Heidelberg University, France Hall

Heidelberg College (now Heidelberg University) was founded in 1850 by members of the German Reformed Church. It is currently affiliated with the United Church of Christ. The college began on the third floor of a building in downtown Tiffin, and eventually acquired land and developed a beautiful campus of thirty-one buildings. The collage of historic and contemporary architectural styles on the tree-lined campus, ranging from Greek Revival and Victorian Gothic to English Gothic, reflects the diversity of students, staff, and faculty who have graced Heidelberg’s halls for more than 160 years.

France Hall, one of the 10 buildings on the campus listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1925 as a women’s dormitory in honor of the mother of George France, Luella Blackwell France. The Modern English Gothic-style building has historically been home to women and women’s society halls.

Having never undergone a major renovation in its history, and in the face of the University’s growth and need for on-campus living, coupled with the desire to continue the tradition of honoring women and women in leadership, the University set out to raise the funds for an $8.5 million restoration and renovation. With a long-standing and trusted partnership, Heidelberg engaged Marker and our design partner, The Collaborative, before the first line was drawn. Our experience, not only with Heidelberg University, but with other private independent colleges, such as Antioch College, Ohio Northern, Ohio Wesleyan, Ohio Dominican, Bluffton, Wittenberg, and others, positioned us well for the historic preservation and restoration work planned for France Hall.

Our partnership with Heidelberg University dates back to 2007 when we were selected as the Construction Manager-at-Risk to complete the renovations to the historic Adams Hall. Heidelberg has long recognized the value of early teaming. Having experienced the success of meeting budget, quality, and schedule goals on previous projects we have collaborated on, once the decision was made to move forward with the France Hall renovation and restoration, we were brought on board concurrently with the architect.

The design of France Hall began in 2016. Competitively issued State and Federal historical preservation tax credits were sought and were successfully secured after two rounds. Around this same time, the United States Department of Agriculture developed a program to support the economic development of rural areas. The program offered very low-interest rates on financed funds. The USDA program enabled Universities located in qualified rural areas to take a more campus-wide approach to their capital improvement needs and refinancing existing debt. Heidelberg opted to participate in this program rather than utilize the State and Federal tax credits.

Finalizing the design and funding source was completed in 2019, nearly three years from when design started. During that time, a strong economy led to increasing material and labor costs. This escalation, combined with a fully vetted design, challenged the team to deal with a $1.7 million budget variance. Working with our design partners, the University, and our valued team of subcontractors, we focused on what areas were driving costs. Some of the key areas of cost reduction came through value-engineering (VE) the roof design, insulation type, utilizing a chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) fire suppression system, modifying the HVAC system from a four-pipe to a two-pipe system with revisions to the dedicated outside air system (DOAS), utilization of airflow with precise door undercuts and operable windows to ensure the air exchange rates were in compliance with the building authority and the designing engineers. The combined VE efforts brought the project within budget without altering any programming or reducing project scope. This value engineering process did, however, add two months to the start of the project, which could have been much longer but for the collaboration and drive by the project team.

Given the building’s age, we worked with the design team early in the process to anticipate unforeseen conditions during construction. During renovations, existing wall conditions resulted in adjustments in the project to ensure a quality product was provided following completion. Our team was also able to modify the schedule and re-sequence the renovation to mitigate downtime. Our history with the University gave them a high trust level, knowing we had their best interests in mind.

“The Marker Construction team was dedicated to making this project successful and worked together with The Collaborative Architectural firm (Toledo, OH) to complete the project in a timely fashion and within budget. Led by Project Executive, Matt Ludwig, I especially appreciated the diligence and no-nonsense problem-solving ethic of Project Manager, Corbin Ledley, and Senior Superintendent, Alex Yoder. Their personal interest in the project resulted in a finished product that our students occupy and use with great pride.”

Rodney Morrison
Heidelburg University