Salisbury, MD– Monday, Sept 23, 2024 – The Perdue Henson Junior Achievement Center, a 25,000 square foot experiential learning facility that opened in Salisbury, Maryland in the Fall of 2023, has been awarded an Excellence in Construction Award from the Associated Builders and Contractors – Chesapeake Shores Chapter. Gillis Gilkerson, general contractor, submitted the project for consideration in the Renovation: $2 Million to $10 Million category, highlighting the adaptive reuse of a vacant former K-Mart shopping center transformed into an indoor American Main Street in miniature. The project was achieved using an Integrated Project Delivery method, with Gillis Gilkerson identified along with Davis, Bowen & Friedel, Inc architects early in the design process.
“Utilizing an Integrated Project Delivery or “IPD” method allowed Gillis Gilkerson to get involved from the beginning, to work hand-in-hand with Junior Achievement and the design team to discuss things like constructability, life cycle costs of materials and lead times to create the best decisions for the project early in the design process.” explained Tyler Barnes, Gillis Gilkerson President.
Construction of the state-of-the-art facility required high levels of customization, and creative use of materials to transform the space into a mock-main street for school groups to explore concepts from employment and entrepreneurship to budgeting and financial independence. Each storefront is individualized with distinctive finishes, steel support columns were transformed into trees with acoustical panels as foliage, specialty epoxy floors mimic grass texture, and massive barn doors were created for the auditorium entrance, designed to trigger the light censors to illuminate the main street area for a grand reveal. The center also boasts an integrated audio-visual package, including programmable flat screens in every storefront, touch screen panels, and multiple video walls.
“You can tell kids the rules of soccer, you can explain to them how to dribble, but until they are out on the field doing it themselves – it doesn’t click.” said Jayme Hayes, President and CEO of Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore. “That’s what the Perdue Henson Junior Achievement Center offers students; it’s a field of life.”
Gillis Gilkerson President Tyler Barnes accepted the award alongside Gillis Gilkerson Project Manager Greg Ennis, Superintendent Bruce West, Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore President and CEO Jayme Hayes, Vice President Kate Bleile, and Davis, Bowen & Friedel, Inc Architect Payton Bridge, AIA, NCARB.
* Photos courtesy of Associated Builders and Contractors Chesapeake Shores
Left To Right: Bruce West- Gillis Gilkerson, Payton Bridge – Davis, Bowen & Friedel, Greg Ennis – Gillis Gilkerson, Tyler Barnes – Gillis Gilkerson, Jayme Hayes – Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore, Kate Bleile – Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore, Chris Garvey – ABC Chesapeake Shores.
