Opened in 1986, the South Shore Line’s Dune Park Station was more than ripe for a major renovation. Located north of Chesterton, Dune Park is also the administrative headquarters of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD), which operates the South Shore Line. Hundreds of passengers use the station daily to travel around the region and into Chicago. Although an attractive building with a unique design, it was beginning to show its age both visually and functionally.
The station’s distinctive roof required special attention, so South Shore Line turned to Korellis, a local company with decades of experience working on some of the region’s largest and most complex roofs.
“We are proud to have been selected for this project,” said Larry Millefoglie, Korellis’ sheet metal fabrication project manager. “It was a competitive bid and we were selected from among other contractors. It is a challenging job. It is a real showcase and we love jobs like this that are challenging, detailed and more involved.”
Millefoglie pointed to Korellis’ extensive portfolio of exceptionally challenging commissions – some of which shared similar characteristics – as the main reason they were given the right to work at Dune Park in the first place.
“We’ve worked on a lot of high-profile projects in the area,” he said. “The Hard Rock Casino is one of our projects, as is Cabela’s here in northwest Indiana. The Welcome Center on I-65 is also one I’ve worked on. With my experience, the experience of our people on the ground and our team in the office, we have a team that can bring it all together and produce good results for everyone.”
After receiving the contract, Korellis’ primary task was to remove the station’s old, decorative concrete roof and install a new standing seam metal roof. The team also installed new snow guards, gutters and other necessary weather and seasonal protection features.
One of the things that makes Dune Park such a unique design is the multitude of dormers. Dormers are structures that sometimes contain a window and protrude from a gable roof. They add additional angles and surfaces, which made it all the more interesting for the Korellis crew to work on.
“The building is very detailed, especially the installation of a metal roof, which requires a lot more than a shed roof,” said Millefoglie. “Dune Park has multiple dormers, valleys, hips and ridges that accentuate the roof and give it different profiles. When it all comes together, it makes for a pretty unique looking building.”
Korellis completed work on the station in early August. Millefoglie noted that working on the station brought a certain level of pride, as it has played a key role in the modern history of the Dunes as well as the daily lives of many commuters in northwest Indiana.
“It’s a very important stop; my wife works at the Department of Natural Resources and knows a lot about the history,” he said. “I’ve spent 27 years in this field and have traveled all over the United States. To be able to work on something like this close to home and be part of the history of something so important is a special feeling.”
For more information about Korellis, visit korellis.com. For more information about the South Shore Line, visit mysouthshoreline.com.
