Client:
Morgan State University
Location:
1700 East Cold Spring Lane, Baltimore, MD
Builder:
Gilbane Building Co.
Project Managers:
Tom Shoemaker and Ben Davies
Project Overview
Cochran & Mann provided expert painting and wallcovering services for the residential and public areas of Morgan State University’s new residential complex, Thurgood Marshall Hall. Morgan State University has recently been experiencing historically high enrollment. To meet growing demand, the university has put in place a strategic housing plan that will span eight years. Among the new residential facilities included in the plan, Thurgood Marshall Hall is the first set to be completed.
In the new residential complex, Cochran & Mann painted nine floors of housing, which consists of single, double, triple and quad room layouts. Each floor has a mixture of lounges, trash rooms, laundry rooms, study commons, counseling areas, and restrooms. The team will also install tack boards in the corridors.
A kitchen and main dining hall is located on the first floor of Thurgood Marshall Hall. In addition to painting the walls, the Cochran & Mann team painted the main exposed ceiling in the dining hall black so that the wood slats could be installed.
The new housing dormitory will open to students on August 1, 2022 ahead of the fall semester!
Challenges
Some of the challenges the Cochran & Mann team has faced so far on this project includes a tight schedule and unfavorable weather conditions. Given that the students will be moving into the building at the beginning of August, the team required increased manpower and worked most Saturdays to ensure the hall’s on-time completion. The cold weather was another large challenge Cochran & Mann faced at the beginning of the project. Starting any project in the winter is a challenge because surfaces must be at the right temperature in order to paint. To overcome this, the team from Gilbane made sure heaters were in place and the building was heated so that the Cochran & Mann team could paint as soon as possible.
The Results
So far, the project has been running smoothly. The superintendent and foreman have both taken the lead to ensure the project has adequate manpower and all the materials needed. At the end of May, the team applied the final coat to floors 5-10 and continues to move steadily down the rest of the building. In the coming weeks, they will continue painting the final coats on the walls and ceilings of Thurgood Marshall Hall and then begin the final punch list.
"Gilbane is excited to be working with Cochran & Mann again on the Morgan State University Thurgood Marshall Hall project; they continue to be collaborative partners that anticipate the needs of the project and always deliver."
- Jonathan Dickinson , Sr. Project Executive at Gilbane Building Company
