Construction firm new to region tackles big projects

SCHERERVILLE | Core Construction opened its Indiana office just three years ago, but it is already working on major projects in Northwest Indiana including Centennial Village, in Munster, and Park Place, a senior-living complex in St. John.

The Centennial Village development will be near the southeast intersection of Calumet Avenue and 45th Street, where a new railroad underpass is being planned.

We moved the Munster Steel building and built the new one in Hammond, said Scott Olthoff, president of Core Construction Indiana. We demolished the old building, and things are now going through city (Munster) approvals. Then the underpass will start and we should be able to start construction in conjunction with that.

Core Construction Indiana, a construction management business, is a franchise of Phoenix-based Core Construction.

Although plans remain preliminary, Centennial Village is expected to include restaurants, retail and office spaces as well as other venues and multifamily residential housing, Olthoff said. However, Gene Kimmel, head of CPV LLC and Centennial Villages owner and developer, said "exact details of the development" will remain uncertain until negotiations with Munster are complete.

Land acquisition, which will also determine some development options, remains underway, Kimmel said.

Core Construction Indiana also is handling construction management for Park Place, the $30 million senior-living complex in St. John, and the education center at Fair Oaks Farms in Fair Oaks, Ind.

Weve got a lot of exciting projects going on right now, Olthoff said.

Basically they (Core Construction owners) saw Indiana as an opportunity because of the growth in interest in the market and Illinois economic climate and its a relationship thing with me, Olthoff said. I was introduced to the president of Core Illinois about eight years ago, and he made a recommendation for them to explore Indiana because of the market.

Beside Indiana, Core Construction, which is privately held, has regional franchise offices in Florida, Arizona, Louisiana, Illinois, Texas and Nevada as well as offices in Kansas, Georgia, Kentucky and Wisconsin. It is the nations fourth-largest school builder and has $700 million in bond capacity,

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Construction firm new to region tackles big projects