News
Ancon Construction Completes Lakeville Library
Posted: 10/10/2007
LAKEVILLE, Ind. – Goshen company Ancon Construction recently completed the new Lakeville Library branch located at 120 N. Michigan St. in Lakeville. A dedication ceremony with refreshments will be held on Sunday, Oct. 14 from 1-4 p.m.
This nearly 4,000-square-foot facility replaces the library’s leased location inside the Old Lakeville School Project, which was around 1,800 square feet, according to Don Napoli, St. Joseph County Public Library director. “The space there was pretty small, and we wanted to own rather than lease,” he said. “The new location is all ours and it will be paid for by Dec. 31, so there’s no long-term ongoing debt involved.” The total cost for the library was about $1.6 million.
The building is in walking distance for most of the townspeople and has plenty of parking space for the patrons who drive in, Napoli said. “There are about 500 people in town, and another 2,500 that live in the greater area of Union Township that will utilize this branch.”
Usage is expected to increase by at least 35 percent, and perhaps by as much as 60 percent in its first month, as with the new North Liberty library after its completion last year. “The door counts at North Liberty were incredible,” Napoli stated. “We had over 8,000 people in the first month. We’re expecting the same kind of response in Lakeville.”
Plans for the building had been in the works for at least two years. To come up with the design, James Childs Architects of South Bend and the library staff planning team went through the surrounding neighborhoods taking photos so they could get a feel for the style and personality of the community. To complement those styles, they gave the building a lakeside-cottage look with many textures and natural materials.
“This was originally a lakefront community with cottage-type homes, and this library is reminiscent of that,” said Napoli. “We have tall grass, flowers and a waterfall on the outside patio with some wood benches.”
The interior also contains more relaxing and welcoming elements, he said. There is a fireplace area, a small arboretum, and a self-service café with several vending machines offering items such as pastries, snacks, coffee and soft drinks.
Another improvement upon the previous facility, Napoli said, is the meeting rooms. “The meeting room was actually upstairs, and to get to it you had to leave the library proper and take an elevator up,” he explained. “Here, the meeting room is on the same level as the rest of the building and is handicapped-accessible.” It will also host children’s story hours, book talks, movie and slide programs, exhibits and displays.
Flexibility of use was essential, he said, so the room has lighting with various levels of illumination available and windows that can be darkened. It can be used free of charge to anyone in St. Joseph County, as long as the group is non-political, non-religious and not-for-profit.
In creating the adult, teen and children’s areas, comfort and utility were high priorities. Those areas include a loveseat for two, a parent/child reading chair, overstuffed seating, study tables and carrels, and more. There are several computers for general use, both Macintosh and PC, with an increase to 10 laptops that can be used anywhere inside the building. There are also two game computers in the children’s section.
“We have a very nice children’s area that faces south with a large bay window. Parents can sit on cushions there and read to their children,” said Napoli.
At the check-out desk, the library will implement a new self-checkout and self-return system. There, patrons can check in returned materials, check out books and other library materials, and pay fines or checkout fees via a credit card or cash acceptance and change-making machine.
After the overall design was created at the onset of the planning phases, there was a bidding process for the construction company that would bring it to fruition. “Ancon was the most responsible and responsive of all the bidders,” he stated. “We met regularly with all the subcontractors to discuss the status and share information. Ancon has done a great job.”
To view pictures of this project, visit the "related link" below.
