The interior of the Crown Point Community Library is in the process of receiving a new, polished look with the help of CertaPro Painters of Northwest Indiana. The team has been working on giving a fresh coat of paint to around 50,000 square feet inside the community space and is now just weeks away from putting the final touches on the project.
CertaPro Painters of Northwest Indiana brings a fresh look to Crown Point Community Library
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This update is part of a series of renovations the library has been planning since 2019. Through great interest rates and renegotiating a bond on the building, Crown Point Library Director Julie Wendorf was able to receive $1.2 million dollars for these projects. In addition to the new coats of paint, the renovations also included updating the security cameras, lighting, and floors.
To find the right team of painters, Wendorf held a bid process in which CertaPro was selected as the lowest responsible bidder. Wendorf had also previously known CertaPro Owner John Jordan through Crown Point Rotary, and having a familiar face involved with the project made her even more confident she chose the right group for the job.
“John's team has been phenomenal,” she said. “We’re kind of in a special situation because we're a public building, and we wanted to continue to give access to the public while still being safe, especially for young children. Those were the challenges that I think were probably unique compared to most of their other projects.”
Going into the project, Wendorf had a good idea of what she wanted the finished project to look like. Jordan appreciated Wendorf’s direction with the project, which he said has made for a smooth, quick, and easy process from start to finish.
“That’s where you find the value of those kinds of firms like that,” he said. “In a lot of cases, we're submitting a bid that's got some variables in there, such as numbers of colors, things like that we can give to a customer. But then they’ll ask us what color we want to paint, which really isn’t our main role in the project, so it helps when people like Julie have an idea of what they would like to do.”
“Having Julie help manage the time within the process helped, too,” added CertaPro Director of Operations Mark Powers. “We didn’t have that rushed feeling with this process where we felt like we just had to get it done.”
The library originally featured 16 colors throughout the building. Wanting to keep the costs low while applying a more minimalistic style, Wendorf opted for only around seven colors this time around. She said this would be beneficial to all parts of the library, but especially so to the children’s area. Many colors can create a busy and possibly over stimulating environment, and adding that minimalist touch will create a more serene space that’s uniform with the rest of the library, and would be accommodating for every child who enters the space.
Keeping a simple style also made it possible for any new colors to fit in with parts of the library that would not be undergoing changes, such as its terrazzo carpet.
Before bringing CertaPro on, however, Wendorf and her team first tried to tackle the project themselves
“We used Shive-Hattery out in Valpo, who designed the building in the first place, whose input was really important to me, and we started painting meeting rooms by ourselves. We realized we needed a bit more help to get the job done,” she said.
After painting a few of the meeting rooms, she realized something was missing to fully capture the cozy, inviting essence the library has always offered, and made the choice to bring in an outside company to complete the remaining space.
“When people walk into this library, some of the first things they say is that it feels warm. It’s homey; it's inviting,” Wendorf said. “Those feelings aren’t always what you’ll typically find in a lot of libraries. I've heard those comments a lot, and when I painted those rooms, I felt like we had missed the mark. I realized that I was at risk of losing that great feeling that we have in the building. That’s when we decided to go back to the designer and really think about the color pallet strategically.”
As the project comes to a close, Wendorf knows she made the right move by choosing CertaPro. The team of painters easily captured the feeling she was looking for, and she has been very pleased with the team in every step of the way.
“That was a major part of the project, making sure that we got the feel right. After that, it was a matter of trust falling into that decision-making process. We did just that with CertaPro, and everything has turned out really beautifully in terms of colors,” Wendorf said.
The Crown Point Community Library is considered a central hub to the community, offering programs for people of all ages, from quilting and crocheting to school board meetings. To see the new renovations and participate in the many programs it offers, be sure to visit its website here.
CertaPro Painters of Northwest Indiana is able to tackle most any paint job, both interior and exterior, to create the perfect space you’ve been looking for. To learn more and see how it can help with your next project, visit its website here or call 219-364-6083.
