Blog

We can’t believe it. Here at Cochran & Mann, we are celebrating 30 years of business. It’s been a long journey to become the painting and wallcovering contractor of choice for Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia and Maryland general contractors.

We were founded on the last day of the year in 1990. There were five of us in a one-room office. 

Over time, we gradually grew to where we are today. We now have hundreds of employees in two locations. Our partners, clients, and projects have all grown in scale as we serve Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia and Maryland areas. Above all, we have remained family owned-and-operated from the beginning.

To look back and reflect on our journey, the growth has been incredible. We are a family at Cochran & Mann, whether you’re an employee, a vendor, or a client. You get a company experience through our capabilities and scalability but with the customer service of a small business. That’s because we stick to our principles and promises. Cochran & Mann is guided by the principles of transparency, reliability, responsiveness, craftsmanship and loyalty.

Enlarge

As we reflect on the journey over the past 30 years, we remember all the amazing projects, opportunities and achievements we’ve accomplished:

Projects

We’ve worked on hundreds of projects since our opening. And, we are so proud of all the spaces we’ve gotten to beautify over the years. It’s impossible to name all of our favorites, but here’s a taste of some of the incredible projects we’ve been a part of:

International Spy Museum

Cochran & Mann partnered with JBG Companies to construct the brand new 140,000 square foot International Spy Museum on top of L'Enfant Plaza in Southwest Washington, D.C. The project consisted of three phases and included two floors of dedicated exhibits, one floor of theaters and specialty exhibits, a massive multi-story veiled stair, sky lounge, and rooftop deck. The results produced a visually stunning building full of color that is creating a lot of talk in downtown.

Cole Field House

This next project goes out to all our University of Maryland students, alumni and fans! We were honored to be responsible for the transformation of Cole Field House at the University of Maryland, a place where champions were crowned and traditions were born. The University wanted to ensure the first phase of the new facility would be finished in time to show potential recruits for the following athletic year. Our challenge was to transform it from an arena that lay silent for decades to a state-of-the-art football athletic facility. The Cochran & Mann team was responsible for painting the facility and installing graphics to bring a cutting-edge look to the outdated arena.

PBS

One of our most recent projects includes the PBS offices in Arlington, VA. This project was done in the midst of COVID-19. Because of the pandemic, we faced many obstacles, including employee health and globally-manufactured wallcoverings delivery system delays. Despite the challenges, we were able to deliver beautiful 5.5 floors of office space (130,000sf) and an interconnecting staircase.

Community

At Cochran & Mann, it is a high priority to remain active in our community. We are always looking for ways to give back whether it's financial, material, or by donating our time. Here are some of the organizations that we have had the pleasure of offering our resources to. We encourage you to look at their website, read their mission and consider donating to them as well.

• DSNMC Down Syndrome Network
• Frederick Health
• Junior Achievement
• Muscular Dystrophy Association
• Penn State Thon
• Pink Dog Animal Rescue
• The Children's Inn at NIH

The Samaritan Inn

The Samaritan Inn provides “structured housing and recovering services in an environment of support and accountability that give homeless or at-risk individuals who suffer from drug and alcohol addictions the opportunity to rebuild their lives.” The Samaritan Inn launched a new program at a new building to provide housing, treatment services and life skills training. In May 2019, Cochran & Mann donated their time and materials in partnership with Davis Construction to help prepare their newest program.

Awards

Over the years, Cochran & Mann has been honored to be recognized with many awards. Here are some of our wonderful recognitions:

• 5 Associated Builders & Contractors “Painter of the Year” Awards
• 2 ASA “Subby” Finalists for Subcontractor of the Year
• 8-time winner of Associated Business & Contractor’s 2020 Excellence in Construction Awards as the Subcontractor of the Year

We are incredibly proud of the work we’ve done and the people we’ve gotten to serve over the past 30 years. Throughout 2021, we will be celebrating this momentous occasion. And as always, we look forward to upholding our high standards, quality craftsmanship and guiding principles for years to come.