After 98 years on the corner of Colfax Avenue and Lafayette Boulevard, the South Bend Tribune will soon move its offices less than a mile south – to a former Studebaker assembly facility – as it adapts to a changing media landscape.
The Tribune this week will temporarily relocate to Union Station, 506 W. South St, near Four Winds Field. A few months later, The Tribune is scheduled to move to its permanent home nearby: the former Studebaker General Assembly facility at 635 S. Lafayette Blvd., part of founder Kevin Smith's Renaissance District technology park.
Smith said The Tribune fits "perfectly" into his Renaissance District vision.
"They are like so much of our ecosystem," Smith said. The Tribune "needs to be completely redefined and going through a metamorphic process. I built this campus as tech-infused property because every business, no matter who you are or what you do, has to figure out how to absorb technology into their product set. "
Employees tour the new home of the South Bend Tribune on Thursday, November 7, 2019 inside the former Studebaker building in downtown South Bend.
Employees tour the new home of the South Bend Tribune Thursday, November 7, 2019 inside the former Studebaker building in downtown South Bend.
Employees visit the new home of the South Bend Tribune on Thursday, November 7, 2019 inside the former Studebaker building in downtown. South Bend. [19659012] building11072019_10.jpg ” class=”img-responsive owl-lazy” width=”1763″ height=”1175″ data-src=”https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/southbendtribune.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/a/a2/aa2175a7-1f15-53ca-8d97-6e442b0bdf5f/5dc5dcd433a27.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C800″/>
Employees visit the new home of the South Bend Tribune on Thursday, November 7, 2019 inside the former Studebaker building in downtown South Bend.
the new home of the South Bend Tribune on Thursday, November 7, 2019 inside the former Studebaker building in downtown South Bend.
Employees visit the new home of the South Bend Tribune on Thursday, November 7, 2019 inside the former Studebaker building in downtown South Bend.
Signs for Pete 2020 can be seen at Studebaker Building 112 on Saturday, April 13, 2019, in South Bend.
11/5/2017: A display of the new glass facade can be seen on the face of Studebaker Building 84. The entire north and east side of the building is expected to be completed by autumn 2018. Tribune Photo / ROBERT FRANKLIN A former Studebaker assembly plant is being rehabilitated and transformed into the Renaissance district on Friday 3. November 2017 in South Bend. Tribune Photo / ROBERT FRANKLIN
Studebaker building 112 exterior set seen Friday 12. April 2019, in South Bend.
Studebaker building 112 exterior seen Friday, April 12, 2019, in South Bend.
A worker supports the floor of building 113 at the Studebaker Complex where renovations are underway, Thursday, June 29, 2017 in South Bend. Tribune Photo / BECKY MALEWITZ
A worker supports the floor of Building 113 at the Studebaker Complex, where renovations are underway, Thursday, June 29, 2017 in South Bend. Tribune Photo / BECKY MALEWITZ
12/8/2013: STUDEBAKER TIMELINE, STUDEBAKER MEMORIES, CLOSING 50TH ANNIVERSARY The first floor of Studebaker Corp.'s headquarters originally housed a dip in the company's wagons, transporters and carriers. Most vehicles are now in the Studebaker National Museum.
A look at the lower floor of Studebaker building 84 during the groundbreaking event for the rebuilding of Studebaker building 113 on Thursday, May 12, 2016, in South Bend. Tribune Photo / ROBERT FRANKLIN
A 1930 photo of Union Station in South Bend, facing northwest. The photo was taken from the ceiling of one of the Studebaker Corp. buildings. Tribune photo archives
Kenneth Shelby Adams III cleans the windows before installation on Studebaker building 84. The project is in year 3 of a ten-year plan on Friday 15. June 2018, in South Bend. The crews install about 15 panels a day.
A construction crew installs windows on Studebaker building 84 as work continues in year 3 of a ten-year plan on Friday 15. June 2018, in South Bend. The crews install about 15 panels a day.
Funding for the renaissance project in building 84 has been approved. A groundbreaking will be on May 12. Image delivered
5/13/2016: People look at classic Studebaker cars on Thursday on the sixth floor of Building 84, part of the former carmaker's former assembly plant in the southern end of downtown South Bend. The old factory complex is being rebuilt as a technology center. Tribune Photos / ROBERT FRANKLIN Classic Studebaker cars exhibited for trips inside Studebaker building 84 during the groundbreaking event for the rebuilding of Studebaker building 113 on Thursday, May 12, 2016, in South Bend. Tribune Photo / ROBERT FRANKLIN
5/21/2019: Tribune Photo / SANTIAGO FLORES The Studebaker building also received assistance through the Regional Cities program. The developer believes it will ultimately be a technical hub. Studebaker building 84 exterior seen from Friday 12. April 2019 in South Bend.
A courtyard area is seen outside the former Studebaker Building 84, the body assembly plant, Friday 20. December. 2013, in downtown South Bend. Tours marked the 50th anniversary of the end of the Studebaker production in South Bend on December 20, 1963. SBT Photo / JAMES BROSHER via FTP
A sign directs the audience to tours of the former Studebaker Building 84, the body assembly plant, Friday 20. December 2013, in downtown South Bend. Tours marked the 50th anniversary of the completion of the Studebaker production in South Bend on December 20, 1963. SBT Photo / JAMES BROSHER via FTP
7/3/2017: Kevin Smith points to the south facade of Studebaker Building 84 Thursday in South Bend. Plans are underway to move parts of the six-story building into glass later this summer. Tribune Photo / BECKY MALEWITZ Kevin Smith, an entrepreneur currently renovating the Studebaker stands in the courtyard of the complex, Thursday, June 29, 2017 in South Bend. Tribune Photo / BECKY MALEWITZ
Classic Studebaker cars exhibited for trips inside Studebaker building 84 during the groundbreaking event for the rebuilding of Studebaker building 113 on Thursday, May 12, 2016 in South Bend. Tribune Photo / ROBERT FRANKLIN
A construction crew installs windows on Studebaker building 84 as work continues in year 3 of a ten-year plan on Friday 15. June 2018, in South Bend. The crews install about 15 panels a day.
File: cityaerials121715n_22114117.jpg: Posted on page: N Cutline: This is the former Studebaker Building 84 on Friday 17. December 2015, in this aerial photo from the top floor of the Chase Tower building in South Bend. The building is lining up to receive $ 3.5 million dollars in regional new development cities. SBT Photo / GREG SWIERCZ With history: 14784792
Employees tour the new home of the South Bend Tribune on Thursday, November 7, 2019 inside the former Studebaker building in downtown South Bend.
Employees visit the new home of the South Bend Tribune on Thursday, November 7, 2019 inside the former Studebaker building in downtown South Bend.
Employees tour the new home of the South Bend Tribune Thursday, November 7, 2019 inside the former Studebaker building in downtown South Bend.
Employees visit the new home of the South Bend Tribune on Thursday, November 7, 2019 inside the former downtown Studebaker building. South Bend.
Employees tour the new home of the South Bend Tribune on Thursday, November 7, 2019 inside the former Studebaker building in downtown South Bend.
Staff tour the new home of the South Bend Tribune on Thursday, November 7, 2019 inside the former Studebaker building in downtown South Bend.
Signs for Pete 2020 can be seen at Studebaker Building 112 on Saturday, April 13, 2019, in South Bend.
11/5/2017: A display of the new glass facade can be seen on the face of Studebaker Building 84. The entire north and east side of buildings is expected to be completed in autumn 2018. Tribune Photo / ROBERT FRANKLIN Et Former Studebaker assembly plant is being rehabilitated and converted to Renaissance District on Friday 3. November 2017, in South Bend. Tribune Photo / ROBERT FRANKLIN
Studebaker building 112 exterior seen on Friday 12. April 2019, in South Bend.
Studebaker building 112 exterior seen Friday, April 12, 2019, in South Bend.
A worker supports the floor of building 113 at the Studebaker Complex where renovations are underway, Thursday, June 29, 2017 in South Bend. Tribune Photo / BECKY MALEWITZ
A worker supports the floor of building 113 at the renovation Studebaker Complex, Thursday, June 29, 2017 in South Bend. Tribune Photo / BECKY MALEWITZ
12/8/2013: STUDEBAKER TIMELINE, STUDEBAKER MEMORIES, CLOSING 50TH ANNIVERSARY The ground floor of Studebaker Corp.'s headquarters originally housed a dip in the company's wagons, carriers and. Most vehicles are now in the Studebaker National Museum.
A look at the lower floor of Studebaker building 84 during the groundbreaking event for the rebuilding of Studebaker building 113 on Thursday, May 12, 2016, in South Bend. Tribune Photo / ROBERT FRANKLIN
A 1930 image of Union Station in South Bend, facing north. The photo was taken from the ceiling of one of the Studebaker Corp. buildings. Tribune photo archives
Kenneth Shelby Adams III cleans the windows before installation on Studebaker building 84. The project is in year 3 of a ten-year plan on Friday 15. June 2018, in South Bend. The crews install about 15 panels a day.
A construction crew installs windows on Studebaker building 84 as work continues in year 3 of a ten-year plan on Friday 15. June 2018, in South Bend. The crews install about 15 panels a day.
Funding for the renaissance project in building 84 has been approved. A groundbreaking will be on May 12. Image provided
5/13/2016: People look at classic Studebaker cars on Thursday on the sixth floor of Building 84, part of the closed car manufacturer's former assembly plant in the south end of South Bend downtown. The old factory complex is being rebuilt as a technology center. Tribune Photos / ROBERT FRANKLIN Classic Studebaker cars exhibited for trips inside Studebaker building 84 during the groundbreaking event for the rebuilding of Studebaker building 113 on Thursday, May 12, 2016, in South Bend. Tribune Photo / ROBERT FRANKLIN
5/21/2019: Tribune Photo / SANTIAGO FLORES The Studebaker building also received assistance through the Regional Cities program. The developer believes it will ultimately be a technical hub. Studebaker building 84 exterior seen from Friday 12. April 2019 in South Bend.
A courtyard area is seen outside the former Studebaker Building 84, the body assembly plant, Friday 20. December. 2013, in downtown South Bend. Tours marked the 50th anniversary of the completion of the Studebaker production in South Bend on December 20, 1963. SBT Photo / JAMES BROSHER via FTP
A sign directs the audience to tours of the former Studebaker Building 84, the body assembly plant, Friday 20. December 2013, in downtown South Bend. Tours marked the 50th anniversary of the end of the Studebaker production in South Bend on December 20, 1963. SBT Photo / JAMES BROSHER via FTP
7/3/2017: Kevin Smith points to the south facade of Studebaker Building 84 Thursday in South Bend. Plans are underway to move parts of the six-story building into glass later this summer. Tribune Photo / BECKY MALEWITZ Kevin Smith, an entrepreneur currently renovating the Studebaker stands in the courtyard of the complex, Thursday, June 29, 2017 in South Bend. Tribune Photo / BECKY MALEWITZ
Classic Studebaker cars exhibited for tours of the Studebaker building 84 during the groundbreaking event for the rebuilding of the Studebaker building 113 on Thursday, May 12, 2016 in South Bend. Tribune Photo / ROBERT FRANKLIN
A construction crew installs windows on Studebaker building 84 as work continues in year 3 of a ten-year plan on Friday 15. June 2018, in South Bend. The crews install about 15 panels a day.
File: cityaerials121715n_22114117.jpg: Posted on page: N Cutline: This is the former Studebaker Building 84 on Friday 17. December 2015, in this aerial photo from the top floor of the Chase Tower building in South Bend. The building is lining up to receive $ 3.5 million dollars in regional new development cities. SBT Photo / GREG SWIERCZ With history: 14784792
In recent years, like newspapers across the country, The Tribune has adapted to readers' changing preferences for consumer news in the digital age. As more people browse the web – on smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops – rather than on paper, many national advertisers have moved to follow them, demanding inheritance papers to maintain less site space and fewer employees.
While the newsroom and advertising departments have remained in South Bend, The Tribune in June 2017 stopped printing the paper on the site, and has since contracted to have it printed by a press near Grand Rapids, a scheme that will continue.
Another change came in January, when New York-based GateHouse Media bought The Tribune from locally-based Schurz Communications, whose ancestors founded the paper in 1872. Gatehouse chose not to buy the Tribune building and leased it from Schurz while searching for a smaller and more efficient space. GateHouse is now also teaming up with another major publisher, Gannett.
The three-story Tribune building contains about 125,000 square meters. In comparison, the new space for news, advertising and customer service will occupy around 15,000 square feet in the southeast corner of the former Studebaker Building 113. Pressure distribution will use an additional 14,000 square feet of storage space.
"In addition to serving us during the time we've been there, it's huge for us," said Andy Bruns, a GateHouse regional vice president who served as a temporary publisher of The Tribune. "The size of our company today, in terms of personnel, doesn't just fit the size of the building."
The Tribune considered several sites for about three years, including some that were within South Bend city limits, but not near the city center. The former Studebaker campus sits across a railway corridor from what the city's regulatory code defines as the "Central Business District."
"It was important that we try to stay as close to the center as we could," Bruns said. "I just think being in the heart of a community is important to a media company."
Fits its vision
Smith since 2012 has renovated and refurbished the former Studebaker car facility, where the four buildings comprise 1.2 million square meters, into a modern tech park, utilizing its fiber-optic data infrastructure at Union Station . Fiscal cost funding from the city and funding from the state's Regional Cities program contributed to the project's fuel.
The work included equipment for Building 84, the six-story structure just off Four Winds Field, with reflective glass, which gave the tall building a much needed facelift.
Tribune's new home, Building 113, sits just behind Building 84. Current tenants in 113 include the Purdue Polytechnic Institute; F Cubed, a biotech startup; EnFocus, a consulting firm; LEA Professional, an amplifier and sound technology company; and South Bend-Elkhart Regional Partnership, a non-commercial economic development.
Until last week, Smith owned Deluxe Sheet Metal, founded by his father Earl, and still owns 11 other businesses. He said he recently sold the record label, giving him more time to focus on the Renaissance district, in a part of the city that has been in the process of upgrading Four Winds Field and building neighboring apartments, run by South Bend Cub owner Andrew Berlin.
Smith expects The Tribune's permanent space to be ready by the end of March, bringing the ground floor of 113 and 150,000 square feet to about 80% occupancy.
"I've always invested in the core infrastructure that makes a city a city, and The Tribune is a core infrastructure that makes a city a city," Smith said. "It's the memories of the city, it's the heart of the city, the have seen people die and convey it, it has seen people marry, it has seen great events. It is the consciousness of the city. So what better place to invent yourself, except where the world is literally, to a technology hub I've created? "
Smith said he plans to approach GateHouse about the prospect of locating some of the campus data center operations, as a number of large companies have done.
" From this site, you can broadcast to any location in the world, you can connect to any digital asset you may need, "Smith said." There were three railways converging to form Union Station. It created national telecommunications napkins to grow and build upon. I happen to be one of the biggest hubs in the country and one of the biggest in the world where there is this convergence of connectivity. "
Bruns said he thinks that concept is exciting.
"It hasn't lost me that the future is the Internet, and we're moving into a building that is right on the Midwest backbone of the Internet," Bruns said. "People smarter than me will figure out what to do with it, but I think there's something there. "