Entry No. 1
Late in 2019, The War Memorial embarked on a journey to build a more inspired future. With our construction project officially underway, we remain committed to building a permanent home for art, culture, and the humanities right here in Grosse Pointe.
Each month, we’ll provide a brief snapshot of where our project stands: a behind-the-scenes look at the people, ideas, and processes driving this vision. We look forward to keeping our community, stakeholders, supporters, and professional staff apprised of our progress: a touchpoint for all involved to see the creation of our new space, start to finish.
At The War Memorial, we believe in only working with the best. That is why we are overjoyed to share that we have partnered with Wesley Lawrence to lead this project as our Owner’s Representative.
Wesley joins the team with a background and extensive knowledge in construction project management and real estate consulting. In his twenty years of experience, Wesley has overseen many projects in both Michigan and Arizona. Much of what Wesley will do at The War Memorial includes project oversight, design review, budget control, and vendor and in-house analysis to ensure the quality and safety of all executed work.
Wesley has an impressive resume of projects, including Ford House; The Detroit Lions Ford Field Renovation; Intel TW3 office expansion in Chandler, Arizona; and the new Honeywell Engineering and Testing Services building in Tempe, Arizona. Wesley has been praised time and time again for his problem-solving and team-building skills.
Holding a Bachelor of Science degree in construction management from Everglades University in Boca Raton, Florida, Wesley is currently pursuing his master’s degree in business administration at Wayne State University. He is a member of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), U.S. Green Building Council, Project Management Institute, and Construction Managers Association of America.
Wesley works closely with the construction team at Frank Rewold & Sons, as well as ROSSETTI, our architect of record, to oversee all elements of the project. Major developments over the last month include asbestos abatement, water abatement, and preparing the site for large-scale construction projects. The team has focused on the difficult prep work needed to implement long-lasting changes, and many deferred maintenance issues have been addressed, allowing for proper renovations to begin on the ballroom and auditorium. We were able to snap some shots of the campus a few days ago—you might even be able to spot Wesley hard at work in a few of them!
