Jerdon Construction renovated the Moravian College Book Shop, the oldest continuously running bookstore in the world. The project was a cost plus fee renovation to turn the existing bookstore in Downtown Bethlehem into Moravian College’s bookstore, which is operated by Barnes & Noble. Work included fit-out of current space and addition of a café eatery to the premises.
Project Highlights
- Renovation of a historic structure.
- Building remained operational during construction.
- City of Bethlehem was onsite during construction due to the age of the building.
- Extensive work was done to create a fire rating along with fire curtains deployed when fire alarm was activated.
- Constant communication with the architects.
- Project was phased in order to keep the store remaining open.
- Existing flooring was maintained in certain sections to preserve the building's history.
- Extensive electric was needed due to new lighting.
- New ACT ceilings where installed in portions of the book shop, requiring an engineer to evaluate if the structure could handle the additional weight.
