It is not often one finds a connection between dinosaurs and chocolate, but for paleontologist and candy company owner Mark Tarner, the two are the perfect pairing.
The founder of South Bend Chocolate Company, Tarner has also been digging for dinosaurs and collecting fossils from Montana for over 20 years. This year, one of his long-held dreams came true when doors opened at the $15+ million Indiana Dinosaur Museum, located in South Bend just west of the South Bend airport. On prominent display are some gems from his personal collection — including 43 dinosaur sculptures, 30 skeletons, and even a rare sample of dinosaur skin.
The museum is situated on the same 90 acres where his chocolate shop and manufacturing facility are located. Visitors of the chocolate company can take tours and view displays about how chocolate is harvested and processed. The site is also home to South Bend Farms, South Bend Public House restaurant and music venue, and outdoor wildlife and nature attractions at the Continental Divide Park.
In addition to the $15.4 million Turner invested into the museum, the project received $2.7 million in funding from South Bend Common Council. It is expected to generate $15 million in annual revenues from museum admittance and related income, which translates to roughly $1 million in community income per year, said Kristina Tressler, director of operations for the South Bend Chocolate Company.
From the Ground Up
Tarner had been searching for the perfect property for his dream museum since 2017, and purchased the land later that year, Tressler said. HGR Group Inc. was the lead contractor for the 100,000-square-foot museum, providing general contracting, design-build, landscaping and other services.
HGR was involved in all elements of the site, including the chocolate factory, museum, and restaurant. The new on-site South Bend Chocolate Factory has received an Excellence in Construction Merit award from Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC).
HGR has been working for years with Tarner to make his dream a reality, said Justin Reinke, HGR president. “We became involved in this project after one of my friends, who was a banker for Mark, introduced us,” he said. “Mark and I hit it off really well and first discussed the project in 2019. We actually signed a contract for the project in September 2019 and were expecting to break ground in the spring of 2020. Then COVID happened and postponed the project for almost 18 months.”
Although HGR had worked on construction projects for large logistics buildings in the past, the contractor had never been involved in a museum project before, Reinke said.
To bring Tarner’s vision to life meant working closely with him. “Mark and I became very good friends throughout the project and still are to this day,” Reinke said. “We had daily conversations about the project. This was truly a design-build project, aligning Mark Tarner’s visions with our expertise of construction.” Throughout the design process, it wasn’t uncommon for Mark and Reinke to have three- or four-hour meetings twice a week reviewing the project, he said.
Reinke says that the most challenging aspect of the project was the site itself. “This was the most complicated site in the area, in my opinion,” he said. “We incorporated the drainage plan to accommodate Mark’s vision and have added water features. Mark wanted to modify the site several times along the way, so as a team, we made it happen and helped his dream become a reality.
