With the City of Sugar Land’s growth over the past decades and the desire to preserve and present its heritage, the city wanted a permanent home to focus on its rich history. Rosenberger Construction recently completed construction of the new Sugar Land Heritage Museum and Visitor Center on the historic Imperial Sugar campus.
This project is situated in the 12,000 SF 2nd floor of the ‘container warehouse’ located above the Fort Bend Children’s Discovery Center. The space is built out with custom finishes including a custom back-lit acrylic ceiling over the visitor center’s welcome desk. With the first floor occupied and open to the public, Rosenberger was tasked with minimizing disruptions without additional cost or schedule delays.
One of the more challenging items on this project was the translucent panel ceiling (shown below). The translucent panels are installed in a lay-in grid ceiling and were required to be cut in half diagonally. The panel manufacturer did not offer custom shapes, so we had to source this work locally. The challenge with cutting the panels was finding a way to cut the panel and not remove too much material. Once the panels were cut to size, they were shipped to a local film company to have the colorful 3M dichroic film applied. The film is a mirror finish and the slightest scratch, blemish, or dust trapped under the film would show through. This was one of the ‘showcase’ items in this space, so quality was imperative. We worked hand in hand with the film contractor to maintain the quality that the city required.
Another key item was the signage (shown below) for the Sugar Land Heritage Museum and Visitor Center. One of the ‘Imperial Sugar’ signs that had been removed from a nearby building was furnished by the museum. The idea was to utilize the letters to form the words ‘Sugar Land’ and install inside the space. Working with a local sign contractor, we were able to refurbish the existing letters and manufacture a new ‘N’ and ‘D’ to match. Then they added neon blue LED lighting and the letters were installed in the visitor center area.
Through value engineering, scheduling, and coordination with all trades, Rosenberger was able to complete the project on-time and within budget. The new Sugar Land Heritage Museum and Visitor Center opened in January 2018.
From the Sugar Land Heritage Foundation:
The Sugar Land Heritage Foundation inspires community pride by collecting, preserving, communicating, and celebrating the history of Sugar Land, Texas. The incentive for forming the Sugar Land Heritage Foundation was the shutdown of the refinery in 2003. The refinery site, which had been processing sugar since the mid-1800’s, contained a vast treasure trove of historical artifacts, documents, and photographs that traced the evolution of the site from its early days as a working plantation into its more modern era as a company town.
For more information on the Sugar Land Heritage Foundation, visit www.slheritage.org