South Bend: Economy

Major Industries and Commercial Activity

South Bend's diversified economic base consists principally of educational and health services, wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing, and government. In 2004 Expansion Management magazine ranked South Bend—for the first time—among the 40 hottest real estate markets for business. South Bend made the list based on available land, office and industrial space inventory, along with redevelopment opportunities for new and expanding companies.

The city benefits greatly from being a college town; in particular, Notre Dame University has a considerable impact on the economy of South Bend. The area's largest employer, Notre Dame experienced a 21 percent increase in full-time faculty and staff between 1993 and 2002. The university further contributes to the area economy by partnering with area businesses for research and development projects, and providing strong job market candidates.

Health services have also boomed in South Bend in recent years. Memorial Health System has grown to become the area's second-largest employer. From the mid-1990s through 2005, Memorial made approximately $300 million in capital investments to its hospital, located downtown. Memorial's success has been linked to its central location, medical research conducted through Notre Dame, and a recent proliferation of medical-related business startups in the area.

St. Joseph County is the second-largest retail market area in the state next to Indianapolis, with nationally recognized retailers including Old Navy, Marshall Fields, Barnes & Noble, and Ethan Allen, to name a few. Manufacturing industries in the area include non-electrical machinery, transportation equipment, and rubber and various plastic products. AM General, producer of HMMWV (a.k.a. HUMMER) military and special purpose vehicles, is headquartered in South Bend and is one of the city's largest employers. The company's corporate offices are in South Bend, and its production facilities are in nearby Mishawaka.

Another important industry in the county is tourism, which generates a significant number of jobs and revenues. Aside from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Notre Dame University attracts the most visitors in Indiana—nearly 700,000 visitors annually—and the county gains nearly $40 million in visitor expenditures through the university's football games alone.

Items and goods produced: airplanes and auto parts, aluminum castings, fixtures, conveyor components, electronic controls, machine tools, dies, drills, fabricated steel products, military vehicles, office furniture, pet food, plastic coated fabrics, corrugated boxes and cartons, windows and doors, printing rollers and inks, paints, food, condiments, metal stampings, wire and cable processing

Incentive Programs—New and Existing Companies

Local programs

The city's Division of Economic Development actively promotes the retention and expansion of existing businesses and the development of new business in the city. Their offerings include financing programs, relocation incentives, land/building availability assistance, industrial revenue bonds for manufacturing facilities, tax abatement, and technical assistance through local partnerships.

State programs

The state of Indiana extends various grants and loans to local governments and companies. The state offers a variety of incentives to new and expanding businesses, such as tax credits for investment and training, and through its Community Assistance, Energy Efficiency, Infrastructure, Renewable Energy, Technology, Trade Show, and Training programs. The International Trade Division of the Indiana Department of Commerce encourages foreign investment locally.

Job training programs

Customized training and consultants are available from a number of state and local providers. Funding to cover training costs is available in some cases.

Development Projects

In 2004 construction started on 147 new homes, a 5 percent increase from the previous year. A new retail project, known as Erskine Village, is being created on the city's east side; it is destined to become a 510,000-square-foot, $35 million retail center. South Bend is redeveloping the old Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Co. and Oliver Chilled Plow Works industrial corridors for warehousing and distribution, which will become the home of light industrial, warehouse, and distribution facilities. St. Joseph Valley MetroNet, a local not-for-profit corporation, is working to install fiber optic cable in existing city conduit; this state-of-the-art communication system will allow businesses to share large amounts of data quickly and securely. Additionally, South Bend is promoting the creation of a Certified Technology Park.

Economic Development Information: Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County, 401 E. Colfax Ave., Ste. 310, South Bend, IN 46617; telephone (574)234-0051

Commercial Shipping

Designated a Foreign Trade Zone, South Bend is a center for manufacturers, suppliers, and vendors throughout the United States and abroad. About six air freight carriers ship goods through South Bend Regional Airport. A network of interstate highways, including I-80/90, the nation's major east-west axis route, provides access to more than 70 motor freight carriers. Rail freight service is provided by Canadian National, Norfolk and Southern, CSX, and Chicago Southshore South Bend Railroad.

Labor Force and Employment Outlook

South Bend and its environs boast one of the highest concentrations of educational institutions per capita in the Midwest. Employment opportunities are on the upswing, as indicated at the University of Notre Dame—business interviews of students in the fall of 2004 were up roughly 30 percent from the previous year. South Bend has a large pool of skilled and semi-skilled laborers that are reported to be available, affordable, and reliable. The wage structure is competitive with other industrial communities.

The following is a summary of data regarding the South Bend-Mishawaka metropolitan area labor force, 2004 annual average:

Size of nonagricultural labor force: 144,100

Number of workers employed in . . .

construction and mining: 6,700

manufacturing: 21,700

trade, transportation and utilities: 28,500

information: 2,400

financial activities: 7,100

professional and business services: 12,200

educational and health services: 30,800

leisure and hospitality: 12,100

other services: 5,600

government: 16,800

Average hourly earnings of production workers employed in manufacturing: $12.41

Unemployment rate: 5.9% (February 2005)

Cost of Living

The following is a summary of data regarding several key cost of living factors in the South Bend area.

2004 (3rd Quarter) ACCRA Average House Price: $241,885

2004 (3rd Quarter) ACCRA Cost of Living Index: 95.5 (U.S. average = 100.0)

State income tax rate: 3.4% of adjusted gross income

State sales tax rate: 6.0% (food, prescription drugs, and items consumed or used in manufacturing are exempt)

Local income tax rate: 0.0075 (county)

Local sales tax rate: None

Property tax rate: Averages 1.2 percent annually (2003)

Economic Information: Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County, 401 E. Colfax Ave., Ste. 310, South Bend, IN 46617; telephone (574)234-0051

South Bend: Recreation

Sightseeing

South Bend is noted for the University of Notre Dame, for its industrial heritage, and for its municipal parks. A good place to begin a campus tour is at Notre Dame's Eck Visitors' Center, which has historical displays and a 20-minute movie about the university. Notre Dame's golden-domed Main Building is the campus's central symbol; inside, the walls are lined with murals depicting the life of Christopher Columbus by Vatican artist Luigi Gregori. The five-story Victorian building recently received a $58 million renovation, restoring its woodwork, lighting fixtures, and walls. Also on the campus are a reproduction of France's Grotto of Lourdes; the ornate Basilica of the Sacred Heart; the Log Chapel, hand-built by Father Stephen Badin—the first Catholic priest ordained in the U.S.—in 1830; the Snite Museum of Art; and an 11-story library.

Young sports fans will enjoy passing and kicking a football at the College Football Hall of Fame, a 58,000 square-foot museum devoted to every aspect of football—its players, fans, cheerleaders, and bands. The museum features interactive exhibits as well as artifacts, mementos, and photographs. Studebaker Museum traces the history of the Studebaker Company from its days as a maker of horse-drawn carriages to its innovations in the manufacture of automobiles. Among the exhibits is the carriage in which President Lincoln rode to Ford's Theater on the night he was assassinated. The Northern Indiana Center for History includes Copshaholm (The Oliver Mansion), a 38-room stone mansion built in 1895; Worker House, a cottage reflecting working-class homes of the 1930s; History Center, which charts local history through industry, individuals, clothing, and even toys; and kidsfirst Children's Museum. The Potawatomi Park Zoo, founded in 1902, is the oldest zoo in the state. The 23-acre zoo is home to 400 animals, including several rare and endangered species such as tigers, red pandas, cotton-top tamarins, snow leopards, and lemurs. Visitors to the South Bend Chocolate Company can tour its factory and explore its chocolate museum. Amish Acres, in nearby Nappanee, IN, is an 80-acre, 19th-century farm that showcases the customs, beliefs, and work habits of the Amish people; featured are 18 restored buildings, craft demonstrations, farm animals, musical theatre, restaurants, and quaint shops.

Arts and Culture

The South Bend Symphony, the Broadway Theater League, Southold Dance, and other community arts groups perform at the Morris Performing Arts Center, Indiana's oldest historic theater, built in 1922. The Symphony's concert season includes six Masterworks, three pops, two family, three chamber, and a holiday concert. Broadway Theatre League presents nationally-touring Broadway shows in a season that runs between June and September. Southold Dance offers performances ranging from classic ballet to modern dance; the Nutcracker is a yearly favorite. The South Bend Civic Theatre is the largest community theatre in the state, as measured by operating budget, yearly productions, and membership; it presents a 16-play season, primarily at The Firehouse, a historic landmark.

The Snite Museum of Art, on the Notre Dame campus, holds more than 21,000 pieces in its permanent collection, featuring Rembrandt etchings, 19th-century French art, Old Master and 19th-century drawings, 19th-century European photographs, Mestrovic sculpture and drawings, Olmec and Preclassic Mesoamerican art, 20th-century art, Northern Native American art, and decorative and design arts. The South Bend Regional Art Center features a permanent collection focusing on American—especially Indiana—art, from the 19th century through the present. The Hannah Lindahl Children's museum gives young people a close-up, hands-on look at how life was lived long ago.

Festivals and Holidays

South Bend's parks are the location for many of the city's festivals and special events. A major event at Leeper Park is an art fair the last weekend in June. Rum Village Park hosts Old Fashioned Summer, featuring an antique car show, entertainment, a Native American program and activities, square dancing, trail activities, and more. South Bend's Summer in the City Festival, formerly known as the Ethnic Festival, features entertainment, food, rides, and a parade. Also in June, Merrifield Park, in nearby Mishawaka, hosts Summerfest, which features food, music, craft booths, and a free evening concert. St. Patrick's Park presents a number of events, including the Firefly Festival, an outdoor music, theater, and dance program on weekends from mid-June through early August; the Blues and Ribs Fest in August; and Kee-Boon-Mein-Kaa, a traditional Indian pow wow featuring food, dancing, demonstrations, and crafts, in September.

Sports for the Spectator

The University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is among the most famous college teams in the world. Legendary coach Knute Rockne began the school's success in the 1920s with the "Four Horsemen" and "Seven Mules." Throughout Notre Dame's history, the Fighting Irish have been known for great players, outstanding coaches, and a schedule of games against the nation's best football teams. The home schedule is played on Saturday afternoons in the fall in Notre Dame Stadium. The Fighting Irish also field competitive teams in basketball and other sports.

The Stanley Coveleski Regional Stadium is the home field of South Bend's Class A minor league franchise baseball team, the Silver Hawks, who compete in the Midwest League in a season that runs from April to September. The East Race, the first artificial whitewater course in North America and one of six in the world, hosts world-class whitewater slaloms and United States Olympic Trials; this course is capable of matching the Colorado River in its power.

Sports for the Participant

St. Joseph County offers numerous parks and a nature preserve for year-round outdoor fun. Rum Village Park features a nature center and hiking and nature trails, while George Wilson Park offers a disc golf course considered among the best in the country. St. Patrick's Park and Bendix Woods offer cross-country skiing. The South Bend-Mishawaka area boasts ten highly regarded golf courses, such as Blackthorn, which has been highly ranked by Golf Digest. South Bend's biggest recreational attraction is East Race Waterway, which offers kayaking and whitewater rafting in the heart of downtown. An exercise trail borders the waterway and is part of a five-mile trail that runs through the city's downtown parks and along the St. Joseph River.

Shopping and Dining

South Bend-Mishawaka offers shopping opportunities ranging from enclosed malls to many small independent specialty shops. A popular stop is the Farmer's Market in South Bend, which features wares ranging from fresh produce and baked goods to flowers, pottery, hand-crafted jewelry, and antiques. Town and Country Shopping Plaza offers eclectic shops. Nearby Mishawaka boasts the second-largest retail area in the state, with its large University Park Mall, as well as numerous shops and strip malls along the Grape Road/Main Street corridor.

Northern Indiana is known for such regional food specialties as frog legs, pan-fried perch, and relishes that include bean salad, cabbage salad, and pickled beets. Other popular dining options include sushi, barbeque, pasta, prime rib, and deli sandwiches. South Bend features unique fine dining options in atmospheric settings, including Tippecanoe Place, in the restored 1888 Studebaker Mansion, resembling a feudal castle; and the Carriage House, in a converted 1850s church. Amish Acres in nearby Nappanee and Das Dutchman Essenhaus in Middlebury offer home-style Amish cooking.

Visitor Information: Convention and Visitors Bureau of South Bend/Mishawaka, Commerce Center, 401 E. Colfax Ave., Ste. 310, South Bend, IN 46634; telephone (800)519-0577

South Bend: Education and Research

Elementary and Secondary Schools

The South Bend Community School Corporation is one of the largest school districts in the state. The district has a strong technology program with computers available to every student. Nearly 70 percent of high school seniors continue on to attend college. About 70 percent of the district's teachers hold advanced degrees.

The following is a summary of data regarding South Bend public schools as of the 2002–2003 school year.

Total enrollment: 21,662

Number of facilities elementary schools: 19

middle schools: 10

high schools: 4

other: 4

Student/teacher ratio: 16.5:1

Teacher salaries (2003-2004) average: $46,700

Funding per pupil: $8,819

Twenty-seven private and parochial schools offer educational alternatives to South Bend area students. Among them are a Roman Catholic elementary and high school system with an enrollment of nearly 5,000 students, as well as Hebrew schools and the Stanley Clark School, a private institution with a limited enrollment.

Public Schools Information: South Bend Community School Corporation, 635 S. Main St., South Bend, IN 46601; telephone (574)283-8000

Colleges and Universities

The University of Notre Dame, a top university affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church, is located in Notre Dame, IN, adjacent to South Bend. Founded in 1842 as a college for men, it became coeducational in 1972, and currently has an enrollment of more than 11,000 students. The university offers graduate and undergraduate degrees in arts and sciences, engineering, business administration, architecture, and law. A unique feature of the curriculum is the "Executive M.B.A." program for working professionals. Notre Dame's graduation rate—95 percent—is exceeded only by Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Community involvement is highly valued at Notre Dame; approximately 80 percent of its students engage in volunteer work while attending the university.

Saint Mary's College, sister school of Notre Dame, was founded in 1844 and is a women's college with an enrollment of approximately 1,500. Saint Mary's offers undergraduate degrees in 30 major areas of study, and has a cooperative engineering degree program with Notre Dame. In 2005 U.S. News and World Report ranked Saint Mary's the number one comprehensive college for bachelor's degrees in the Midwest.

Holy Cross College, formerly Holy Cross Junior College, is adjacent to Notre Dame. Holy Cross opened in 1966 as a two-year college; its baccalaureate program debuted in 2003. The college offers two degree programs: Associate of Arts and Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies.

Indiana University-South Bend (IUSB), the third largest in the state's eight-university system, enrolls more than 7,500 students and grants associate through master's degrees in more than 90 fields. IUSB operates a continuing education division that provides evening, weekend, and off-campus instruction.

Bethel College, in nearby Mishawaka, is a liberal arts college affiliated with the United Missionary Church; Bethel grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in a range of programs.

Purdue University Statewide Technology Program at IUSB offers associate degrees in engineering technology and computer technology as well as associate and bachelor degrees in organizational leadership and supervision. Technical and vocational training is also available at a number of other colleges and specialized schools, including Ivy Tech State College and Michiana College.

Libraries and Research Centers

The St. Joseph County Public Library consists of a main library and eight branches housing nearly 640,000 items, including books, periodical subscriptions, computer software, microfiche, audio- and videotapes, CDs, and art reproductions. Special collections include large type books, genealogical materials, and state documents. A renovation of the main library's first floor, adding two meeting rooms and a computer training room, was completed in 2003; an expansion of the second floor is scheduled for completion in 2007. Local colleges and universities maintain campus libraries. Other specialized libraries in the city are associated with hospitals, government agencies, and the Studebaker National Museum.

The University of Notre Dame supports dozens of centers conducting research in a wide variety of areas, such as peace studies, the environment, radiation chemistry, biology, the philosophy of religion, American Catholicism, and international studies. Indiana University-South Bend maintains a bureau of business and economic research, and an institute for applied community research.

Public Library Information: St. Joseph County Public Library, 304 S. Main St., South Bend, IN 46601

South Bend: History

French Exploration Establishes South Bend

The first European explorer to reach the region surrounding present-day South Bend was Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, who in 1679 passed near the spot where today the University of Notre Dame's administration building is located. Two years later, La Salle met with Miami and Illinois chiefs under a tree named Council Oak in what was then the heart of the Miami nation; they signed a peace treaty that involved a pledge from the Miami and the Illinois to fight the Iroquois. LaSalle, protected by the treaty, was free to explore the Mississippi River region in which present-day South Bend is included; he then claimed the territory for France, naming it Louisiana.

Pierre Freischutz Navarre, a Frenchman married to a Potawatomi woman, established the first trading post for the American Fur Company in 1820 near South Bend's future site. But Alexis Coquillard is credited with founding South Bend; the town's name was derived from his trading post, which was called "The Bend," and noted its southerly location on the St. Joseph River. Coquillard's business rival and friend, Colonel Lathrop M. Taylor, renamed the settlement St. Joseph in 1827 and then Southold. The U.S. Post Office officially named it South Bend. Coquillard and Taylor worked together to develop the settlement and encouraged settlers with gifts of land and money. The city was platted and named the county seat in 1831, incorporated in 1835, and chartered in 1865.

Industry and Scholarship Enhance the City

In 1852 Henry and Clement Studebaker arrived in South Bend and opened a blacksmith and wagon shop. They built farm wagons, carriages, prairie schooners, and then a gasoline engine automobile in 1904, transforming the company into an automobile plant that remained in business until 1966. James Oliver came to South Bend in 1855, founding the Oliver Chilled Plow Works, which manufactured a superior farm plow that revolutionized farming and introduced a manufacturing process that replaced iron with chilled and hardened steel. The Singer Cabinet Works began production in 1868 in South Bend to take advantage of the proximity of Indiana hardwood forests, emerging as the world's largest cabinet factory by 1901.

The most significant event in the city's history was the arrival of Father Edward Sorin, the founder of the University of Notre Dame, who reached the future site of the university on November 26, 1842, with seven Brothers of the Congregation of the Holy Cross. Bishop Hailandiere of the diocese of Vincennes had given Father Sorin 600 acres to found a college for seminary and secular students as well as to start a mission for the Potawatomi Native Americans. The college's first student was Alexis Coquillard. Enrollment picked up with the arrival of the Lake Shore Railroad in 1851. A fire destroyed the campus in 1879, and the Neo-Gothic Administration Building, with its golden dome topped by a figure of the Virgin Mary, was opened later that year. The golden dome, a tradition of academic excellence, and winning football teams have become familiar symbols of this famous university, which remains a significant part of life in South Bend in the twenty-first century.

Historical Information: Northern Indiana Historical Society, Northern Indiana Center for History, 808 W. Washington Street, South Bend, IN 46601; telephone (574)235-9664

South Bend: Health Care

Hospitals in the South Bend area offer a total of more than 1,500 beds. The three major hospitals are Memorial Hospital, St. Joseph Regional Medical Center-South Bend, and St. Joseph Regional Medical Center-Mishawaka. South Bend's first hospital, established by the Sisters of the Holy Cross in 1882, is now known as St. Joseph Regional Medical Center. Some of the features of the South Bend campus are a complete labor and delivery, postpartum and nursery service; nationally recognized cancer treatments through its Cancer Institute; accredited pain and rehabilitation programs; and a Mind/Body Medical Institute offering an innovative mind-body approach to medical treatment. The Mishawaka campus has been providing health care since 1910; its features include complete labor, delivery, and post-partum care; a cardiac catheterization lab which was the first in the area to implement all-digital technology; an in-house laboratory; and a state-of-the-art radiology department with a new CT scanner and one of only three high-tech X-Ray machines in the United States and the only one in the Midwest. The Mishawaka campus is one of only 20 or so hospitals in the county to follow the Planetree philosophy, a holistic medical approach focusing on patients' mental, emotional, spiritual, as well as physical, well-being.

Memorial Hospital is the region's largest hospital and primary referral center, serving as a 526-bed regional referral center for cardiac, cancer, childbirth, emergency medicine, and rehabilitation services. Features of the hospital's clinical services include a new weight loss and bariatric surgery center; the innovative Memorial Lighthouse Medical Imaging Center; and the new Leighton Heart and Vascular Center, scheduled to open in 2005. Memorial's parent company, Memorial Health System, consisting of four affiliates—Memorial Hospital, Memorial Health Foundation, Memorial Home Care, and Memorial Medical Group—offers care and service at all levels, including inpatient and home care, medical equipment and supplies, pharmacy services, and occupational health services, as well as primary care physicians and specialists. South Bend's Madison Center provides behavioral and mental health care.