![\"In](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Screen-Shot-2014-07-10-at-3.23.09-PM.png\")
<\/a>The non-profit Cleveland-based Famicos Foundation worked with the city of Cleveland to purchase the property, which is a nationally registered historic landmark, and turn it into affordable housing for senior citizens using low-income housing tax credits and federal historic preservation tax credits. Because the concrete and masonry building still was in good condition, it would help Famicos Foundation meet its green-building objectives. \u201cCleveland has some very high green-building standards, and we knew we wanted to achieve those goals,\u201d says Mike Bier, Famicos Foundation\u2019s project manager.<\/p>\n
Respecting History<\/h4>\n
The historic nature of the former school required the design and construction teams to respect the original architecture and features while updating them. \u201cOur purpose was to go in and gut as much as we could while maintaining the historic fabric of the building. With historic tax credits, you don\u2019t have to mimic what\u2019s there, you just need to provide something complementary that speaks to the time in which it was built,\u201d explains August L. Fluker, AIA, LEED AP, principal at Clevelandbased City Architecture, the project architect. \u201cWe designed a very elegant entrance vestibule at the north end of the building that was fun to do. We created a metal panel with glass that marked the main entrance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sharon Trsek, architectural historian with general contractor Marous Brothers Construction, Willoughby, Ohio, explains the window restoration by Racy Custom Woodworks, Lakewood, Ohio. \u201cEach window on the front fa\u00e7ade of the 1904 building was restored using the original wooden frames that have been routed to accept newer, more energy-efficient double-pane glass with weather stripping. New windows were installed on the balance of the building.\u201d \u201cDuring the renovation, old acoustic ceilings were removed, revealing 12-inch-high plaster crown mouldings on the first floor,\u201d Trsek recalls. \u201cPlasterers were brought in to bring the original designs back to life.\u201d Restoring the original plaster was another step in respecting the building\u2019s history.<\/p>\n Refurbishing the 1950s addition was more challenging. \u201cIt had been built for expediency and not for longevity,\u201d Trsek says. \u201cBut giving attention to the addition was important to ensure the history of the building\u2019s more recent past was preserved. Large window openings in the 1950s expansion that had been closed up during the 1985 renovations were restored to their configurations in keeping with the international character of the addition, and a new ADA-accessible vestibule was added.\u201d<\/p>\n The roof also was maintained. \u201cThrough the years, certain portions were damaged from water infiltration. We replaced the sheathing but the roof structure was in solid shape. We did reinforcing where required to keep it intact,\u201d Fluker says. Trsek adds the former coal-tar pitch built-up roof was replaced with a white thermoplastic polyolefin membrane, which reduces the urban heat-island effect. Early 20th-century school buildings, like Doan School, often were built in an elevated fashion requiring people to climb stairs to enter them. Doan School\u2019s 1950s addition, however, was built at a lower elevation than the original structure; the differing elevations presented a challenge to accommodate accessibility and Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. To meet the requirements, Fluker specified a double-sided elevator where people enter one side and exit the other side at a different elevation.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think there is one unit that is the same in that building,\u201d Fluker adds. \u201cA few are similar but for the most part every unit on each floor had a different configuration because of what we inherited to work with. We had to work around the infrastructure to make the spaces happen.\u201d Some similarities exist between units, of course. For example, all the kitchens have similar layouts so the same cabinets could be installed throughout.<\/p>\n \u201cYou never know what you are going to have with an old building,\u201d Pasek says. \u201cEven though layouts might seem the same on paper, that is not always the case. Each unit is unique in itself.\u201d<\/p>\n Conscious of seniors needing to move freely in their homes, Fluker also followed universal-design techniques, which ensure space can be used by all people without the need for adaptation or specialized design. He says honoring the existing fabric while creating spaces that meet today\u2019s needs was challenging, but all of the rooms work well.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were going into a turn-of-the-century school building that wasn\u2019t air conditioned,\u201d remembers Joe Denk Jr., P.E., LEED AP, principal of Denk Associates. \u201cNow that building is completely repurposed for residential and needs air-conditioning, heat and individual controls in each of the suites, which is something the original building was never intended to have.\u201d<\/p>\n Denk explains a traditional rooftop-mounted system wasn\u2019t feasible because the necessary louvers on the building exterior would have compromised the historic fa\u00e7ade. Instead, the project team opted for a variable refrigerant system to heat and cool each unit and replace the aged boilers and through-the-wall air-conditioning units. \u201cThe system doesn\u2019t have extensive ductwork connected to the outside unit,\u201d Denk says. \u201cWe could pass piping through the building without too much trouble. It integrates nicely and smoothly.\u201d Each apartment has individual heating and cooling controls.<\/p>\n VRF systems provide precise control for indoor environments by moving refrigerant to the zone to be heated or cooled. It can simultaneously cool some zones while heating others and allows for individual controls. The ductless system also simplifies and streamlines installation, particularly in applications like Doan Classroom Apartments where existing infrastructure would have made a ducted system difficult. 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.<\/p>\n 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. \u201cThe bioswales are now attractive amenities filled with black-eyed susans and decorative grasses,\u201d Trsek says.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Trsek says: \u201cDoan School\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Owner:<\/strong> Famicos Foundation<\/a>, Cleveland HVAC:<\/strong> Mitsubishi Electric VRF zoning system<\/a> PHOTOS:<\/strong> Marous Brothers Construction<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When constructing multifamily housing, most contractors need only to repeat the same floor plan as many times as it takes to complete all the units in a building. In the case of the 45-unit Doan Classroom Apartments in Cleveland, however, the contractor had to take special care with each unit. Each former classroom had nuances<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":14591,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[57,58],"tags":[749,8704,473,744,8705],"ppma_author":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n<\/a>
\n<\/p>\nFloor-plan Differences<\/h4>\n
<\/a>Heating and Cooling<\/h4>\n
<\/a>
\nThe many different rooms within the Doan Classroom Apartments building presented heating-and-cooling challenges. Cleveland-based Denk Associates Inc. was hired as the project\u2019s mechanical engineer.<\/p>\n
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\n\u201cThis wasn\u2019t the least expensive option,\u201d Fluker says. \u201cBut from an operations and utility standpoint, it demonstrated a payback in utility savings of less than five years.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>A Winning Building<\/h4>\n
<\/a>Retrofit Team<\/h3>\n
\nArchitect:<\/strong> City Architecture<\/a>, Cleveland
\nMechanical engineer:<\/strong> Denk Associates Inc., Cleveland, (216) 531-8880
\nHVAC contractor:<\/strong> Westland Heating and Air Conditioning<\/a>, Westlake, Ohio
\nGeneral contractor:<\/strong> Marous Brothers Construction<\/a>, Willoughby, Ohio
\nWindow restoration:<\/strong> Racy Custom Woodworks, Lakewood, Ohio, (216) 221-9663
\nBioswale engineering:<\/strong> Riverstone Engineering<\/a>, Cleveland<\/p>\nMaterials<\/h3>\n
\nWindows:<\/strong> Traco<\/a><\/p>\n