“This wasn’t the least expensive option,” Fluker says. “But from an operations and utility standpoint, it demonstrated a payback in utility savings of less than five years.”
Denk and his team also were responsible for installing the plumbing. “The only problem with these older buildings is they’re heavily constructed using materials like poured concrete and other materials difficult to penetrate,” he says. “Every hole for sinks, showers, faucets and everything is physically demanding for the contractor. Getting through the building is the toughest part. After that, installation is the same as it is anywhere else.”
A Winning Building
Pasek and his team from Marous Brothers Construction were responsible for site work, which he says was relatively minimal. The company landscaped and added swales for stormwater runoff. Other outdoor work included new parking, restoration of the original decorative iron fencing, a curved pedestrian path in front of the building, and new site lighting and benches to provide tenants with a clean and inviting outdoor oasis.
Three bioswales on the west and south sides of the property contain surface runoff water from the parking lot and retain and filter the water before it reaches the sewer system. “The bioswales are now attractive amenities filled with black-eyed susans and decorative grasses,” Trsek says.
The 12-month, $7.4 million rehab project encompassed 60,465 square feet. Each of the apartments achieved a HERS (Home Energy Rating System) rating of 85 to 100. An 85 HERS rating indicates energy costs are estimated to be at least 15 percent less than a code-built home while a 100 score is equivalent to a standard new home.
Doan Classroom Apartments earned an Enterprise Green Communities certification, which is a national program that certifies green affordable-housing developments based on integrative design, location and neighborhood fabric, site improvements, water conservation, energy efficiency, materials beneficial to the environment, healthy living environment, and operations and maintenance. Sustainable elements for Doan Classroom Apartments include energy-efficient lighting, low-flow plumbing fixtures, low-VOC paints and sealants, and advanced ventilation technology.
Doan Classroom Apartments also has earned several awards, including the Northern Ohio NAIOP Award of Excellence Multi-Family Renovation project of the year 2012, Heritage Ohio Annual Award Best Adaptive Reuse project 2012, Cleveland Restoration Society and AIA Cleveland The Community Impact Award 2013, and the Ohio Historic Preservation Office Merit Award in 2013.
Trsek says: “Doan School’s rehabilitation has transformed a blighted property into an attractive, sustainable and practical place. Not only does the former school provide affordable housing to senior citizens, its preservation has saved a piece of the neighborhood’s history to the delight of area residents. This project exemplifies the value in recycling an old building and preserving history in a rapidly changing Cleveland neighborhood.”
Retrofit Team
Owner: Famicos Foundation, Cleveland
Architect: City Architecture, Cleveland
Mechanical engineer: Denk Associates Inc., Cleveland, (216) 531-8880
HVAC contractor: Westland Heating and Air Conditioning, Westlake, Ohio
General contractor: Marous Brothers Construction, Willoughby, Ohio
Window restoration: Racy Custom Woodworks, Lakewood, Ohio, (216) 221-9663
Bioswale engineering: Riverstone Engineering, Cleveland
Materials
HVAC: Mitsubishi Electric VRF zoning system
Windows: Traco
PHOTOS: Marous Brothers Construction