In 1999, the United Tractor Company of Cleveland, Ohio, closed its facility at 116 N. 15th St.

For years it remained vacant or mostly vacant (a barbecue sauce bottling and distribution business did operate there briefly), a nice piece of industrial property no one wanted in the heart of Chesterton.

Then, in April 2005, the Utility purchased it for $375,000, the idea being to retrofit the facility and then headquarter there many of the town’s functions.

At the time former Utility superintendent Steve Yagelski expressed the confidence that most of the renovation of the building could be done in-house.

That proved not to be the case.

In fact—as became apparent last year to the Town Council—renovation would be prohibitively expensive.

So the decision was made instead to raze it all and build from scratch.

On Wednesday, town officials and contractors grabbed ceremonial shovels and donned ceremonial hard hats to ceremonially break ground on the project, which is being built in two phases.

Phase I—to begin next week—will entail first the demolition of a couple of out-buildings on the property and then the construction of two new ones: a street-salt storage building and a cold storage building, the latter to house vehicles and equipment not currently in seasonal use.

Phase II—the contract for which has not yet been awarded—should begin before the end of the summer. First the main facility will be bulldozed and then a brand-new one raised in its place.

Total cost: around $2.615 million, the bulk to be financed by a general obligation bond somewhat under $2 million and the balance in Major Moves funding provided by the State of Indiana.

Chester Inc. has designed the new facility. The Ross Group has been awarded the contract to build Phase I.

When all is said and done, the new facility will be the HQ for the Street Department, the Engineering Department, the Stormwater Utility, and the Parks and Recreation Department. Town Manager Bernie Doyle will also have his office there.

“We feel we’ll be able to serve the public much better by putting everybody under one roof,” Town Council President Jeff Trout, R-2nd, told the Chesterton Tribune. “It’ll be one-stop shopping. And it should last 20 or 30 years before more space is needed.”

The Police and Fire departments, as well as the Clerk-Treasurer’s Office, will remain at their current homes, the town hall at 726 Broadway.

Posted 6/3/2010