Hillsdale College – Adaptive Reuse

Allan P. Kirby Jr. Center – Hillsdale College – Washington, DC

The four-story historic brick building, located on Massachusetts Avenue in historic Capitol Hill, was converted from a multi-tenant rental unit to a single occupant space for the Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies & Citizenship. The structure is one of many in an historic row of attached buildings, housing several businesses.

The structural challenges of the retrofit and renovation involved the evaluation, reinforcement, and restoration of existing brick bearing walls and the support of architectural features within limited horizontal and vertical parameters. Other structural tasks involved removal of a partial story to form a two-story ballroom; conversion of the roof to a terrace; modification of the structure to accommodate occupancy changes; and construction of a monumental stair.

• Construction cost: $6.3 million
• Size: 17,124 SF