Lakewood Cemetery is a nationally recognized, historic landmark with a 150-year legacy and beautiful, awe-inspiring buildings and grounds. Having outgrown their existing administration building, Lakewood Cemetery was in need of a more modern and accessible space to welcome visitors, host community and educational events, and meet with families to plan their memorialization services. The new Welcome Center has dedicated public space for these purposes on the first floor, and their administration team will occupy the second floor. Nearly five acres of extensive landscaping and outdoor gathering spaces, gardens and water features surround the building.
From the outset, Lakewood Cemetery told the project team they didn’t want to just talk sustainability, they wanted to live it. The Welcome Center was designed to be net-zero energy ready in alignment with Lakewood’s value of environmental stewardship, able to produce enough renewable energy to meet its own annual energy consumption requirements, thereby reducing the use of nonrenewable energy. Means used to achieve these sustainability goals include two geothermal wells, 208 solar panel arrays, energy-efficient building skin materials, and smart MEP fixtures and controls.
By planning construction activities around upcoming ceremonies and events, phasing the work in multiple locations, providing temporary roads, and meeting with the surrounding neighborhood groups, the project team was able to minimize operational disruption to the cemetery and to the nearby community. The project broke ground in August 2022 and was completed in March 2024. In addition to the Welcome Center, approximately seven acres of sitework and landscaping improvements were also included.
