Adaptive reuse transformed an underutilized and neglected Italianate mansion into a modern conference center.
Holly Bush is an Italianate Tuscan villa style mansion built in 1849 for New Jersey industrialist Thomas Whitney. After Whitney’s death, the building and grounds were bequeathed to the State and formed the nucleus of the Glassboro Normal School, now Rowan University. In 1967, the building was the site of the summit meeting between U.S. president Lyndon Johnson and Soviet premier Alexei Kosygen.
Keast & Hood performed structural work associated with the 9,000-square-foot restoration and adaptive reuse, including design for repairs of extensive termite damage and fungal decay of the wood framing, extensive repairs to the stone masonry façade and foundations, modifications for accessibility, and modernization of the mechanical systems.
Adaptive reuse transformed an underutilized and neglected Italianate mansion into a modern conference center.
Holly Bush is an Italianate Tuscan villa style mansion built in 1849 for New Jersey industrialist Thomas Whitney. After Whitney’s death, the building and grounds were bequeathed to the State and formed the nucleus of the Glassboro Normal School, now Rowan University. In 1967, the building was the site of the summit meeting between U.S. president Lyndon Johnson and Soviet premier Alexei Kosygen.
Keast & Hood performed structural work associated with the 9,000-square-foot restoration and adaptive reuse, including design for repairs of extensive termite damage and fungal decay of the wood framing, extensive repairs to the stone masonry façade and foundations, modifications for accessibility, and modernization of the mechanical systems.
CLIENT: Farewell Mills Gatsch Architects, LLC
LOCATION: Glassboro, NJ
TYPE: Academic, Historic, SERVICES: Adaptive Reuse, Condition Assessment, Damage Assessment, Feasibility Study, Historic Preservation, Renovation, Restoration, Structural Intervention, MATERIALS: Heavy Timber, Masonry, Wood, SUSTAINABILITY: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Completed project photography © Jeffrey Totaro
