Excellence in Client Service
Carmen construction Co. is proud to enter the recently completed Tallmadge City Hall Renovation for consideration for the Build Ohio 2001 Award. The project was a cooperative effort between our company and the city leaders and we were proud to improve our community through this project. We feel that the project was a success as evidenced by the following comments:

"The City and Carmen Construction have been working well together since they started several weeks ago. We have a good rapport." David Kline, Service Director, City of Tallmadge.

Everybody is really excited to go back to these nice, new digs. I commend the Mayor, and David Kline who spent a lot of time making sure the building turned out well. He complimented Carmen Construction, saying they had done an excellent job, and the city couldn't be more pleased with the results" Richard Osborne, Tallmadge Directory of Administration. "Residents will approve of the building when they see it at the open house to be scheduled later this spring" Osborne predicts. "I think the residents will like it. We renovated an existing building and made it even better than I thought it could be."

An Akron Beacon Journal article stated, "The revamped council chambers for the city council features muted colors, mixed with high technology. There's a built in projection system and each seat features hookups for computers." "We got our two million dollars worth," said Jack Sarver, Councilman, City of Tallmadge.

It wasn't just any job or any city hall renovation; it was OUR city hall renovation. We took pride in the opportunity we had to make a difference in our Tallmadge community—a place Carmen Construction Co. has called home for 47 of our 51 years in business.

Meeting the Challenge
When asked by reporter, Bob Gaettons, about the project's most challenging aspect, Carmen Construction Co. President, Joe Scaccio, and General Superintendent, Lou Scala, answered in chorus "the time schedule!" Several reasons include: the need for a re-bid due to budgetary constraints (Carmen Construction Co. was low bidder on the initial bid and the re-bid), the presence of asbestos in the building to be renovated, and the requirement that city offices be temporarily relocated to a building owned by the school board during renovation. Compounding the urgency was the fact that the temporary relocation space had limited time availability. The schedule was built around the time remaining, not the time it would normally take to complete such a project. It was, therefore, critical that the renovation be completed on schedule. Price was not the main issue on the selection of subcontractors. We needed reliable and reputable subcontractors, such as JW Didado Electric, Golub Mechanical, Prestige Interiors, Akron Concrete, B&B Masonry, Wilhite Painting - those we knew would work at an accelerated pace while maintaining quality. As a result of all our efforts, the project was completed on time and with the quality we knew we could deliver.

The entire building required new wiring, new plumbing, new water and gas lines, and fire lines extended from the street. Seven new furnaces were installed. The intended effect of the building was to replicate the Western Reserve motif in Tallmadge's historical district. The new front entrance of the building was crafted to resemble other historical buildings in Tallmadge and provide handicap access. The Mayor and the Appearance Commission were extremely involved in the aesthetics of the building often times changing the design along the way. These changes further challenged the already tight schedule that we had to meet.

"The internal portion of the construction took the most time but getting the roof on in time for winter was an immediate challenge." Lou Scala, Superintendent, Carmen Construction Co., Inc.

We knew we had a challenge ahead of us, but the last thing we needed was an early winter . . . and unfortunately, that's exactly what we got. Although 185 days may seem like a fair amount of time to complete many two million dollar construction projects, this job was much more unique. The complexities were much greater than those of a standard renovation - not merely gutting an existing 14,000 square foot building. We removed the elevator, installed a new elevator in a new location, removed all stairwells, and built new stairwells in new locations, cut massive holes in the walls and concrete floors of the building. The design was so all encompassing - the back of the building was to become the front, eliminating the former front doors and entrance entirely.

Construction In Progress

Other parts of the renovation included the two-story 8,000 square foot addition with formed concrete walls, pre-cast concrete floors, truss roof, all brick veneer and a 56' tower. The tower had a detailed Exterior insulation Finish System Veneer and was crowned with a hand-made cupola that was designed to exacting proportions and visible from all sides of the building including motorists on Tallmadge Circle.

The EIFS created a further challenge to the construction of this massive tower requiring 40-degree temperatures for 48 hours during installation at a time when we had an extended period of below freezing temperatures. This gave us no choice but to build a heated enclosure over top of the tower as we continued to fight with the snow and extreme bitter cold.

This building was in the heart of the design control district, which is run by the Appearance Commission. After completing portions of the exterior facade of the building per the drawing, the Appearance Commission did not feel it blended with the Greek Revival period they were looking for. Working closely with the Commission, we rebuilt those areas according to their new design, thus adding more complications to an already tremendously tight schedule.

Heated enclosure over top of tower during cupola installation.

Innovation In Construction Techniques or Material
The tower was coated with an elastomeric coating for protection from the elements, and in addition, to ease cleaning and maintaining the majestic white structure. In order to comply with the Head of the Appearance Commission, a standard cupola was unacceptable.

Unacceptable machine-made Cupola

Final handmade Copola

The first attempt to make the cupola by machine still fell short of the requirements the Appearance Commission set. To meet the requirements set by the Commission, the final cupola was handmade to their specifications. This was built by Geist Company and stands out as one of the outstanding aspects of the final project.

Special fire sprinkler lines of plastic, in place of metal, were used to accelerate the installation of the sprinkling system.

Capability of hooking up personal laptop computers to each council members seat on a forty-two foot, fifteen person, L-shaped table added resourcefulness to the grandeur of the newly-built council chambers. This beautifully hand-crafted table is considered the "jewel" of the city building and is truly a piece of art.

Color-matching techniques were used to match old brick and faded motor that were exposed to the elements for over 60 years with new brick and mortar. We used highly efficient Solatube lighting to bring natural light to dark areas in place of standard skylights. Solatube is the most reflective material on the work-market today. Solatube lighting uses a highly reflective tube, redirecting the light and spreading it evenly throughout the specific area providing good lighting even on cloudy days. This worked especially well in a room without windows.

Finally, from Jeffrey D. Lock, Chairman, Appearance Commission, City of Tallmadge, "The Architectural Firm of DLZ designed a highly innovative concept of providing the main entrance and tower unit at the junction of the existing building and the added wing in a manner that lends cohesiveness to the structure as a whole, giving the appearance of the building being designed as one instead of an original structure with a later addition. The completed structure was highly successful at meeting the standards of the Design and Control District of the City of Tallmadge."

Excellence in Project Management
Because of the utmost importance of this job, we employed two of our most seasoned job superintendents and a project manager with over one hundred and twenty-two years combined field experience in order to track and expedite this highly aggressive schedule.

A job of this level of complexity required weekly project meetings regularly attended by both job superintendents, project manager, architects, and subcontractors, along with the City of Tallmadge Officials, Dave Kline, Service Directory, Bob Obrien, Assistant Service Directory, Chris Grimm, Mayor, Bill Allen, Building Inspector and Roger Lyons, City Engineer. Such broad ranging cooperation and partnering at this high level played a key role in organizing and prioritizing the key construction issues. All officials took the time and proved their commitment to the project. The lines of communication were always open, as they had to be. Each member became a valuable part of the team, working hand in hand, dedicated to the same common goal, the successful and timely completion of the City Hall Renovation. Aside from the weekly projects meetings, we held enthusiastic and detail-oriented weekly coordination meetings with our subcontractors.

Due to the outstanding level of cooperation from all parties involved, problems were met head on and resolved quickly to everyone's satisfaction. This building stands as a reminder of what partnering can accomplish under the most adverse conditions.

The move back into the new city hall went without difficulties and on schedule. In the end, we accomplished all of our goals, while adhering to good safety practices. We at Carmen Construction Co. are proud to have been a part of the success to rebuild our town hall.