Charlottesville, VA

Jefferson School City Center Adaptive Reuse

Scope of Services
Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) Engineering
 

The Jefferson School is a landmark building that served as the region’s first African-American school. It was built in four phases from 1926 to 1959 and is listed as a historic property in the City of Charlottesville. During this renovation, painstaking care was taken to maintain the historic integrity and significance of the building for what is now known as the Jefferson School City Center.

The Center is now home to a variety of cultural, educational, and civic groups. The building’s two largest tenants are the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center and the Carver Recreation Center.

2RW Project Case Study Main Image
Services

2RW provided MEP engineering and construction administration for this renovation and its tenants which included:

  • Piedmont Family YMCA Childcare Center
  • Piedmont Virginia Community College Culinary Arts Program
  • Martha Jefferson Hospital’s Starr Hill Center
  • JABA Mary Williams Community Center
  • African American Heritage Center
  • Carver Recreation Center

2RW also provided lighting design for the adjoining city parking lot.

Scope of Services
Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) Engineering
 

OWNER: Jefferson Community Partnership, LLC

TIMEFRAME: 2007 – 2012

SIZE: 75,000 SF

COST: $18 million


Highlights
  • Demand-controlled ventilation to manage indoor air quality based on building occupancy
  • Energy recovery ventilators
  • Optimized building envelope design
  • Energy-efficient light fixtures
  • Daylighting controls with solar glare protection and occupancy sensor light switches

“The design team was wonderful to work with throughout—the process was a model in that regard—and the results are an outstanding legacy for Charlottesville and Virginia.”

Kathleen Kilpatrick, Director, Virginia Department of Historic Resources


Awards
  • 2013 – Outstanding Community Preservation Project, Preservation Virginia
  • 2013– Award of Excellence, Building Development and Improvements, Virginia Downtown Development Association