Gilman School Campus Improvements
Gilman School Campus Improvements represents a multi-year body of work completed by Lewis Contractors across academic, athletic, historic, and site-focused areas of the Gilman School campus. Rather than a single isolated project, this initiative reflects a long-term construction relationship built around careful planning, occupied-campus logistics, preservation sensitivity, and the ability to solve field conditions as they emerged.
The work included major building renovations, new construction, exterior restoration, site walls, athletic seating, science classroom upgrades, and improvements to the Lower School environment. Projects ranged from the Carey Hall Restoration and Student Activity Center to the Science Building Renovation, Lower School Kindergarten Addition, McBride Grandstand, Masonry Entrance and Site Walls, and the Cupola Restoration atop historic Carey Hall. Across these efforts, Lewis Contractors coordinated with design partners including CSD Architects, Marshall Craft Associates, Inc., and Sasaki Associates, Inc., along with Gilman School leadership and campus operations staff.
A defining challenge throughout the program was completing construction on an active K-12 campus where students, faculty, parents, athletics, summer programs, and daily circulation needed to continue safely. Lewis Contractors repeatedly developed site-specific logistics plans, controlled access routes, protective barriers, phased sequencing, and staging strategies to separate construction activity from school operations. Several projects required work in tight or constrained areas, including additions tied into existing buildings, renovations adjacent to occupied spaces, work around active sports fields, and restoration activities on historic structures.
The construction scope also demanded a broad range of technical problem-solving. Carey Hall required structural restoration after unforeseen conditions were uncovered. The Science Building involved classroom reconfiguration, lab casework, fume hoods, HVAC upgrades, and building automation coordination. The Kindergarten Addition required new learning spaces, courtyard improvements, and playground construction within a very limited site footprint. The McBride Grandstand required slope benching, helical piers, crane-set precast seating, masonry work, and careful protection of nearby campus features. The Cupola Restoration involved lead paint abatement, copper roofing, custom millwork, and restoration of a historic weathervane.
Through the Gilman School Campus Improvements, Lewis Contractors delivered a coordinated series of institutional construction projects that strengthened campus function, preserved important architectural character, and supported Gilman School’s educational mission while minimizing disruption to daily life on campus.