Crystal Lake Public Library

The Featherstone Difference

After several failed referendums, and a tight operating budget with rising maintenance costs, the library was charged with putting a plan into place that would provide the much needed improvements to support the community while the library worked to reposition itself for another referendum within 5 years.  Working closely with Engberg Anderson Architects, Featherstone was brought on board to develop an extensive list of project needs with associated costs to help define the priorities, while maximizing the limited library funds towards the priority improvements.  With every dollar accounted for, there were not fund to support all of the required moving expenses that go along with library renovation while maintaining community access.  Featherstone developed a simple efficient solution to complete the renovation project in less than 1 year while maintaining the visitor’s experience during the entire project.  Cost savings from the project were also utilized to include roof and parking lot improvements that although important, were lower on the priority list.  Well after 7 years and yet another failed referendum, Featherstone was enlisted to work alongside Engberg Anderson Architects once again to prepare a series of feasibility studies with full cost opinions to help the library define their next course of action to continue to serve the community with limited resources.  The library raised their own funds and the Featherstone team once again maximized their budget in providing the needed improvements and help reduce operation costs of the library.