Building with purpose: 3 lessons nonprofits can learn from Lakemary Center’s capital project
By Straub Construction
Sep 16, 2024
For nonprofit organizations, finding money for new initiatives might feel daunting when it often seems like staff and volunteers have to get creative just to stretch the existing dollars as far as they’ll go. But, like many things in the world, built space is critical to the ability of some nonprofits to achieve their mission.
If a nonprofit is ready to embark on a capital campaign to create the space that will allow its philanthropic efforts to thrive, what should the organization’s leaders know? The team at Lakemary Center in Paola, Kansas, designed “A Blueprint for Hope,” a $16 million capital campaign to build the Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility (PRTF) with Straub Construction as the general contractor. Here are three things they learned through the process.
1. Know what you’re looking for in construction partners.
Lakemary Center’s vision is to create an opportunity for inclusion and acceptance for children and adults with developmental disabilities.
“Lakemary Center has been a leader in providing individualized services for children and adults with autism spectrum disorder and other intellectual and developmental differences,” said Kirk Davis, president and CEO at Lakemary Center. “Our distinguished, nationally recognized programs and services touch the lives of more than 450 people and their families each year from all over the United States.”
For the Lakemary Center team, it was important to find construction partners that aligned with that vision. That meant looking deeper than the construction work itself to find a partner with a reputation for being ethical, innovative and collaborative. Enter Straub Construction.
2. Deeply understand your purpose for constructing or renovating your space, and make sure your construction partner does, too.
“We’ve been thinking about this project for years and years,” said Davis. “Our existing dormitories were 54 years old and small. They did not provide for the needs of the children that we serve now. In our new building, the setting is perfect for enhancing active treatment.”
“The space was designed and built to support the children and our team of employees who work with our children each day,” said Teddi Hernandez, chief operations officer at Lakemary Center. “Every detail was thought through, from the color choices to the materials to the actual design of the footprint. It has all come together to allow Lakemary Center to serve the children even better with unique spaces, calming colors, individual bedrooms and spaces for them to receive treatments.”
“Remember that they are experts,” said Joe Riedel, vice president at Straub Construction. “Although the client may not have construction expertise, they are the most qualified to determine the wants and needs of the facility. Take the time to allow the client to work through the planning process to make sure everything is right before moving full steam ahead. The executive team at Lakemary did an incredible job of always placing the highest priority on the needs of the children and staff.”
3. Find a construction partner that listens.
“It is important to have a partner who listens to your needs and learns from what you are telling them,” Davis said. “We had many unique needs as an organization and the building had to take each of them into consideration. The team created by Straub worked with us daily to be sure they understood the needs and were coming up with solutions to meet them. This was the single most important aspect of the relationship with Straub — their willingness to hear us, learn and then come up with solutions.”
“We had a very good understanding of what we needed,” Davis said. “We just needed the right contractor and the right architect that could listen to us, capture our vision and produce the results. And that’s what’s happened.”
Building for impact
When the right partnership comes together, the impact is evident.
“The most rewarding part is knowing that we were able to help deliver Lakemary’s vision of building a new home that is warm and inviting and that also works with the staff to provide the highest level of care,” Riedel said.
“The Kirk Davis Center is providing 40 children with a residential treatment center that focuses on their individual growth and development,” Hernandez said. “The space was designed and built with the children we serve today in mind and the thousands of children who will come through the doors of this building in the future.”
Nonprofits ready to build with purpose can reach out to Straub Construction at straubconstruction.com to learn more about how their mission to “believe in what you build” can help.
