MEDORA, ND — As the United States commemorates its 250th anniversary, JE Dunn Construction (JE Dunn) celebrates the completion and grand opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library (TRPL) in Medora, North Dakota. This milestone represents the culmination of a multi-year partnership to establish an institution that honors the 26th President’s legacy of leadership and conservation.
As construction manager, JE Dunn helped bring the project from concept to completion through a construction management at risk delivery model, alongside the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation, Snøhetta as design architect, and JLG Architects as the architect of record. Construction began in June 2023 and required intensive coordination across a remote Badlands site, innovative procurement and phasing, and close collaboration among trades and project partners.
JE Dunn’s family of brands also contributed to the success of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. Aptitude: Intelligent Integration provided technology integration services, while Blue Hat provided construction equipment and managed hauling logistics that were critical to building on the remote site. Form Off-Site Solutions delivered extensive prefabrication, including custom elements for the building skin.
“Nobody could point to a playbook for this project. We were asking our teams, our trades, and our suppliers to solve challenges none of us had tackled before, which meant collaboration was required from day one,” said Marc Mellmer, Vice President at JE Dunn. “This project challenged our team to make more transparent, intentional choices around product sourcing, use, transport, and full life cycle impacts.”
Located on a 93-acre butte at the edge of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, the library stands out for both its design ambition and its environmental performance goals. Project features include a 2-acre walkable green roof with approximately 4,500 cubic yards of soil and more than 140,000 native plugs, a mile-long boardwalk, about 40,000 square feet of exhibit space, a 300-seat auditorium, a mass timber structural system, FSC-certified wood rainscreen and curtainwall systems, and North America’s first curved rammed earth structure as a centerpiece in the main hall.
The project is pursuing Living Building Challenge (LBC) Living Certification, LEED Platinum, and SITES Platinum certification, making it the first presidential library to pursue LBC certification and one of the first projects in North Dakota to pursue LBC’s highest tier — Living Certification. Sustainability strategies include a 352-kW photovoltaic array with 702 panels, 216 geothermal wells reaching 300 feet deep, water capture and reuse systems, a high-performance building envelope, extensive material vetting, and the use of low-carbon concrete to reduce embodied carbon.
“Theodore Roosevelt was larger than life, but he was not a man who acted alone. He was supported by his family, peers, and fellow citizens,” said Edward O’Keefe, CEO of TRPL. “The same is true of this library. We are profoundly grateful to JE Dunn for being in the arena with us from the very beginning. Their support was a foundational investment in the idea that history should be lived, not just remembered. And, because of our partners, that vision is a reality.”
By helping deliver this project, JE Dunn contributed to a facility designed to connect Roosevelt’s conservation legacy with future-focused learning and civic engagement. The library has officially opened to the public.
