Frederick, MD

Visitation Hotel

Scope/Solutions

Formerly a private girls school, the three-acre Visitation campus includes structures dating back to 1850. The property was purchased in 2017 and the new owners undertook a project to repurpose the site as a mixed-use development with a sixty-seven-room boutique hotel and two condominium buildings.

SGH evaluated the existing structure and designed modifications to facilitate the change in use for the load-bearing masonry building with wood-framed floors and roofs. Highlights of our work include:

  • Documenting the existing framing, foundations, and load paths for the three buildings
  • Developing structural repairs for deteriorated masonry walls and heavy timber floor and roof framing, including substantial reconstruction of the existing exterior timber-framed walkways
  • Designing structural alterations and strengthening to address changes in use and new mechanical equipment and distribution, including floor and wall openings in the existing construction, new floor construction to support a commercial restaurant and catering kitchen, and a new exterior elevated terrace for the ballroom
  • Designing new components and modifications to existing construction along with foundation underpinning to accommodate three new elevators and new stairways
  • Conducting a condition assessment of approximately 5,500 sq ft of the roof damaged by a fire during construction, and designing a partial replacement and repairs to the heavy timber framing and trusses

Project Summary

completion-date

2024

Completion Date
building-size

70k

Project Size
construction-value

20M

Construction Value
Solutions
Repair & Rehabilitation
Services
Structures
Markets
Residential
Client(s)
OTJ Architects
Specialized Capabilities
Repair & Strengthening

Key team members

Chelci Dell
Chelci Dell
Senior Consulting Engineer
Eric Ober
Eric Ober
Principal