Hillside Community Center - renovation of and addition to a 1940’s Belluschi building
The Hillside Community Center is the only remaining building - the gymnasium - of the former Catlin Gabel School, before it moved to its current location. All other buildings had been demolished, but leaving the foundations in place - as we were to discover when we rebuilt the soccer field and installed its drainage systems.
The gymnasium was designed by Pietro Belluschi in 1947, but constructed on an unstable hillside and with the foundations straddling an underground stream. This building had been plagued with structural issues for 50 years, but most annoying was that all the usable space - two preschools, classrooms and community meeting room and kitchen - all were under the wood-framed gymnasium, making any quiet uses hopeless.
A neighborhood grant provided funding for a free-standing new classroom/community space after preparation of a photo montage showing how the addition would respect the “integrity” of the original gymnasium.
The project already had been bid and an ESB [Emerging Small Business] contractor selected, when a vandal-caused fire severely damaged and closed the main facility indefinitely. The City empowered the start-up construction firm to add total renovation and reconstruction of the gymnasium to its contract. Finally, after 50 years, all major problems were re-designed and corrected: new metal roofing, seismic upgrading, new windows, new siding and insulation, newly configured offices and use areas, the underground stream was contained, and, oh yes, the free-standing addition was also constructed - all within 90 days.
In conjunction with LGA, Architects and Professional Roof Consultants. Constructed by Cedar Mill Construction Company, which was an Emerging Small Business firm, at the time. After this project, they were no longer considered ESB - they “had arrived”.
