A first look at South Bend's new Dinosaur Museum

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The dinosaurs are marching into South Bend's Northwest side, and they are bringing five other attractions along with them.

The 90-acre plot will include South Bend Chocolate Company’s new 60,000 square foot factory, a public house, farms, an artisan village and a continental divide nature park.

ABC57 is told the complex will include a ski hill and 50 bison on the property.

Wednesday morning, the museum took to Facebook to share a video of the prehistoric creatures arriving at the complex after nearly six years of work on the site.

Folks are roaring with excitement as the 18,000 square foot museum, that's expected to attract tourists from all across the country, is one big step closer to its highly anticipated opening.

The museum will feature fossils from South Bend Chocolate Company’s Owner, Mark Tarner’s personal collection.

But that’s not the only new venture that’s part of this development.

The 90-acre complex on the city’s Northwest Side will also be the home of the 60,000 square foot South Bend Chocolate Company Factory.

"This has been a very long time that we've been working on this. they’ve put a lot of blood sweat and tears into this and it's really cool to see it all come together,” said Kristina Tressler Director of Operations for South Bend Chocolate.

The complex is expected to bring somewhere between 100 to 150 new jobs, hoping to build up the city’s Northwest side one bone at a time.

“It's going to be really important for this side of South Bend and I think it's just going to continue to grow over here as well,” she added.

You can follow along with the latest updates on the development on their Facebook page. 

While an official opening day has not yet been announced, they are still on track to open their doors in March 2024.