By VICKI URBANIK

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources is envisioning an inn at the Indiana Dunes State Park that would be located on the west-end parking lot and designed similar to other state park hotels.

With an inn, the Indiana Dunes State Park would join the seven other state parks in Indiana that now offer hotel-like accommodations. But unlike the others, the inn would be built and operated entirely by a private entity that would lease the land from the state.

While supporters say the inn would boost local tourism and give the public another way to enjoy the Indiana Dunes, the proposed inn is drawing opposition from the Save the Dunes Council, which sees more development at the state park as unnecessary and intrusive.

Save the Dunes Resource Specialist Constance Clay said the environmental group is gathering information on the pros and cons of the inn, but that at this time, “we are opposed to any development in the Indiana Dunes State Park.”

A state park inn would change the landscape and aesthetics of the state park, she said intruding on the natural experience that park visitors now enjoy. Many questions about an inn need to be answered, Clay said, foremost of which is: “What is the need for an inn at the state park?”

DNR Director Kyle Hupfer announced at an event at the state park last Friday that the DNR was proceeding with a request for proposals -- known as an RFP -- from firms interested in building and operating an inn, alternately called a lodge. On Tuesday, he told the Chesterton Tribune that the RFP will be released sometime next month, along with RFPs for inns at the Versailles and Potato Creek state parks.

“And then we’ll see what happens,” he said.

Hupfer said it’s far too early to speculate as to when a groundbreaking would occur. He also said there might not be any inn at all, if no one jumps in or if the proposals received are not satisfactory. However, he said there has been “significant interest” in an inn in the dunes voiced by area residents and potential operators.

Many of the inn’s details will be outlined in the RFP, which is scheduled to be released sometime in February. But tentatively, Hupfer said it’s envisioned that the inn would be rustic in design, like those at other state parks, which tend to have 100 to 125 rooms and stand three or four stories tall.

He said he doesn’t know if the inn would have an indoor swimming pool, and that this might be left as an option in the RFP. He noted that with the proximity of the Lake Michigan beach, the park may not be the most appropriate place for a pool.

He also said it’s too early to say if the inn would have its own restaurant, but did say that it wouldn’t surprise him if a developer would want a dining facility.

The historic beach-front pavilion used to have a restaurant, and State Rep. Ralph Ayres, R-Chesterton, is among those who would like to see the pavilion restored and put to expanded use. But Hupfer said while there is a “potential” for the inn and the pavilion projects to be linked together, the inn could proceed on its own.

The DNR is entrusted to preserve the pavilion as a historical structure, he said, but a private developer would need to provide the funding for a restoration. “There has to be a demand,” he said.

State parks that currently have inns are at Brown County, McCormick’s Creek, Pokagon, Clifty Falls, Spring Mill, Turkey Run and Fort Harrison. Cabins are located at Brown County, Turkey Run, Chain O’ Lakes, Harmonie, Lincoln, McCormick’s Creek, Potato Creek, Shakamak and Whitewater Memorial.

Years ago, the Dunes State Park had a hotel located west of the pavilion, as well as more rustic cabins in the Tremont Road area.

Hupfer said the DNR is interested in expanding the state park inn availability. But he also said Indiana hasn’t built a state park inn since the ‘40s and doesn’t have the budget to do so now. So the only way more inns would be built would be through a private-public partnership, with a private interest leasing the land on a long-term basis from the state.

Last year, the DNR put out RFPs for inns at Versailles and Potato Creek, but received no responses, he said.

Hupfer said the benefit to having an inn at the Dunes State Park is that it would enhance tourism, a key economic driver, and would promote additional use of the park in the off seasons. The state would benefit financially through the lease and through additional gate revenues, he said.

Hupfer said he doesn’t envision that an inn would hurt parking availability at the State Park. The state park just lost about 300 parking spaces for the Dunes Creek restoration project, and the inn would reduce parking even more. But Hupfer said the lot that’s been destroyed in the Dunes Creek project was hardly used and that there might be available parking adjacent to the inn.

In any event, he said there are no plans to build an additional parking lot.

Hupfer said he expects that the DNR will publish educational materials about the inn to inform the public about the proposal, but that it’s his understanding the project can proceed without a public hearing. He also said the RFP will be subject to public review.

Hupfer said the DNR is aware of the Save the Dunes Council’s opposition. He said while he does not know if the DNR will be able to convince the Save the Dunes to change its position, he said he’s hopeful that the DNR can demonstrate to the environmentalists the positive environmental impacts associated with an inn, such as enhanced education about the dunes and improved sewage treatment capacity.

But Clay noted that the Dunes State Park just removed the auxiliary parking lot for the Dunes Creek restoration to allow the creek to flow naturally. She said such a project is environmentally beneficial, but adding more concrete in another area of the park is a step backward.