JMT Celebrates Completion of Huffman Commons at Notre Dame Preparatory School
On Friday, August 28, JMT Architecture, our project partners, and the Towson, MD, community celebrated the dedication of the newly renovated and expanded Huffman Commons at Notre Dame Preparatory School.
The building serves as a student center and dining area, and the team’s goal was to create a welcoming space that students, faculty, and staff will use throughout the day. To achieve this goal, the project team renovated the original 10,000 SF 1960s building; designed a 2,500 SF addition that provides additional student dining space and a new faculty dining space; and updated the kitchen to meet current building codes and feature modern appliances, including a new pizza oven.
The updated dining facility offers a flexible, free-flowing space with a variety of seating options, including round tables, high-tops, and booths. The space also features three operable glass partitions that separate the serving area from the dining area and can be opened for food service or closed to accommodate after-school events and other gatherings.
The exterior of the new addition combines the traditional Butler stone and limestone panels of the existing building with a modern full-height glass curtain wall that allows natural light into the space.
This project, which began in December 2025, was completed on a fast-paced schedule to minimize disruption for the school’s students, faculty, and staff. The new building is now open in time for the 2026-27 school year.
The Huffman Commons is already garnering positive attention from the community. A local Fox affiliate, Fox 45, spoke with the head of the school, Dr. Angela Allen, and senior student Emma Harris. Dr. Allen spoke positively about the school’s experience working with JMT and our project partners: “We had wonderful partners. JMT, Whiting-Turner–they know schools,” she said. “They understand the benefit, they know it’s not just a building, and they’re building something for the [students].”
According to Emma, the students are excited to use the new space for eating, studying, and socializing. “It means a lot because everyone loved the cafeteria before, but now it’s really a place the community can come together and gather,” she said. “When you walk into the school, your spirits are immediately lifted because of how spacious and bright it is.”
JMT is proud to have been part of this important project supporting private education in the Towson, MD, community, and we thank our project partners – including Richardson Engineering, Morabito Consultants, BKM, NFD Interiors, Sage Foodservice, and Whiting-Turner Contracting – for their collaboration and hard work in completing this project in time for the new school year.
Learn more about the Huffman Commons project.