Thorson • Baker and Assocs. Inc.: Flats East Bank Building #4

New construction at an engineered multi-dwelling/retail complex/restaurant and a parking garage/service station.

By Thorson • Baker and Assocs. Inc. August 14, 2014

Engineering firm: Thorson • Baker & Assocs. Inc.
2014 MEP Giants rank: 85
Project: Flats East Bank Building #4
Address: Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Building type: Engineered multi-dwelling/retail complex/restaurant, Parking garage/service station
Project type: New construction
Engineering services: Automation/controls, electrical/power, fire/life safety, HVAC/mechanical, lighting, energy/sustainability, and plumbing/piping
Project timeline: 12/2013 to 7/2015
MEP/FP budget: $374,000

Challenges

Thorson • Baker & Associates, Inc. (TBA) is excited to be a part of completing the goals and desires of The Wolstein Group, and Fairmount Properties. This eight-story, 510,449-sq-ft mixed-use apartment building consists of commercial tenants (mostly restaurants) on the first floor, 243 apartments on floors three through eight, and two floors of indoor parking. The new construction includes 59,100 sq ft of retail tenant space, 101,500 sq ft of parking spaces/service area, and 321,249 sq ft for apartments. The most complex challenge of this project was to design a space that maximizes the building’s floor space. Due to the restaurants on the first floor, it was a challenge to get the kitchen exhaust to the roof.

Solutions

Instead of having 14 to 28 different exhaust shafts to the roof, the firm designed a six-stack system to accommodate the restaurant’s requirement of providing exhaust for possibly 14 restaurants. The building was designed using a water source heat pump system using condensing boilers and cooling tower to limit the size of penetrations through the floor. This project is seeking Enterprise Green Communities certification with the City of Cleveland.