College & University

Hilton Mansion was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and is also listed on Baltimore and Maryland’s historic registries. Situated on a 1678 land grant in Baltimore County, the original stone farmhouse was completed in 1825 as the first structure on the site. Purchasing the property in 1827, Dr. Lennox Birckhead, Fort McHenry patriot in the 1814 Battle of Baltimore, named the property Hilton because of its high elevation. His original mansion house is believed to have been completed between 1828 and 1835. Privately held until 1905, Hilton Mansion had fallen into disrepair until its sale in 1917 and completion of its 1919 technologically advanced renovation. This renovation transformed Dr. Birckhead’s mansion into the more than 14,000 SF, four-story Georgian Revival house one sees today.

Hilton Center has been completely restored and converted to offices and seminar rooms which will be used for lectures, meetings and social events. The restored Hilton Mansion—now called the Hilton Center—is the new home for CCBC’s Honors Program and Center for Global Education. Lewis Contractors’ work at Hilton Mansion included removal of the “modern” finishes installed during the 1970’s renovation, preservation of the historic crown moldings and baseboards, restoration of the windows, restoration of the mahogany paneling, installation of a new elevator, ADA compliance work and restoration of the quarry tile and historic marble checkerboard flooring. This work and the new energy efficient heating/ventilation/air conditioning systems, new electrical service and fixtures, restoration of the home’s exterior and installation of the new brick paver entryway have restored the home to its position as the crown jewel of the college campus. As a part of Lewis’ renovation, the home now includes a warming kitchen and ancillary necessities for catered events.

Lewis Contractors was the Construction Manager on this new Health Science Building on the campus of Howard Community College. The new building is 113,000 SF and is the college’s first LEED Gold Certified project. Lewis collaborated with the prime architect to provide teaching skills laboratory design and layout, interior building component design, BIM support, and CD support services.

The building accommodates the growing nursing and allied health programs, and includes many skills labs and simulation rooms. The skills labs train paramedics, nurses, radiology technologists, dental hygienists, cardiovascular technologists, medical technologists, and physical therapists. Other functional spaces include departmental faculty and staff offices, classrooms, study spaces, and a 150-seat tiered lecture hall.

The building was fully designed utilizing Building Information Modeling software, REVIT.

This CM-at-Risk project for Howard Community College involved the construction of a new parking garage on an occupied academic campus in Columbia, Maryland. The project involved the construction of a 5-story parking garage with approximately 750 spaces to replace an existing parking lot on the overcrowded academic campus.

The garage was constructed using architectural precast concrete and stainless steel architectural metal mesh for the exterior façade. Storefront and aluminum curtain wall were used on the stairways. Work included demolition of the existing parking lot and extensive excavation—involving 54 drilled concrete poured cassions—to complete the building foundation. All work was carefully coordinated around HCC’s ongoing operations. Contractor parking areas were located in coordination with the Owner, so as not to interfere with HCC’s already constrained parking situation. Because of the proximity of occupied academic buildings, construction nuisance issues such as noise, dust, vibration, odors, and working hours had to be strictly controlled.

This project involved comprehensive renovations to an existing auditorium within the JHU Bloomberg School of Public Health. The existing slope floor did not meet ADA code requirements—the slope was changed using a custom-cut, proprietary foam insulation material with a new concrete deck. A sloped and radiused ceiling was provided, featuring large radius curves that were constructed using templates and layout points generated from the design team’s CAD files. Additional work involved new concrete and concrete demolition, new structural steel, extensive millwork finishes, theater lighting, audio, and audiovisual systems, all completed in the midst of an occupied teaching hospital and medical research university.

Lewis Contractors completed this addition to the Milton S. Eisenhower Library on JHU’s Homewood Campus. The new wing includes high-technology collaborative spaces for students—including an 84 square foot electronic “visualization wall” in the atrium—a new rare
books library, and a 75 seat café. There are 16 flexible group study rooms, 6 “smart” classrooms and seminar rooms wired with state-of-the-art digital technology such as short-throw projectors, and a large 100-seat quiet reading room. The addition also houses the Department of Special Collections and includes a new conservation laboratory for the Department of Conservation and Preservation. Marble used in construction was salvaged from an earlier renovation of nearby Shriver Hall.

The project itself makes extensive use of daylighting and highly efficient energy systems in obtaining LEED Gold Certification—surpassing the Owner’s original goal of LEED Silver. Building Information Modeling systems were used by both the Architect and Lewis Contractors in executing this project.

This project included the creation of a new “Founder’s Wall,” honoring donors who matched Johns Hopkins’ founding gift of $7 million to the University. The wall was constructed in front of Garland Hall, on the Johns Hopkins University Homewood Campus. High-end paver systems, new railings, and new landscaping were provided. Custom marble was provided throughout—it was hand-selected from the quarry to ensure consistency along the entire length of the wall. All work was successfully completed on the occupied Homewood Campus, necessitating careful safety, security, pedestrian control, and construction nuisance mitigation measures.

Of particular note are the seven or so blank marble panels that were installed on this project—these panels were purposely set aside to honor anonymous contributions of $7 million or more to the University. Had the donors not chosen to remain anonymous, the inscriptions of their names would have filled all the set-aside panels.

Completed in 1861, the official grand opening of this building was delayed until 1866, after the Civil War. Prior to our work, the Library was last rehabilitated in the 1970’s and had become a division of the Johns Hopkins University in 1986. Restoration tasks were varied but all took into account the seriousness of working in a landmark building filled with books, on six levels of open, cast iron stacks. Strong negative air pressure was established to exhaust all dust and fumes. Work was performed under the guidance of the Maryland Historic Trust, Hopkins staff, Peabody staff and the consulting architect. Work included restorations to skylights and ornamental laylights, marble flooring, ornamental woodwork restorations, a full restoration to the reading room, updates to the library work room, and restorations to the entry doors and miscellaneous millwork.

With its construction in 1913, Johns Hopkins University’s Maryland Hall was the second academic building constructed on the Homewood campus—the first academic building of its kind, focusing solely on Mechanical and Electrical Engineering studies— and serves as one of the first Schools of Engineering in Maryland. A historic landmark for the University, Maryland Hall towers above all of the other buildings on campus and is identified by its prominent and architecturally ornate cupola at the peak. Because of its soaring rooftop position—exposed to weather of all types over the years—the cupola was in need of restoration To complete a full restoration of the Maryland Hall cupola, Lewis Contractors was elected as the Construction Manager to oversee the project.

The restoration began with the erection of an extensive scaffolding system that ascended the facade of the building onto the rooftop, systematically enclosing the cupola’s aging exterior. Select demolition followed scaffold erection to prepare for the elaborate roof repairs. The Lewis team repaired and replaced copper roofing with flashing drip edges and a high-temperature membrane underlayment in order for the structure to better withstand the elements. To further reinforce the existing structure, new hot dipped galvanized wide flange beams were installed along with a new structural composite roof deck that was reinforced with welded wire fabric, to control temperature and shrinkage cracking often seen in composite metal deck applications. The work also included the restoration of the intricate wood cornice assembly through the use of dutchmen, epoxy treatments, and other methods. A new access ladder, wood ceilings, and new decorative fiberglass urns and bases with a cold galvanized coating were also installed on the rooftop to complete the project.

When working on the cupola, Lewis was asked to address Maryland Hall’s Room 43A, a laboratory in need of minor renovations. The work included HVAC and electrical upgrades, a new walk in hood installation, cabinetry repairs, floor patching and fresh paint.

This is the seventh restoration Lewis has completed at John Hopkins University—a relationship that has spanned five decades.

This project involved all aspects of the University…between the buildings. As CM-at-Risk, Lewis renovated approximately 80% of the Homewood Campus—roads, walks, stairs, ramps, retaining walls, exterior lighting, street furniture and landscaping. Materials used included paving bricks, marble, granite, and limestone. Because the campus was occupied during the entire project, all work was phased to minimize disruption and to maximize pedestrian access around the campus. Utility work was also conducted in support of the aesthetic upgrades

Lewis Contractors served as Construction Manager-at-Risk for the envelope revitalization of the Rev. Francis X. Knott, S.J. Humanities Center, a large three-story, Tudor-style building originally built in 1896 on the Loyola University Maryland campus. The Humanities Center currently houses the Humanities Departments, Undergraduate Admissions Office Suite, President’s Office, and other University functions. This important historical building functions as the front door for the University and provides visitors a first impression of the Loyola campus.

Included in the revitalization efforts are the replacement of select roofing and slate shingles, reconstruction of missing finials and wood finial bases, rain chain terra cotta restoration, and repair of window sashes and framing, broken stone sills, and the exterior wood trim. All work will be performed to match existing profiles. The Lewis team will also perform masonry restoration, carpentry repairs to the exterior woodwork, stucco refinishing with new acrylic elastomeric coating, copper flashing installation, courtyard modifications, and the painting of the building facade to refresh the overall aesthetic.

This five month, phased renovation—performed on an occupied, heavily populated campus— required a carefully thought out logistics plan to mitigate the potential impact on ongoing operations.

This project started with the demolition of an extremely well built Boumi Temple, and included clearing existing parking lots. Major excavation and utility relocation took place with tremendous care and attention paid to close-by residential neighbors. The Fitness and Aquatics Center is a brick clad, concrete and steel structure with extensive use of aluminum curtainwall and masonry. The building has three separate structural grids for the Olympic pool and diving tank, two gyms, dance and aerobic studios, climbing wall, squash and racquetball courts, and smaller meeting areas. In addition to acres of new parking, this project involved the construction of a new soccer field.

Top-to-bottom interior improvements to the aging Englar Dining Hall were performed on McDaniel College’s active higher-ed academic campus. Work included raising the ceiling height and creating an open-grid up-lit ceiling involving 30 different types of lights. A complex patterned tile floor, energy-efficient lighting, electronic menu boards, a consolidated beverage line and a built-in pantry were also involved. Custom seating areas included intimate café-style booths, high-top tables, bench seating, and overstuffed chairs with tablet-style tops. Work included masonry repairs, roof repairs at new penetrations, joint sealants, doors, frames, hardware, aluminum storefront windows, plumbing, HVAC, and electrical work.

This 440-seat dining hall renovation was executed on an accelerated 9 week schedule—on-time and on budget.

This project can be best described as a wrap-around structure encompassing two existing gym buildings. The two-story Fitness Center, faced with aluminum curtainwall and glass, is a concrete and steel structure. The high-ceiling main entrance and fore-court feature intricate paving patterns and the use of stone and glass. The rear entrance, not as grand, also features stone and glass. A student meeting area and café tie the two entrances together. Also included are new roads, parking areas and landscaping. The project was constructed in the midst of a fully-occupied college campus—site safety and security were paramount.

This project was a cover feature and an “Outstanding Building” in the American School and University Magazine’s Architectural Portfolio.

This project was constructed on an aggressive schedule in the midst of McDaniel’s occupied campus, to meet the College’s growing demand for instruction research spaces. Dry lab spaces were constructed for re-search by the psychology department. Animal research facilities were provided in the facility, with dedicated ventilation systems provided. The structure itself is a 4-stoy structure with structural steel and masonry veneer. High end architectural finishes were provided to match the atmosphere of the surrounding campus. The interior is composed of various public and private spaces, including offices, conference rooms, classrooms, laboratories, and telecommunications rooms.

The project for the Space Telescope Science Institute on the Johns Hopkins University campus involved the renovations of the entrance lobby of the existing Muller Building in order to improve security and handling of visitor reception, and to update finishes and lighting. The building was constructed in the mid-1980s to support the scientific mission of the Hubble Space Telescope which continues today and will serve in a similar role moving forward for STScI, the WFIRST telescope, and a range of parallel projects. The project was modest in scale, involving only a small section of the building, but critical in its position in the building and on the site and presented significant operational and construction logistical challenges. The building had to remain open and operational during construction and the project area occupied much of the sole access to the building. Successfully addressing these challenges, in concert with the need to meet an agressive schedule, were the principal focus of the project.

Lewis Contractors has been recently chosen to complete the renovation of St. Mary’s Seminary & University—a notable Catholic institution that prepares seminarians for Roman Catholic priesthood and provides religious and higher-education for students of all denominations. Established in 1791, the unmistakable Beaux Arts seminary is rich in history and home to the first Catholic seminary in the United States.

This three-phased historic renovation will involves the conversion of approximately 80,000 SF of student life and residential space and 8,000 SF of office and support space into upgraded and privatized dormitories with improved amenities. Majority of the interior work consists of the reconfiguration of the 200 modest-sized dormitories, two communal restrooms, and shared shower facilities—devoid the benefit of air conditioning in the summer months—into 100 considerably larger dormitories with complete HVAC capabilities and individual bathrooms. The renovation also includes a complete revitalization of the lounge and fitness center into more comprehensive and functional spaces and the creation of a basement level storage area, inclusive of over 90 storage units. Additionally, the exit stair shaft at the rear of the building’s North wing will be refurbished and a new sprinkler system to be added on two floors for enhanced fire protection.

It should be noted that St. Mary’s Seminary and University’s residential, administrative, and support spaces on the 3rd and 4th floors will remain fully occupied throughout the 16-month construction duration. Also critical to ongoing campus operations, the existing server room and its complex cabling system will be protected by the Lewis team at all times during the renovation. In like manner—and due to the construction staging efforts that need to be executed amid a densely populated area at the rear of campus—the Lewis team has been taking extreme care and extra precautions not to interrupt campus activities of any kind. Construction is currently ongoing and all three phases of this project are scheduled to be complete by 2021.

The project consisted of enclosing the University Club’s old outdoor terrace to create an expanded dining area. We created a new entrance into the building’s lobby, new bar, lounge area, and a billiard room. Plumbing drops for the bar area had to extend into the parking garage below. Working in a residential building, we had to restrict noise and vibration to tightly controlled hours. Fit out was conducted with all of the high level finishes expected in a university club environment.

This project provided for the expansion of Burdick Hall, a mixed use facility including classroom and recreational sports programs. This project included construction of an approximately 94,500 GSF addition and connection of previously completed Phase 2 and 3 (which Lewis also performed) that provided new pedestrian walkways, site lighting and utility upgrades. In general, the addition will house gymnasiums, administrative offices, fitness center, locker rooms and support operations space.

The project site is in a constrained, mid-campus location, and a significant portion of the campus’ main utility lines run through the site, many at significant depth. Existing conditions and project constraints severely curtailed the amount of forensic and investigative work that could be practically accomplished, forcing the design team to rely upon decades-old as-built documents in addition to their own utility locating efforts. Additionally, known utilities were in a densely packed configuration, often in the way of the structural design. The Lewis team encountered and bypassed a range of utilities, including sanitary, stormwater and steam lines, several telecom and electrical ductbanks. With the expertise of the onsite management team, the project boasts no safety violations and their work was completed on schedule.

This project consisted of comprehensive MEP upgrades to Burdick Hall, two-story student fitness center and educational classroom building located on Towson University’s campus. This project involved the replacement of major mechanical and electrical equipment and systems serving the gymnasiums, locker rooms, and the building’s lower level and the installation of chilled water from the campus central system into the building. Other work included the addition of sprinkler systems into the gymnasiums and surrounding hallways, the replacement of lighting systems and ceilings, the installation of roof screening around the existing rooftop pool ventilation equipment, the application of a coating material to the underside of the gymnasium roofs to improve lighting efficiency, and architectural-related changes to accommodate new mechanical risers and equipment.

This project involved the comprehensive upgrades to Burdick Hall, a two-story student fitness center and educational classroom building located on Towson University’s campus.

The Phase III renovations included upgrades and renovations to the building envelope to include replacement windows, exterior doors (storefront), and the north roof sections including fascia systems and precast concrete. Work also involved the replacement of HVAC systems, their distribution, and associated work in the north and east sides of the building. Phase III extended to include renovations to the locker and shower facilities involving the replacement of water supply piping and the replacement of existing sanitary piping. Lastly, Lewis upgraded and installed fire and life safety systems, ADA access, a new Public Address system, and landscape/hardscapes.

The renovation and restoration of Newell and Richmond Halls—two iconic dormitory buildings on the Towson University campus—was completed in the spring of 2013. The two structures, originally built in 1914 and 1923 respectively, total 89,492 square feet. This
project involved a comprehensive renovation of both buildings.

Exterior work included the replacement of original copper scuppers, conductor heads, downspouts, wall gutters and wall flashing throughout, the re-pointing and repair of all concrete and masonry, and installation of specialty sealants, and the repair and replacement of broken terra cotta tiles and precast stones to match the existing materials. Interior work included asbestos abatement, the replace of all windows, the installation of an elevator in Newell Hall, and the evaluation of both structures for ADA accessibility and code compliance. MEP work included the replacement of the HVAC and water heating systems, the replacement of electrical panels and partial power distribution systems, the installation of 35 security cameras as well as the installation of wireless internet equipment and systems in each residential room.

This project involved the construction of a 20,270 GSF building to support the current and projected facility needs of the University’s Office of Public Safety. The new two-story building provided expansion space for facilities management departmental offices and additional parking facilities and access roads. The Public Safety Building is situated on an approximately 1.5-acre property where university tennis courts previously stood. Construction involved a variety of spaces including departmental offices, an emergency operations center, a communications dispatcher room, a camera viewing area, a records room, storage facilities, as well as a sally port and secure areas for the police and for detainees. The new building has a main entrance accessible to visitors with proximity to parking on the north side of the site. An additional secured entrance is adjacent to the sally port. Landscaping was provided between the parking and the adjacent neighborhood homes.

Lewis Contractors provided a full range of preconstruction services for the Public Safety Building including value engineering services, constructability reviews, construction cost modeling, cost estimating, and scheduling.

The Bressler Research Building (BRB) is a major research facility for the University Of Maryland School Of Medicine. This project involved the renovation of the 21,000 SF 7th floor to provide efficient flexible research, office, and conference room space for the School of Medicine. Research facilities consist of modular lab and lab support spaces, including both ‘hard wall’ and ‘open’ labs. Office and meeting facilities house research offices, a conference room, a meeting room/library, and support spaces. Components of the floor include core functions, telecom and electrical rooms, elevators and stairs. The project modernized the mechanical, electrical, fire protection and telecommunications distribution throughout the renovated areas.

This project was done under the UMB CM at risk format. Preconstruction started in October of 2009. One budget estimate was completed at the 50% CD level. The GMP was approved and work started in May of 2010. Work included sediment and erosion control features, excavation and grading, modifications to existing storm water structures and lines, new asphalt parking lots, mill and overlay of some parking lots, slurry seal of some parking lots, new concrete curb & gutter, sidewalks, stairs and handicap ramps, handrails and guardrails, traffic bearing and permeable unit pavers, site furnishings, bus shelters, landscaping, electrical lighting, and vehicular and wayfinding signage.

This project was a $1M comprehensive renovation at the 7th floor of the School of Nursing for the University of Maryland, Baltimore. It involved selective demolition, installation of laboratory casework, signage, new window treatments, and upgrades to existing plumbing, HVAC sprinkler, electrical and voice/data connections. All work was completed in and around an occupied academic building with ongoing administrative functions.