Indiana Dinosaur sees successful first months; city forgives loan

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Over the first 12 weeks the Indiana Dinosaur Museum has attracted more than 26,000 visitors to St. Joseph County.

It is on track to become one of the most popular tourist attractions in the region, and the early success has the City of South Bend forgiving the $2.7 million dollar loan to help build the facility.

Fossils, Wildlife, and Chocolatey treats all attracting people to the West Side of South Bend, which is why the City says they invested in the project with a forgivable loan.

"All of our economic development tools, whether it's this one or or others are meant to to drive growth and more prosperity into our community and ultimately more prosperity leads to tax revenues from these successful businesses back into reinvest in our community,” said South Bend Mayor James Mueller.

The project reached its terms and exceeded needed numbers in investment and jobs, so the loan is forgiven.

The Mayor says the jobs alone have added $4 million dollars in payroll, and the investment exceeded the original agreement by $2.4 million dollars, while other impacts are countless.

The museum is already on track to become one of the most visited attractions in St. Joseph County behind Notre Dame and the South Bend Cubs, and its founder Mark Tarner believes it will become one of the largest draws in the State.