ST. PETER’S UNIVERSITY - CHURCH ASSESSMENT
LOCATION: JERSEY CITY, NJ
CLIENT: HUDSON COUNTY
MARKET SECTOR: EDUCATION
SIZE: 107,800 SF
THE OPPORTUNITY
St. Peter’s University contacted PS&S requesting an architectural/engineering conditions assessment of the St. Aedan’s Church campus. The university was interested in purchasing the property and sought to understand the potential repair costs associated with them. The campus is located between Bergen Avenue and Tuers Avenue at the corner of Mercer Street and is composed of five existing buildings: The church (1931, 25,000 GSF), rectory (1931, 10,200 GSF), convent (1926, 12,000 GSF), school (1913/1960s, 58,600 GSF), and Stewardship Hall (1931/1980s, 2,000 GSF). The study was divided into two parts, where the church and rectory study would build upon a prior conditions assessment, and a new assessment performed for the convent, school, and Stewardship Hall.
THE CHALLENGE
The studies focused on providing an assessment of each building’s envelope (walls, roof, windows and doors), interior finishes, foundations and framing, signs of settlement or distress, and the condition of the MEP systems. The surrounding site was also considered and areas requiring maintenance or contributing to poor drainage were highlighted. The existing buildings are nearly a century old, and the level of upkeep varied between them. The project required PS&S to leverage our experience to extrapolate possible causes for observed deficiencies. A detailed order-of-magnitude cost estimate accompanied each assessment, pricing anticipated remediation costs.
THE PS&S SOLUTION
The PS&S team performed the field investigation work for the building evaluations which informed the order of magnitude cost estimate. Each report included fully detailed photo documentation from each discipline. The completed reports will serve as the basis for St. Peter’s University’s negotiations to acquire the properties and inform future capital improvement projects.