Construction of the Spang Crest Manor Memory Support Center offered many unique challenges, both in the preconstruction and construction phases of the project. Each challenge was driven by the same common goal, to maintain all the daily services to the existing 105 bed skilled care facility and to provide no disruption to the high standards of resident life found on this urban Senior Living campus. Located within the city of Lebanon, the expansion of the facilities was limited to constructing within the one city block owned by Spang Crest Manor. Based on the size of the new addition needed to support the owner’s programming needs, the only option was to construct the new addition at the front of the property, which meant demolition of the existing “Spang Mansion”. The “Spang Mansion” was home to the kitchen and dining which served 3 meals a day, 7 days a week for the adjacent and fully occupied skilled care center. The Spang Mansion was also the central artery for all of the utilities serving the entire existing facility. Extensive research of the mechanical and electrical infrastructure was required in order to provide accurate existing condition information to the design team and more importantly have a complete comprehensive understanding of the impact each utility feed had on the existing skilled care facility. It was also critical for Benchmark to fully understand Spang Crest Manor’s program in order effectively direct the phasing of the project. But in order to demolish the old existing kitchen housed in the Spang Mansion, a new 4,000 square foot. Kitchen addition needed to be built. A portion of the existing kitchen, mainly dry goods and refrigerated storage, was demolished, relocating these services to temporary storage within the facility and temporary storage trailers. Existing utilities were temporarily and/or permanently relocated to make way for the footprint of the new kitchen facility. The new kitchen was constructed within 6 feet of the foundation wall of the existing mansion. Prior to completion, a temporary, but fully enclosed walkway was constructed providing a secure and climate controlled pathway to the existing facility and the temporary dining quarters that were relocated to the existing chapel. Upon completion of the kitchen the Spang Mansion was demolished making way for the remainder of new construction. Logistically, the phasing of this project required completion of the first phase prior to the start of the second. This made for extremely tight scheduling, completing both phases of the project within the required 12 month duration. Temporary utilities and special owner provisions, limited site and a large quantity of rock removal compounded these tight constraints. Replacement of the existing facilities mechanical and electrical services and equipment required a great deal of planning and orchestration. Temporary feeds and relocation of existing equipment were required to make room for new, all while keeping the existing facility fully functional. In a combined effort with the mechanical contractor and the facility staff, the replacement of the existing systems was performed with no impact to the residents. But the real mission of this project was the construction of a state-of-the-art assisted living facility designed to serve those residents suffering with memory impairment illnesses. The resident rooms are arranged around specific program spaces and the use of exterior type materials on the corridor side of each room gives a “streetscape” appearance to the common areas. In addition an Adult Daycare facility is housed on the lower level along with both Physical and Occupational Therapy areas. Spang Crest Manor offered many unique and rewarding challenges, all of which were successfully executed by the design team, construction team and staff of Spang Crest Manor. But the real winners in this project are those memory impaired residents and their families who can now reside in a specially designed facility that provides both comfort and dignity in their time of need.

Location: Lebanon, PA

Design Professionals: Beers & Hoffman, Ltd.

Total SF: 40,200

Value: $6,473,589

Awards:  2007 ABC - Keystone Chapter AWARD OF MERIT

Services Provided: Construction Management

"As early as the construction bid process, Benchmark stood out from other contractors with their thorough analysis and understanding of the project and their detailed recommendations and solutions for a successful completion." - William H. Kiely Sr. VP Finance and Treasurer Luthercare