New Office Building in South Bend Opens Ahead of Schedule

The first new office building in downtown South Bend in a generation is now open, with its lead occupant already operating in the new space. The $20 million Barnes & Thornburg building opened ahead of schedule, across from the St. Joseph County-City Building.

The Indianapolis-based law firm has a large presence in northern Indiana and is the anchor tenant.

The five-story office building is the first new construction in the heart of South Bend’s downtown area in more than 20 years. The project was co-developed by Bald Mountain LLC, Norris Equity Partners, and Great Lakes Capital.

One of its new tenants is Receive Revenue Recovery, a collections company in the auto, medical, and real estate segments, which was acquired by NEP in 2017.

“We are excited to call this new building home,” said Benjamin Norris, managing member of NEP. “In addition to Receive and Barnes & Thornburg, we are honored to share this location with top tier tenants.”

Norris Equity says another new tenant is Lou Hansell Co., a South Bend-based company that produces luxury garment hangers. It intends to move into the building by the spring of 2021.

On the ground level, there is a coffeehouse and restaurant, which will open in June.