Along the southeastern shoreline of Lake Michigan is the township of New Buffalo, a resort town whose population—and library book circulation—more than triples in the summer. So when the time came to build a new library, the community wanted a roomy, hospitable place that would welcome everyone.

“Our library is really a community center,” said Julie Grynwich, Director of the New Buffalo Township Library. The new 18,000-square-foot facility, which opened in August, is more than double the original 7,000-square-foot building, enabling the library to host more programs and participants than ever before. “Yoga has been a big hit here,” added Grynwich.

But before the library could start hosting yoga classes, the taxpayer-funded project needed to secure the support of the New Buffalo community. Skillman was able to work closely alongside Grynwich and her team to create the marketing literature, preliminary specs, renderings, and cost details of the proposed project, all of which were crucial in providing the voting public with a clear idea of how their money would be put to use.

“During the bond campaign,” said Mike Kounelis, VP at Skillman, “We worked with the library and the architect to come up with the best options and scenarios for the project that the library felt the community would support. As a result, we could help the community visualize exactly what their investment would look and feel like, and that obviously helps on election day.”

With the knowledge that New Buffalo wanted a welcoming place that would also allow their limited budget to go the distance, Skillman made sure each detail of the project would serve those two objectives. The building itself, for example, marries these two objectives with a warm, inviting exterior design that conceals a very heavy, institutional-type structure within. While many contemporary libraries are built with residential- or commercial-like builds that don’t last long, Skillman recommended a concrete-masonry-and-steel build that would serve the community in the long-term.

“We couldn’t have taken on this project without a construction management team like Skillman,” said Grynwich, who, in a recent conversation with another district’s library director, had this advice for libraries considering a building project: “You need a construction management team that will pay attention to every detail, listen closely, take suggestions, and work hand-in-hand with you. At the end, you want the finished project you want, and Skillman was devoted to making that a reality.”