood and economy over the last few decades. The project involves the restoration of 221,708 sq. ft. along with a new parking lot.

Through collaboration with the local community and educational institutions the project’s mission is to create an innovation center and hire, train, support, and encourage light manufacturing and technology oriented careers. Located in a severely disinvested area where the poverty rate is 41.3% and the unemployment rate is 3.14 times the national average, the project is estimated to create an excess of 400 permanent, new, quality jobs, as well as 162 construction jobs.

Dudley Ventures, through its affiliate Dudley Ventures Advisory Services, LLC, provided structuring, advisory and closing execution services. The New Markets Tax Credit was a critical financial resource enabling the developer to proceed with the redevelopment and transform the historic Studebaker buildings, while allowing for competitive lease rates for nonprofit and entrepreneurial space, and providing for an innovative mix of technology, manufacturing and retail opportunities in the low-income community.