This Victorian building, originally built in the 1800’s by entrepreneur Robert Sayre, a Bethlehem Iron Company founder, is now a new Chabad Center for the students at Lehigh University. After the renovations, this facility hosted social, religious, educational, and cultural events and Shabbat services and dinners in a home-like setting.
The building was completely gutted, and renovations included:
- Two new kitchens (one for the family and one industrial)
- All new HVAC/plumbing/electrical
- Repair of two staircases
- Replacement of 74 windows and 50 doors
- Restoration and repair of gingerbread work, stained glass and fireplaces.
- Updated bathrooms, rebuilt floors
- Underpinning of existing walls and reinforcement of basement with steel beams and columns
- Retrimming of four columns and two archways in the grand entryway
- Shoring of rafters with additional reframing
- Garage addition
