Antioch College, Wellness Center

This project is part of a significant and compelling story. Founded in 1852, Antioch College thrived for decades as a liberal arts campus dedicated to developing bright, capable students and supporting the humanitarian efforts of each generation. Following years of declining enrollment and insufficient funding in the early 2000s, Antioch closed its doors in 2008. But the Antioch alumni and faculty simply would not let their historic school drop off the map. Their passion and devotion to both the institution and the community fueled their desire to rally behind Antioch, and in autumn of 2011, the doors opened once more. At that point, all Antioch needed was a building partner who would rally behind them in the same way.
This is where Marker Construction entered the “Antioch story.” We saw a unique opportunity to work alongside a spirited and innovative campus. The renovation of the former Curl Gymnasium into a state-of-the art Wellness Center marked the third major renovation project we completed on Antioch’s campus. It is perhaps one of the College’s most important revitalization projects, symbolizing Antioch’s continued dedication to its students and to the Yellow Springs community.

The primary goal of the project was to create a building that would not only serve Antioch students, but – in true Antioch fashion – also encourage the entire Yellow Springs Community to come together. As we worked together to reach that higher vision, we had our own internal ambitions – to not just reach the client’s end goal, but to truly partner with them to introduce innovative, sustainable, and cost-effective solutions to the many challenges we faced.
Our preconstruction team collaborated extensively A/E team and the client to assess all value engineering and cost saving options. We delivered creative solutions to keep the project on track in the face of various structural challenges and schedule constraints. As a result, we saved the Owner nearly $300,000 through value engineering solutions. One example was changing from plaster material to gypsum board, we reduced the project cost by $60,000. We also reduced the site work scope by $130,000 by revising the rain gardens, changing from sod to seed, and adjusting the sidewalk and pavement subbase details.
The result was an outstanding facility that exceeded all of the College’s expectations, from sustainability to ADA compliance – and most importantly, the facility was ready in time for the highly anticipated Grand Opening event. Seeing the looks on the faces of the students, faculty, and neighbors as the ribbon was cut and the doors were officially opened served as an important reminder of why we love building. The Wellness Center project was a vital addition to Antioch’s metamorphic campus, and we are excited to watch the rest of the story unfold for generations to come.

We appreciate the care and attention provided by your estimating team, project manager, Michelle Walters, and of course, our Superintendent, Mark Hammond. Michelle and Mark have become part of the Antioch family as have many of the Marker staff. Randy Marker has even taken the time to attend events focusing on our master plan and the geo thermal project with the Village. We truly appreciate the work efforts exhibited during the course of all of our projects here at the College.

– Tom Brookey, Antioch College