Equitable Building Mixed Use Conversion

McLaren Engineering Group provided structural engineering services for the adaptive mixed use conversion of The Equitable Building at 10 North Calvert Street in downtown Baltimore, MD. Originally constructed in 1891, The Equitable Building is the oldest building in Monument Square and was considered Baltimore’s first skyscraper. The commercial building was designed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style and features some elements of Sullivanesque architecture. A historic icon of downtown Baltimore, the Equitable Building was originally constructed with a “cage” of cast-iron girders and columns supporting the steel floor beams independent from the exterior framing of the building. The development was built to be fireproof and survived the Baltimore Fire of 1904 despite interior damage.

McLaren provided structural engineering services for the adaptive reuse of the 225,000-square-foot historic office building at 10 North Calvert Street. The historic conversion project transformed the building into modern mixed-use space with approximately 180 market-rate rental apartments and 26,000 square feet of retail space.

The McLaren Difference: Applied Ingenuity

Originally brought into the project to provide a second opinion on one element of the project, McLaren’s scope increased to include a range of structural engineering services for this mixed use conversion.  This included an evaluation of the historic Turkish bath building in the central courtyard. With historic preservation in mind, McLaren prepared remedial repair drawings for terracotta block bearing walls with terracotta tile arch floor/roof system.

In addition, McLaren designed the retrofit of two elevator shafts, provided structural design support for new HVAC equipment, and assessed the structural damage below the Calvert Street entrance, which included preparation of bid documents for required repairs.