Willow Construction built a new 8,444 s.f. Cathedral Nave with an 800-person seating capacity, including custom stained glass liturgical fixtures made in Peru, custom-crafted pews, and finish carpentry. The existing Nave was gutted and converted into a Narthex including new structural steel, HVAC and electrical. The finishes included patterned ceramic tile, custom milled finish carpentry and large chandeliers which adorn the space.

Project Challenges & Solutions
  • A budget shortfall resulted in the need for value engineering. $700,000 of potential VE ideas were presented, of which $490,460 were accepted.
  • Unsuitable soils had to be removed and replaced with an additional 12” of recycled asphalt and geofabric to bridge the entire parking lot.
  • The structural support of the existing cathedral roof was removed and shored while new structural steel was installed resulting in only a few hairline cracks in the existing plaster ceiling.
  • The new Nave cathedral roof system was created with a complex 87’ wide by 33’ tall engineered truss system.
Awards & Accolades
  • 2009 Associated Builders and Contractors Chesapeake Shores Chapter Excellence in Construction Award
Project Details