Schools across the Region are always at work upgrading and expanding their facilities, improving the quality-of-life for students and teachers and making room for growing populations. Crown Point High School is undergoing one of the more visible upgrades – a multi-million dollar overhaul adding classrooms, athletic facilities, and a new roof.
Korellis, a hometown company with a workforce made up largely of graduates from those local schools, was awarded the project for Crown Point High School after presenting the lowest bid. At the head of Korellis’ portion of the work is Project Manager Ryan Frost, along with his team consisting of Foreman Kevin Cooper, Right-Hand Man Austin Markle, the crew of professional union roofers, and Korellis' sheet metal workers and carpenters.
“This is the third school that I’ve worked on over the last six months,” Frost said. “We did a partial reroof down in Rensselaer, a reroof of Northwestern Elementary in Kokomo, and now Crown Point High School. This one’s unique because there’s a lot of moving parts.”
Sometimes, all a school needs is a new roof, leaving Korellis the only contractor involved with the project. Crown Point High is adding multiple entirely new sections of building to the school, meaning multiple contractors and a dozen different trades all need to work together to get the job done right.
“There’s a lot of different moving pieces,” Frost said. “A lot of the work is coordination with different trades like the masons, the steelworkers, and the carpenters. We have to make sure they’ve got everything ready for us so that we can get going on our part of the job.”
Frost called particular attention to Crown Point High School’s efforts to accommodate Korellis and keep the job running smoothly.
“They’ve been fantastic. They’ve basically given us their road and parking lot along the south for our deliveries, equipment, and so on,” he said. “They’ve been super accommodating not just to us at Korellis but to all of the trades working out here. This back lot used to be their staff parking lot, but they’ve kind of let us take it over.”
The project manager explained that there is a certain pride that comes with finishing projects as big as the ongoing work at Crown Point High.
“I always get a certain joy out of seeing a job get to the end,” he said. “You spend weeks, months, planning and getting the crew ready for the job and as it progresses – seeing it get closer to the end is just so satisfying.”
Frost said that when the job is one that’s a public service, like a school, that feeling is even greater.
“Crown Point’s really building up their infrastructure here,” he said. “Personally, professionally, it’s just a good feeling. I’ll always be able to drive by Crown Point High School and think ‘ I managed the reroof of that entire school.’”
To learn more about Korellis, visit korellis.com.
