SOUTH BEND — When developers hold a groundbreaking ceremony, the party's usually in an open field — a place where well-dressed people can dig a shovel into the dirt and celebrate new construction.
On Thursday, hundreds of people gathered to watch a different kind of "groundbreaking" inside a former Studebaker assembly plant — a complex of brick and steel-reinforced concrete that has stood in South Bend since the 1920s.
The buildings are old, but they're being made new again.
They were built for old-fashioned manufacturing, but soon they will be home to cutting-edge technology companies.
For decades, the factory has loomed over the southern end of downtown as a reminder of a company that isn't here anymore. In the years ahead, it will be a hive for a new generation of South Bend businesses.
"This is a bright new beginning," said Kevin Smith, the local entrepreneur who owns Union Station Technology Center and had the vision to see new possibilities in the Studebaker buildings.
"At one time, we produced cars sold around the world in these buildings," he said. "Now, from the same place, we'll be a beacon of light and a source of innovation for the world."
In front of the stage where Smith spoke Thursday was a small pile of rich, black soil that had been trucked into the Studebaker plant and placed in between two concrete barriers.