Highlandtown Elementary School
At first thought, renovating a 24,000 sq. ft. building and adding a 50,000 sq. ft., three story, masonry bearing addition to an unoccupied school would not appear to be challenging to a firm which had constructed more than 70 other schools. However that changed, with the acceptance of an alternate to reduce the aggressive 18 month project schedule to 12 months – with a caveat that all work must be completed on time regardless of unforeseen conditions.
While gutting the structure of its existing finishes and equipment, it was found that the concrete topping installed under the wood floors was unstable in areas; roofing tar had bled through structural cracks in the concrete roof, a roof parapet wall was found to be unsound; deteriorated plaster on the exterior walls was judged to contain mold or provide an environment for its future growth; unidentified lead paint was present on the window sills, panels and trim; a City water line leak caused the lower level to flood and created a cave-in under an embankment where the foundation for the boiler room areaway was to be built; and the scheduled main switchgear location did not meet code only after installation of the equipment which then needed to be relocated.
Among the many unanticipated challenges was the instance where, after the new interior masonry walls were completed, the School system realized that several additional drinking fountains were required outside the gym; necessitating cutting of the concrete floors and newly completed walls to install plumbing for these fountains.
The interior first level courtyard is filled with a stone base and shredded rubber mulch to create a safe play yard for the children. These materials needed to be shot into place after all of the surrounding walls had been constructed.
This important brick masonry building could not be re-constructed for a reasonable cost in today’s economy and the design of the new addition so closely matches the brick work of the historic structure that the casual observer is challenged to ascertain where the existing structure ends and the new addition begins. Despite the magnitude of unforeseen conditions, its location directly adjacent an occupied community center, and the quantity and complexity of delays, the school was finished on time for the beginning of the school year.
Archbishop Borders School at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church
CAM was selected as the Construction Manager at Risk for this multi-phase renovation to the former Sacred Heart of Jesus School; now renamed the Archbishop Borders School. This is the only multi-lingual Catholic school run by the Archdiocese of Baltimore and was created following the consolidation of Baltimore’s Catholic Schools to serve the culturally diverse population in the East section of Baltimore City.
Throughout construction, the school classrooms were used for Sunday School classes, necessitating close coordination between construction activities and the Church. The lower level Great Hall, now used as the Cafeteria for this K-8th school, remained in use by Church committees nearly until the school year began. With its new servery, the school now provides lunches for all of its students.
Despite the modest budget allowed for the first phase of renovations, CAM was able to renovate the majority of the existing restrooms, provide several new restrooms, re-roof the school building, provide all new finishes, and create the needed emergency exit platform and staircase for the Kindergarten classes.
The existing wood closet cubbies were completely restored, and the original hardware was refurbished for use by the faculty. New white boards and tack boards were carefully installed over the existing slate chalk boards and trimmed out using moldings that match the original. The classrooms are differentiated by complex, yet cost-effective, patterned, vinyl tile floors, and the newly epoxy-painted hallway floors include colored accent circles to match the classrooms.
The new Administrative Suite was created at the main entrance to the school, with offices for the Principal, Vice Principal, Business Manager, and a welcoming Reception Area. The large fixed window at the Reception Area has been designed and installed to accommodate the planned multi-story elevator addition.
Phase 3 work included complete renovations to the 2nd floor administrative wing, new covered entry for students, modifications and enlargement of the covered entry to allow for student drop off at the new entry, refurbishment and new finishes, new windows and lighting at the gymnasium, new windows, and a new restroom at the lower level cafeteria.
Current work includes construction of the new playground.
Paul Laurence Dunbar High School
The project was awarded as a total gut and rehab of the 220,000 square foot school, originally contracted as being vacant. Due to the wishes of the faculty and students, the building was later continuously occupied throughout construction. This major renovation project is located on a tightly congested urban site, completely surrounded by adjacent academic buildings, major thoroughfares and the students and staff who were on site throughout the project.
Work areas include the gymnasium, auditorium, natatorium, classrooms, cafeteria/kitchen, academic labs and tech science classrooms, administrative offices and support areas. The existing HVAC and plumbing systems have been completely replaced, modifications were made to the existing sprinkler system, the existing roof was removed and a new roof installed. A new main entry and administrative wing was created from the former basement by removing the existing wall on Orleans Street and installing a new curtain wall and high efficiency window system providing natural light to the feature lobby with its substantially upgraded finishes and a massive Fritz tile floor highlighting the school’s colors.
New interior masonry walls have been constructed, extensive laboratory and science casework has been installed, and the technology upgrades enable the school’s curriculum to meet the needs of Dunbar’s health professional partnering agreement with Johns Hopkins Hospital. Hazardous materials removal, originally to be contracted by the owner, was added to CAM’s contract, with little if any extension to the contract completion. Work was completed directly adjacent occupied classrooms with no interruption to the curriculum.
The newly renovated school contains more than 50 laboratories, classrooms, and collegiate-style lecture halls for 900 students and faculty, a newly created health suite, resource center library, café, with full commercial kitchen, department offices and meeting spaces and storage areas – most of which have finishes highlighting the school’s colors and spectacular views of the City. Of particular interest is the placement of the offices, curved walls, and exposed beams which are used as architectural elements and feature flooring and ceiling details.
The contractual change from a vacant to occupied environment was accommodated by CAM’s forces installing temporary partitions, a covered interior walkway which re-routed internal passageways, a temporary fire alarm system, temporary power and temporary lights. Despite many owner initiated changes and additions to the contract, once again CAM’s work was completed on time with temporary occupancy granted ahead of schedule to allow for the faculty and staff to set up for the school year.
This school is of such great importance to the Baltimore City Public School System that the ribbon cutting ceremony was attended by Governor Martin O’Malley, Lt. Governor Anthony Brown, Mayor Sheila Dixon, Dr. Andres Alonso, CEO of the School System, and both national and local heads of the teacher’s union. The keynote ribbon cutting address was given by John’s Hopkins Hospital’s famed pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Cardin. The change to the school is so substantive that many of the alumnae attending the ribbon cutting ceremony literally could not find their way around the school they had once attended.
Villa Julie Infirmary Renovations
This 2-phased project was broken up into a ramp and canopy project, which offered additional indoor/outdoor amenity space to elderly residents, as well as interior office renovations. It entailed the construction of a multi-level enclosed porch addition, replete with exposed wood ceiling, screened in fencing, fans and lighting systems. New and replacement roofing work was done to the existing building, in addition to various improvements to the nurses station, as well as upgrades to the basement corridor, as utilized by residents and the Sisters of Notre Dame in their caretaking functions. CAM self-performed some of the carpentry and wood decking work, which yielded cost savings to the owner.
Lancaster Square Apartments
CAM Construction provided construction management and design/build services to Mason Dixon Capital Management for Lancaster Square in Fells Point. Savings of over 5% were achieved by utilizing the Construction Management Guaranteed Maximum Price delivery method. CAM utilized a value engineering process that permitted the project to proceed on a fast track basis to meet the developer’s needs.
The Lancaster Square renovation consisted of a group of five separate structures originally built in the 1880s and varying significantly in construction materials and floor plate elevations. The main building, The Union Box Co., is a timber-framed, three-story, 16,000-square foot brick warehouse. The other buildings are a two-story, steel-framed building, a two-story steel- and wood-framed building, and a 3-story brick townhouse.
As a part of the redevelopment, CAM constructed a three-story, light gauge addition between two irregularly shaped brick walls to integrate the structures. The project added another three-story addition that provides space for 10 luxury apartments atop the existing two-story structure.
Among the main challenges to this project was integration of the five structures into a single cohesive development while completely renovating the existing structures. The project called for major restoration including extensive masonry cleaning and re-pointing as well as cleaning and sealing the wood beams. The integration of the five structures unified 12 different roof elevations all of which were re-roofed and to which several large wood decks were added. Approximately 120 historic windows were replaced as part of the renovation.
Harford County Public Library – Bel Air Branch
The project included selective demolition, renovations, and new construction for a two-story, 44,0000-square foot addition to an existing occupied library. Also included was significant earthwork, sediment and erosion control, a storm drainage system, sanitary storm sewers, and landscaping.
The structure was built on a deep foundation system, with cast-in-place concrete decks. Interior features included architectural woodwork, automatic entrance doors, acoustical wall panels, glass-reinforced gypsum units, pre-laminated wall panels, pedestrian control devices, lockers, and operable walls. Additional systems and equipment provided include kitchen, laundry, boilers, HVAC, cable TV, and intrusion detection.
Glenmount Middle School
Project included a complete renovation of the existing 55,000 square feet school and construction of a 15,000 square foot addition to this historic building, originally constructed in 1929 and included in the National Historic Registry.
Interior renovations included new mechanical and electrical systems as well as the addition of several new classrooms, labs and support facilities. The renovation also included installation of a state of the art CAT 5 fiber optics computer data & TV network.
Great care was taken on the exterior renovations to preserve the details of this classic building. The signature cupola was removed and completely refurbished prior to its re-installation. The addition was designed to complement the historic building and provide an additional 15,000 square feet of academic space.
Site renovations involved the construction of new parking lots, installation of new landscaping and playground construction.
Roland Park Elementary/Middle School
This project included the complete renovation and major additions to the historic 1925 public school building. Great care was taken in the planning and construction of this 125,000 square foot project in that it was continuously occupied throughout the renovation.
Extensive use of temporary barriers and pedestrian flow controls were required. A large amount of hazardous material abatement was included in the contract.
Also included was a complete floor by floor finish and equipment modifications and complete mechanical and electrical system replacement and upgrades
Dpt. of Public Works – Park Terminal Maintenance Facility
Converting the 1899, 70,000-square foot, former street car barn in to the Baltimore City Utility Maintenance Division Headquarters presented many challenges. All interior concrete framing and roof structure were removed, leaving only the historic brick exterior walls. The existing streetcar maintenance tunnels were in-filled with concrete, at a depth of 10 feet, to create the new structural footings.
The historic brick walls were braced until the new wide-bay structural steel system was erected and the joists installed to carry the new flat metal roofing panels. These 108-foot-long roof panels were delivered to the tightly congested site at the corner of Fulton Ave and Druid Park Dr; two cranes were required to erect each panel. The existing stair towers were extensively reworked, and a large amount of masonry restoration and lead paint abatement work were completed while the building remained fully occupied. Two stone belt cornices, stone parapets, accents, and sills were fully restored to compliment the restored brick masonry walls.
There were many challenges associated with working in an occupied urban environment. This project included complete restroom/locker room renovations and installation of new mechanical systems using air handlers, steam unit heaters, steam lines, and forced sanitary piping.
Electrical work included renovation or replacement of the power distribution systems, security and fire systems, public address systems, and new light fixtures, switches, and receptacles.
An extensive, elaborate shelving system, remotely and manually controlled overhead doors, dock levelers, and window restoration also were installed. Work was completed ahead of schedule, without interruption to the Division’s operations.
