Project Description:

The Ross Group of Portage Indiana just wrapped up construction on a new office and storage facility at Haven Hollow Park in South Haven. The new 6,000 square-foot Portage Township parks department facility came in at a price tag of $750,000. The new building, located at 330 W. 700 N. in Valparaiso, will house maintenance facilities for parks and cemetery workers, a wash bay for cleaning vehicles and equipment, office space, and a community conference room.

Garry Gadd, who was the project Superintendent for The Ross Group, said that the project ran as smooth as could be expected. One of the biggest challenges, according to Gadd, was getting the building shell up before the winter. “Having the building envelope complete before harsh weather hit really enabled us to work non-stop from the day we broke ground in August (2016) to completion in January (2017)”.

Kirt Witham, Director of Business Development with The Ross Group, said that this project will help improve the quality of life for local residents and credited Portage Township Trustee, Brendan Clancy for his visionary leadership.
“Growing up near Haven Hollow, I have seen the positive transformation of the park over the years and Brendan has done so much to help improve the area”, Witham said. “This new facility will allow the community to host meetings and provide park staff with another asset to help maintain the integrity of the park system”.

Ross Group Project Manager, George Katsiris, planning and coordinating the construction process for the New Haven Hollow Park Building was easy due to the “professionalism of everyone involved in the project”.

“The owner, architect, contractors, and vendors on this project we’re all wonderful to work with”, Katsiris stated. “They were all very responsive and accommodating with regards to the project scope which allowed us to keep the schedule on-track and produce another quality construction project”.

Brendan Clancy said that the bulk of the nearly $750,000 project will be paid out of a $2.2 million parks bond that will be paid off in 2019. "It's a long-term investment in property, but it's a short-term investment in terms of tax dollars," he said.

Project Description:

In September 2016, The Pangere Corporation completed Fire Station No. 3 project for the city of Portage, Indiana. The new fire station is located at 6300 Central Avenue and has a price tag of approximately $4.6 million. Construction on the 13,593 square foot building began in September of 2015. The building was constructed of structural steel framing, 8” thick precast concrete 2nd floor deck, exterior block & brick walls, EPDM roof system, elevator, 2nd floor patio, fire fighter living space, administrative office space, weight room, kitchen area, stained concrete interior floor system, Red Four Fold apparatus bay door systems, Four (4) drive through apparatus bays, sliding pole system, site development of approximately 2 acres, new site utility systems, public sidewalks, and a parking lot.

“It was an honor to be the General Contractor for this project and to be part of the process in building one of the most unique and state of the art Fire Stations in this area” said Jim Vermillion, Project Manger for Pangere Corporation. “You just don’t see Fire Stations built like this anymore. The four red apparatus bay doors in the front of the building is what really makes this building stand out aesthetically from other fire stations. It was great working with the City of Portage & Chief TomFeiffer who had the vision of what they wanted long before we started this project”.

This new Portage Fire Station utilized a project labor agreement which assured that the building would be constructed using local professional labor and the most highly trained and skilled construction workforce in this area. According to Vermillion, Pangere also used all local contractors which really helped to increase the responsiveness. Moveover, the having local skilled workers and contractors really afforded Pangere the ability to complete the project before the owners scheduled move-in date.

Project Description:

In October, 2016, Superior Construction Company, Inc. of Portage, Indiana completed work on new INDOT bridge on County Road 29 over U.S. 6 in Elkhart County. The project costs for the new bridge came in at just over $2.6 million. The new bridge modifies the existing intersection which was prone to serious vehicle accidents due to being at-grade and skewed. Completion of this project allows for traffic to pass safely over U.S. 6 and it eliminates vehicle collision risks.

The bridge deck sits on composite prestressed bulb tee-beams (made in Indiana) that span 97.75 feet and weigh fifty (50) tons each. Each beam was installed utilizing a 500 ton crane. Superior also installed two (2) new mechanically stabilized earth walls (made in Indiana) that serve as the bridge abutments. Approximately 100,000 cubic yards of earthen embankment was brought in to raise the road grade of County Road 29.

The project was completed on-time and without any OSHA recordable injuries or lost-time accidents.

Project Description:

New brewery bottling line 44,000 SF building and 3-story distillery. Buildings are three Nucor / ABC pre-engineered metal structures, into one large building with various roof pitch’s and insulated metal wall panels. The Distillery is made up of bar joists & metal deck with concrete floors, fire proofing on exposed structures, three stop Class 1 Div. 2 elevator. All rooftop units, plumbing, electrical and fire sprinkler system. Bottling line area includes a second level mezzanine which includes bathrooms, offices and a conference room.  New parking lots have been added for their additional employees and public access.  The existing asphalt parking lot has been replaced with new roller compacted concrete and curbing has been added.

In April of 2016, Hasse Construction of Calumet City, IL completed construction on 3-story building for Three Floyds Brewery. The new building is a little over 44,000 square feet in size and will house a new brewery bottling line as well as a new distillery. The expansion will help Three Floyds increase their production to meet consumer demand for their world-famous craft beers. The new bottling line will nearly triple its production to 100,000 barrels a year. The new distillery will allow Three Floyds to start production of craft spirits.

Construction began in September 2014 and the project has three Nucor/ ABC pre-engineered metal structures which are all connected under one giant roof. The new and improved brewery has an exposed industrial look and has a three floor elevator system, office space, conference room, and additional restrooms.

One of challenging aspects of building the project was the roofing system.

“The existing building had various roof pitch’s and tying the existing pitches with the new 3-story building was one of the unique characteristics of this building”, said James Jackomis, Sr. Project Manager for Hasse Construction. “The professional craftsmen from the Northwest Indiana Building Trades who worked on this project did a wonderful job of tying the new building with the existing structure in way that is aesthetically pleasing and above all, practical”, Jackomis said.

The new structure is primarily built from insulated metal wall panels which helps will help with energy efficiency. The new HVAC systems are mounted on the roof. The floor of the new distillery has both 12" and 6" slabs for loading docks and bottling line.  The second level mezzanine includes additional offices, a conference room, and restroom room facilities.

Project Description:

Planned within an active city block in downtown Valparaiso, The Plaza dramatically repositions the corridor of Lafayette Street encompassing area into a grand public plaza anchored by a Gateway Water feature. The plaza consists of 40,000 sf of concrete pavement and 10,000 sf of precast pavers to accommodate informal pedestrian traffic, comfortable community seating venues and informal outdoor gathering spaces. The pavilion serves seasonal festival events during the spring and summer months and is transformed into an ice skating rink during the winter months. The dramatic pavilion structure features 105 foot long glu-lam timber beams with exposed wood decking. An adjacent indoor facility provides space for social activities, provides public restrooms and accommodates equipment rentals and equipment storage for outdoor activities.

The project was completed in 10 months; from October 2014 thru August 2015. Many of the key construction activities were performed during winter months requiring heated enclosures to keep the project on schedule. Several logistical challenges were successfully completed within a tight urban site location. The entire effort required effective communication and teamwork between the City of Valparaiso, the design architect; Design Organization and Berglund Construction.  The total project size is 18,700 square feet.