The Day Companies own & manage real estate in virtually all market segments in Central Ohio. A considerable share of this portfolio is along the High Street corridor.
They had acquired the old National City Bank building at the corner of Fifth Avenue & High. During a previous project, we had gutted the old building and made some basic site improvements. The tenant space had since become home to American Apparel, a clothing retailer.
After a bad traffic accident, MCR Services was asked to replace a damaged column.
Challenges
Busy Intersection & Structural Work
During the previous building renovation, the architect had left a corner column isolated and exposed on the sidewalk, a common post-Victorian design strategy. But it was a load-bearing column & had been compromised during the accident:
We had to direct traffic several times during the column replacement work
Structural shoring to the building until the new column was installed
High-profile “OSHA” site at a busy city intersection at the "Gateway" to the Short North District
Features
From Directing Traffic to “Holding up The Bank”
Because of the equipment involved and the exposed work area, there were several times when our personnel had to take responsibility for directing traffic to ensure public and worker safety
The old National City Bank building was now an active clothing retailer. The work on site had to be sensitive to accommodate their daily operations and not block pedestrian access to the sidewalk. Temporary shoring kept the upper floors from caving in during the column replacement
Replacement of the decorative ceramic tile
New stucco veneer to match the existing
Replacement of the aluminum storefront glass—and interior & exterior trim
Thorough and sensitive clean-up of site
New, reinforced masonry column—one that could stand up to future traffic “incidents”
Results
Happy Customers, Tenants & Agents
Repair work—especially work resulting from vehicular damage—involves several parties, each with their own perspective on the situation. The tenant, American Apparel, the customer, The Day Companies and the insurance company were elated that the repairs proceeded so quickly—and came off without a hitch.
The finished repair work is sensitive to the original restoration, designed by Meyers + Associates Architects. All of the finishes were carefully matched and the building is stronger than before.
