Stone Harbor Retreat House

Villa Maria by the Sea was a 250-bed beachfront retreat house for Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Stone Harbor only used in the summer since 1937. The old building became too big and too costly to maintain. The difficult decision was made to raze the existing structures and build a new, improved, more compact building to better serve today’s sisters.

T&M provided Program Management, CAFRA permit application management, and support services for the abatement and demolition of the three existing structures (Villa Maria by the Sea Retreat House, the Priest’s House, and the Garage), as well as site preparation and construction of the new retreat center.

The new retreat center is a two-story, 41,000 SF wood and steel framed construction with pile foundations and includes a Chapel and bell tower, meeting, dining spaces, support spaces, a full-service commercial kitchen, 54 new rooms, a year-round Convent, onsite parking, prayer and reflection gardens, a pool, utility services, stormwater management, and reconstruction of the existing private beach access.

The project also includes the extension of 112th Street from 2nd Avenue to the Beach, in preparation of thirteen subdivided residential lots for future development including site fill and utility services.

The New Retreat Center meets FEMA, DEP(CAFRA), and Stone Harbor Borough requirements as well as ADA, Codes, fire safety, and energy efficiency standards for year-round use. T&M’s PM/CM team led the entire process for the Congregation, which began with developing design requests for proposals and included design management and oversight, assistance and coordination of DEP, County, and Borough approvals and permits, utility service provider coordination and continued through construction which began in Summer 2021.