Creating Iconic Spaces in Downtown Cleveland
Flats East Bank
Cleveland, Ohio
Project Fast Facts:
- Building multiple restaurants including Crop Restaurants, Beerhead Bar & Eatery, Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill and Punch Bowl Social
- Total Square Footage: 71,500
- Opening late Summer and Fall 2015
In the 1990s the east bank of the Cuyahoga River was the place to be with entertainment, dining and living accommodations that defined the city. With its heavy industrial past, the Flats have often been the backbone of Cleveland – and a three phase, $750 million redevelopment is revitalizing the area, creating a dynamic new lifestyle landmark.
A partnership between the Wolstein Group and Fairmount Properties is behind the endeavor, which kicked off Phase II of the revitalization this Spring. Welty has been actively involved in both Phase I and II of the project, building out destination restaurants.
Phase I:
- Ken Stewart’s East Bank
- Lago
- The Willeyville Handcrafted Consumables
Phase II:
- Crop
- Beerhead Bar & Eatery
- Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill
- Punch Bowl Social
The ultimate goal with the project is to bring people back to the city, making it the entertainment epicenter it once was. With Welty’s involvement, Cleveland’s reputation as a foodie’s paradise will only grow stronger. “We’re creating a landmark space with the Toby Keith restaurant, which we’re building from the group up,” explains Alan Pollack, Welty Group President, Cleveland.
“With the other restaurants, we’re working toward each client’s respective vision to deliver one-of-a-kind spaces in the city.”
The Crop space is particularly unique, with a “three restaurants-in-one” concept. Crop Rocks (food, music, performance art), Crop Sticks (Asian) and Crop Studio (featuring a live stage) will operate as separate restaurants but share one large common kitchen. The Cleveland-based restaurant chose Welty in part for its ability to control the individual and respective budgets while not losing track of the tight time constraints that often accompany restaurant builds.
“Our dedication to customer satisfaction really came through in our Phase I involvement, and that helped lead to even more opportunities in Phase II,” notes Alan. “It’s exciting to be a part of the rebirth of this city.”
Turning an Industrial Building into a Modern Workspace
For nearly a decade the Firestone “triangle” building has sat vacant. Originally used for tire storage and testing, the building – located at 1180 South Main Street in Akron – occupies 162,000 square feet adjacent to the old Firestone headquarters. Now Welty is working with building owner Akron Phoenix Development Company to renovate three floors of the space for government use by tenants Summit County Environmental Health & Safety, as well as Jobs & Family Services. Once completed, the building will house nearly 500 workers.
When the team started pre-construction efforts in 2014, they faced two challenges typical of such renovations: working with a tight budget and Historical Preservation tax credits. To maximize the owner’s budget, Welty employed elements of Integrated Project Delivery and Lean Construction within the CM Contract to reduce the overall cost of the project by 5%. This process relied on collaboration with a series of trade partners, specifically HVAC, drywall, plumbing, and electrical, who essentially functioned as Design-Build partners. This collaboration kicked off with a Pull Plan, a scheduling process designed to maximize flow in the field and increase reliability. Along with this approach, Welty and our partners utilized the Last Planner System for daily and weekly management of the work in the field and employed Lean Delivery Rules including Just-in-Time Delivery to ensure that inventory on site was kept at a minimum, and maximum productivity could be achieved by eliminating workers having excess materials in the way of their work.
Welty also had to consider the historical nature of the building. As a landmark, old and new had to combine seamlessly. Welty is working with contractors for a full historical masonry restoration and is replacing all of the building’s windows with energy efficient ones that replicate the originals. Inside, the building is designed for efficiencies with a state-of-the-art zoned HVAC system that intelligently adjusts to outside variables, like sun heating one side of the building.
Work on the building is scheduled to be completed first quarter 2016.
Welty Breaks Ground on New Central Park in Green
In early July, Welty broke ground on a new $5.3 million construction project for the City of Green’s new Central Park – a dynamic new gathering space designed to be reminiscent of communities with historic downtowns. The project encompasses over 8 acres of land and includes construction on a variety of new amenities, including:
- 5,700 square foot Community Building
- 1,110 square foot restroom and concession building
- 9,000 square foot, 2-tier Farmers’ Market Plaza
- 2,375 square foot seasonal ice skating rink
- Amphitheater with occupancy for 500
- Splash Pad area to accommodate up to 100 kids
- Playground for all ages
- One mile asphalt walking trail
Welty appoints Tia Stathopoulos to General Manager, Welty Facilities Services Group
Tia comes to Welty with a diverse background in real estate, construction, and property management. In her new position, Tia will help Welty’s clients creatively reduce operating costs via property management technical reviews, vendor management and the monitoring of facility maintenance programs.