Freedom House Museum
Location: Alexandria, VA
Client: SmithGroup
Owner: City of Alexandria
Size: 9,673 SF
Axias Role: Cost Estimating
Constructed in 1812 as a residence, this National Historic Landmark located at 1315 Duke Street in Alexandria was leased from 1828 to 1837 by Franklin & Armfield, the largest domestic slave trading company in the United States. Subsequent firms followed in their footsteps until 1861, when Union troops took over the building. Fast forward to present day, with the three-story, 9,673-square-foot building containing office space and a small museum in the basement.
Noting the city’s purchase of the property in March 2020, Mayor Justin Wilson said, “Freedom House is vital to telling Alexandria’s story…What happened at 1315 Duke St. had a terrible and lasting impact on America…Freedom House encourages us to speak truth to power and delve deeper to confront the hard, honest truths about race, class and equity in this country.”
With the goal of renovating and converting the entire building into a museum that recounts its history and that of the American slave trade through unflinching interpretive exhibits, the Office of Historic Alexandria commissioned SmithGroup to produce a historic structures report that included treatment and use options to support OHA’s vision.
Axias was hired by SmithGroup to provide cost estimates related to a concept study. The estimates, which were based on informational documents provided and a site visit, assumed a design-bid-build scenario and included mark-ups such as design contingency, contractor’s overhead and profit, and escalation to project mid-point.
Freedom House is currently closed for renovations. When it reopens, it will feature three floors of gallery space devoted to permanent and traveling exhibits, ADA-compliant bathrooms, a new HVAC system, and an elevator. For more information about this culturally significant and timely project, click here.