Rebirth of Downtown Landmark Wins Top Award for Contractor
A Manheim contractor has won a national award for rehabilitation work on a downtown Lebanon building. Perron Construction Inc. received the 2009 Chrysalis Award for Commercial Remodel, sponsored by Qualified Remodeler magazine and American Builders Network Inc., according to a news release from Perron.
Perron Construction, which was founded in 1990 and has seven employees, converted the former Harold’s Furniture building at 620 Cumberland St. into offices for Pennsylvania Counseling Services.
Editors and writers from Better Homes & Gardens, Woman’s Day, Southern Living and the Web site Houseplans.com selected Perron from 526 entries. Entries were judged on overall design, the creative use of space and materials, and the degree to which the project enhanced the original structure.
Perron gutted the entire 30,000-square-foot building and redesigned the interior to bring the building up to code and create office space. A new elevator and two masonry stairs towers were installed to make the building functional and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. “The entire space is actually two buildings,” owner J.P. Perron explained in the release. “The most creative and challenging part of the job was the front facade. Installing the steel-plate facade on the front of the building was really involved and it pulled the building together so that it looks like one building.”
Perron created 20,000 square feet of offices and counseling rooms; another 10,000 square feet can be utilized in the future if needed. Perron won three previous Chrysalis awards, one for Best Commercial Historic Renovation on another Pennsylvania Counseling Services building in York. “Winning awards in multiple categories is difficult to do,” said Ken Kanline, director of the Chrysalis Awards. “Not only does this speak to their versatility, but to their commitment to quality on every project.”
