Growing Pains

It’s not unusual for families to outgrow their homes. Nor is it unusual for businesses to relocate when office space becomes inadequate. What happens when a familyowned business needs to expand? In the case of Garman Builders, the company solved the problem by embracing adaptive reuse and relocating to a new headquarters that includes a state-of-the-art design studio.

The Garman brothers, left to right, Jason, Shawn and Mike.

More than five years ago, the Garman brothers – Mike, Shawn and Jason – realized their company’s headquarters along North Reading Road in Ephrata, was not keeping pace with the growth of the multifaceted company. Founded in 1972 by their parents, Ivan and Charmaine, Garman Builders was originally located at the family’s home in Ephrata. “My dad used to meet with clients around our dining room table,” Shawn recalls. “We were not fond of those meetings,” he says. “It meant we had to be quiet and keep the television volume down low.”