Project Highlight: US Cold Storage in Lake County

On September 6, 2023, United States Cold Storage (USCS) broke ground on a new $124 million cold storage facility in Lake County, Indiana. The facility is expected to create 60 new jobs by the end of 2028. The new facility will be located at the northeast corner of Interstate 65 and Route 2. It will be a fully automated, 13.58 million cubic-foot public refrigerated warehouse. The facility will also feature a solar array that will provide 100% renewable energy to the warehouse.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the new facility was attended by state and local officials, as well as representatives from USCS and its customers. The ceremony was a celebration of the economic development that the new facility will bring to Lake County.

Commonwealth Engineers is preparing a Water System Management Plan (WSMP) for Apple Valley Utilities, Inc. (AVU), an affiliate of Astbury Water Technology, Inc., for a new non-community, non-transient water system to serve USCS and two out lots. The WSMP will present design alternatives for AVU to serve USCS. The first alternative is a short-term solution consisting of drilling a second production well on an AVU-owned parcel, which not only has an existing production well but is also located across from USCS. Additionally, a well house with chlorination equipment will be constructed.   An Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) Well Site Survey was completed for this alternative and will be submitted with the WSMP for IDEM’s review and approval. The second alternative is a long-term solution where filtration equipment to remove iron and manganese and an elevated storage tank are added to the design from Alternative No. 1. 

AVU also owns and operates an existing public water system, which is a community water system located on the northwest corner of I-65 and SR 2. Consolidation with the existing community system was investigated as an alternative for the WSMP but ultimately deemed cost-prohibitive until the new system expands to serve new developments. 

IDEM stipulates that the WSMP be approved prior to submitting a construction permit application. Therefore, design will need to be done concurrently with IDEM’s review of the WSMP to meet the USCS schedule for providing service.

For more information on this project or Water System Management Plans, contact Andrew Cochrane, PE.