The Alexander Co. once turned down a job in South Bend, Ind., that would have preserved a signature part of that city’s history — but it was a part many wanted to forget.
In 2003, city officials were thinking about buying the long-vacant former Studebaker factory, which operated in South Bend for more than a century before closing in December 1963 and laying off thousands of people a few days before Christmas.
The city asked Alexander if the building — at more than 750,000 square feet — could be converted into apartments at the price its current owner was asking, while preserving some key elements to honor the auto company’s long presence in the city.
The Alexander Co. said it couldn’t be done at any price.
The building was too big, Vos said. Some 600 apartments would be needed to have a shot at making the numbers work, but area rents were low and the city’s population wasn’t growing, making it unlikely the units could be filled.
“A lot of people in South Bend have a very bad taste in their mouth when you say the word Studebaker,” Vos said. “(The company) fired everyone right before Christmas, and people are very passionate about this in South Bend still. It was just a deal that couldn’t happen.”