Leopardo is bringing its adaptive reuse expertise to the booming Cleveland market with its latest office-to-resi project.
The Bell, located in the heart of Downtown Cleveland, is the perfect project for the Chicago-based construction company. Last time we spoke with Leopardo, we learned how the company is pushing the boundaries of jobsite sustainability. Now, TRD got an inside look at how Leopardo’s preconstruction team and adaptive reuse experience makes them the perfect builder for the booming Cleveland market.
Building Relationships on the Cuyahoga
Leopardo’s combination of preconstruction and adaptive reuse expertise is perfectly suited for a post-pandemic market eager for office-to-residential conversions as well as healthcare and hospitality projects.
“A big part of our strategic plan was to expand the company geographically into new markets where there were a lot of opportunities in sectors that we are strong in,” explains Mike Mastin, Senior Vice President at Leopardo Construction. “Cleveland really checked a lot of those boxes.”
The city’s relatively close proximity to Chicago made for a seamless expansion, allowing Leopardo to tap some existing staff while building the all-important relationships with the local subcontractors. In addition to bringing a huge amount of “horsepower” with their preconstruction and estimating services, Leopardo relies on its close working relationships with subcontractors when it comes to the actual construction process.
“They’re the experts in their trade,” emphasizes Steve Sebastian, Vice President of Leopardo’s Residential Business Unit. “We collaborate with them and see them as a vital part of the team, not just as someone who works under the general contractor.”
Preconstruction at The Bell
The office-to-residential conversation at 45 Erieview was the perfect introduction to the Cleveland market. Built in 1983 to serve as Ohio Bell Telephone’s headquarters, the 16-story tower is on the National Register of Historic Places and anchors the Erieview Historic District. The construction plan called for a combination of historic preservation of facade and lobby elements as well as major upgrades including an entire new amenity deck.
While The Bell’s development budget involved historic tax credits, Leopardo did everything in its power to avoid costly change orders and delays from the earliest phases of the project. The company’s robust preconstruction process is designed with exactly this workflow in mind.
For example, Leopardo determined early on that some of the building’s existing HVAC system would need to be evaluated prior to construction if it was to remain. “Through exploratory demolition and testing, we were able to identify replacement work ahead of time versus encountering an unforeseen condition during construction activities,” explains Sebastian.
“It’s critical to identify those issues as much as possible ahead of time,” says Mastin. In fact, Leopardo brought the local HVAC subcontractor into the process early thanks to this discovery, leveraging their design and build expertise before knocking down the first wall.
Leopardo’s preconstruction team continued to scan the building with cutting-edge technology even once demolition had begun, allowing the builder to adjust plans on the fly and keep the project on schedule and budget by avoiding delays.
One notable example of this adaptability was when, partway through demolition, the team discovered equipment in place that was unable to be removed due to the capacity of service it was providing the overall building. This equipment conflicted with new design components that needed to be adjusted. Because the project was still in the demolition phase, the design team had adequate time to make drawing changes without causing any delay to the construction schedule.
Adaptive Reuse on Lake Erie
The Leopardo team’s extensive adaptive reuse experience was a crucial element to The Bell’s success. Not only was the team able to leverage its preconstruction expertise to bring the project in on time and budget, but the lessons it had learned from previous projects enabled it to transform sections of the building while preserving others.
One of the major changes at 45 Erieview was the construction of a new amenities deck featuring a pool and spa, a process that involved significant structural upgrades.
“You can’t turn any roof into an amenity deck without physically reinforcing the structure,” explains Sebastian. “So we had to peel off the entire roof on level 15, disassemble the steel, bring in new steel, and erect a 20 by 40 steel cradle.”
Workers spent months reinforcing the columns that would hold the new amenities deck all the way to the basement level before the pool, which was assembled off site, was brought in and set into the cradle via crane, which involved closing down a major street.
It’s the kind of challenge that would be daunting for a firm that lacks Leopardo’s experience with these types of projects, but that was just another day at work for the Chicago-based company.
Office to Resi in Cleveland and Beyond
Mastin believes that adaptive reuse projects like The Bell are going to become increasingly common moving forward.
“Covid was the tipping point,” he says. “You see a lot of these old office buildings that aren’t being used, and developers are slowly taking hold of them and converting to multifamily.”
Leopardo is continuing to strengthen its ties to Cleveland’s developers, architects and subtractors, and is already working on another residential project, this one new construction, in the city’s downtown. The company is also growing its Cleveland team, and has recently hired both a local Preconstruction Manager and a Business Development Manager.
“We’re looking forward to being a leading builder there for many years to come,” says Mastin.
Of course, this Ohio expansion is just part of the company’s portfolio. Leopardo is about to begin construction on converting a century-old office building to affordable housing in its native Chicago, and the company recently expanded into the red-hot Florida market with an office in Orlando. As the country’s appetite for ground up construction, adaptive reuse and historic office-to-resi conversions grows, so will Leopardo’s footprint.