Ardmore residents made headlines with their fight to keep the South Shore Railroad out of their backyards but other land owners in the area have quietly relished the opportunity to be part of the rail re-route.

For instance, Something big is about to happen on 90 acres of rolling hills west of the South Bend International Airport. “We’re sitting in an old log cabin we’d like to turn into a restaurant called “Teddy’s,” said Mark Tarner, owner of the South Bend Chocolate Company.

Tarner believes It’s something that would be even bigger if a new South Shore Railroad Station were part of it.

“”It's a transformational project for this side of town, and for the South Shore because it'll be a destination so maybe people from Gary or Chicago will come to South Bend instead of us going to the Field Museum,” Tarner said.

The South Bend Chocolate factory is being relocated to the parcel at the southwest corner of U.S. 20 and the U.S. 31 Bypass. Tarner will bring his chocolate and dinosaur museums to the site as he looks to create a one of a kind tourist attraction that will cost up to $14 million and draw an estimated 200,000 visitors per year.

The project also calls for outdoor amenities like a herd of buffalo, nature trails, and vineyards. The project does not call for disturbing the Ardmore neighborhood.

“It probably, it's close to Chicago, it’s less expensive, it displaces fewer people, it doesn't appear to me that there's a better, faster, quicker, cheaper, option,” Tarner said.

The project has also picked up the support of St. Joseph County’s Economic Development Director, but for different reasons. “South Shore passenger alignment has been the majority of the conversation but the opportunity to have freight also servicing the same area on the same rail Is a dual win,” said Bill Schalliol. Schalliol likes the fact that a train station at the chocolate factory would put the rails virtually in reach of up to 250 acres of vacant airport owned industrial property to the west.

“The ability to have it right at the airport to have rail and air service right at the airport all at one place really could open up some jobs and development opportunities at the airport,” Schalliol said.

The City of South Bend has commissioned a study to examine four alternatives for re-routing the tracks or re-locating the train station.

The site of the tourist attraction is specifically listed as one of the options under study.

Some of Mark Tarner’s site is in the city and some of it isn’t.

With the Ardmore plan it was assumed South Bend would pay the entire bill. With the tourism/airport site St. Joseph County may be called upon to participate financially.

