Building on the past success of the Lutheran Home 4th floor VITAS project (completed in 2013), Jos. Schmitt was selected as the General Contractor for five additional projects over the past two years on the Lutheran Home and Harwood Place campuses. These five renovation projects varied in scope and size, utilizing existing spaces to offer the residents beautiful upgrades to their facilities.
The first project was an improvement to the Lutheran Home’s 3rd and 4th floor spaces. This project converted some relatively unused spaces on the 3rd into a beautiful new Therapy wing. The 3rd Floor Therapy now offers residents a one of a kind setting where they can rehabilitate and exercise in their brand new space. This renovation provides the residents with new exercise equipment as well as rehabilitation areas that include a therapy gym, O.T. Kitchen and a Physical Therapy Gym. In addition, the new 3rd floor therapy area, we also converted an old staff break room into an Activity Center for the residents. This part of the project upgraded the interior finishes and expanded the footprint of the existing breakroom to give the residents a wide open area to use as a multi-purpose activity room. Right off of the new resident activity room, there is also balcony/patio area that was refreshed and opened up for use by the residents as well. (December 2013 – March 2014)
The second renovation project we took on in 2014 was a complete demolition and renovation to the Lutheran Home’s Chapel area and Hardt Hall. The project consisted of a reconfiguration of the Chapel’s layout and a complete refresh to the adjacent Hardt Hall which is used as a main floor multi-purpose activity area. The chapel received a state-of-the-art Audio/Visual system, beautiful new wood alter, new carpet, and a stunning wood paneled partition wall that separates the chapel and Hardt Hall common area. Hardt Hall received all new finishes as well, including brand new floors, windows, ceilings, and wall coverings. (July 2014 – September 2014)
Harwood Place’s Lobby and East Chapel renovations started in August 2014 and were under construction almost entirely at the same time as the Chapel/Hardt Hall project over at the Lutheran Home campus. Darren DeTroye did an excellent job supervising/coordinating the two projects at the same time. This project was a complete layout change to the main entrance of Harwood Place and provided updates to the finishes and Audio/Visual components of the Chapel area. (August 2014 – November 2014)
The fourth project is the biggest renovation we have done for either of the two campuses and is still currently underway. The Lutheran Home’s entire main entrance and parking lot has been stripped down and rearranged to provide the residents and their guests a much more convenient set up. The main lobby was demolished completely, requiring new construction to the exterior walls and roof to achieve the desired layout. New canopies, windows and exterior panels were added to the outside of the building to provide a completely new look. On the inside, main entrance lobby desk. The exterior site work was fairly substantial as well. Dealing with a complicated situation being on the busiest road in Wauwatosa, new utility lines had to be run and a new entrance was added with a very convenient parking lot along with a canopy covered turnaround for resident and their guests. This project will be ongoing through October 2015. (May 2015 – October 2015)
Harwood Place’s Coffee Shop is the fifth project we have done. This project was a conversion of some common area spaces being turned into a new coffee shop/bar area for the residents to enjoy. The space provides all new interior finishes, a detailed wood bar/serving station, and ample seating with built-in banquette seating overlooking one of Harwood Place’s beautiful courtyards. The space also offers multiple TVs and internet hotspots for the residents to enjoy a great book or their favorite electronics along with a fresh coffee. This project was worked on simultaneously with the Front Lobby Renovation at Lutheran Home as well. (July 2015 – September 2015)
All (5) of these projects were completed by the same project management team of Darren DeTroye (Site Superintendent) and Jake L. Schurr (Project Manager). Great relationships and trust have been gained by keeping the same team together.
Project Owner
Lutheran Living Services, Inc.
Jos. Schmitt’s Role
General Contractor
Architect
Plunkett Raysich Architects, LLP
Address
7500 W. North Avenue
Wauwatosa, WI 53213
United States
