Teen Space

It’s called “The Wing:  A Place for Young Adults,” and it was inspired and designed in part by young adults at Erin’s House for Grieving Children and built by Shawnee Construction & Engineering.

“One of the things that made this project special is the teamwork behind it all,” says Matt Schenkel, president of Shawnee. “The staff at Erin’s House, our team and the architectural team all knew what the goal was because we’ve all worked together in the past. We knew how to reach the goal and bring the project to fruition.”

Erin’s House holds a special place in the hearts of those on the team from Shawnee. The family-owned and operated business built Erin’s House off St. Joe Center Road in Fort Wayne from the ground up in 2013, and continues to do all of the construction projects at the iconic facility.

“Long-term relationships with our clients are at the heart of our business and Erin’s House is a great example of that,” says Schenkel. “We get to know our clients and get a feel for what their needs are, and they get to know us and feel comfortable with our team. That leads to great outcomes.”

As with any construction project, surprises can happen, as was the case when “The Wing” was in the works. The 5,000 square-foot stand-alone building sits behind the original Erin’s House and is a separate space for young adults through age 25. It includes a quiet room, three counseling rooms and a large “hang-out” room.

“There was quite a bit of prep work involved,” says Scott Ralston, project manager for Shawnee. “We had to run over 800 feet of sewer line for sewer and storm water and the ground was compromised, so we had to build up the ground and needed to do it in a tight time frame. Hats off to our subcontractors who partnered with us and helped us to meet crucial deadlines.”

“Even though we ran into some unforeseen circumstances, it really was a joy to work with the staff at Erin’s House. Our team looked forward to being there every day,” says Ross Haffner, vice president of operations for Shawnee. “The cool thing about this project is that the kids got a chance to vote and chime in on what they wanted this building to be. They actually played a role in the design process, which makes sense, because it’s a special space just for them.”

Since its inception in 1968 by Schenkel’s father, John A. Schenkel, Shawnee has been a highly respected name in the construction industry. In addition to Erin’s House, it is behind countless staple spaces in northeast Indiana, such as ONE facilities, Women’s Care Center and Crazy Pinz.

“Over the 56 years Shawnee has been in business, there have been many changes and ups and downs in the commercial construction industry,” says Schenkel. “That being said, we’ve always stuck with our dad’s philosophy of doing what’s best for each customer and really listening to them. That has always worked and we continue to run our business with my dad’s values at the heart of it.” 

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