Ramova Theater Adaptive Reuse

Title: Ramova Theater Adaptive Reuse

Award Category: Exterior Wall

Project Address/Location

3520 South Halsted

Chicago, IL 60609
United States

Submitted By: Pat Giblin

Company Info

Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.

10 S LaSalle Street
Suite 2600
CHICAGO, IL 60603-1017
United States

3123250555

[email protected]

Project Description and Background: Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. (WJE) was contacted by O'Riley Office, LLC (O’Riley) to provide professional architectural and engineering services to assist with the repair of the exterior enclosure (masonry, windows, marquee, and roofing) as well as the interior decorative plaster of the Ramova Theater, located at 3518 through 3520 South Halsted Street in Chicago, Illinois. O’Riley had prepared a conceptual development plan that included an adaptive reuse of the site and historic buildings including the Ramova Theater building, the vacant lot south of the theater, and the two-story commercial building north of the theater (Ramova Theater Development), located in the 3500 block of South Halsted Street in Chicago, Illinois. The rehabilitated buildings, along with the new addition include a theater, restaurant, and brewery. The Ramova Theater, designed by Meyer O. Nathan in the Spanish Revival style, was constructed in 1928 and opened on August 21, 1929. The theater closed in 1986 and the City of Chicago (City) took ownership of the building in 2001. WJE was involved in the due diligence visual assessment and planning process with SOM and you, McHugh, and Ownership in 2018 to develop repair scopes and preliminary budgets for the exterior facades of the building. The roofing was not part of this evaluation due to a lack of interior access. The 2018 scope of repairs that was developed will be refined as part of the current proposed scope of services to assist in the adaptive reuse of converting the long vacant theater, into local theater, brewery, restaurant and event space. WJE was selected as the exterior envelope consultant because of our participation in the due diligence efforts, experience with successful adaptive reuse projects for similar historic masonry clad buildings and our ability to provide practical and historically appropriate solutions for the building enclosure.

Scope: WJE utilized a modified design-build approach which we have done successfully on multiple masonry facade projects with Central, with an anticipated scope from the limited exterior evaluations inspections. Utilizing this approach allowed us to move into demo sooner in order to start fabrication of terra cotta replacement units and start the repairs on the exterior façade to abide with some of the schedule requirements for funding of the project. Our design-build approach included developing elevation drawings indicating locations and types of repairs along with a written scope for development of repair cost estimate from Central and used for obtaining a permit through landmarks. This approach required more field time from WJE , but this additional field work was realized from the less intense drawings and bidding phase. This was an extremely effective process to regain some of the lost time due to the early delays in the schedule as well as the opportunity to react quickly to unforeseen field conditions for the exterior envelope. The repairs to the exterior envelope generally included the following items. • Miscellaneous terra cotta crack and spall repairs • Isolated terra cotta replacement with GFRC • Isolated terra cotta removal and reinstallation for steel repairs • Miscellaneous brick crack and spall repairs • Rehabilitation of any structural steel elements associated with the façade and marque • Repointing of the masonry (terra cotta and brick) joints • Roofing replacement • Marquee and canopy restoration and partial replacemetn details and scope • Restoration of the art glass window details and scope The modified design-build methodology as described an interactive process is required between the general contractor and envelope subcontractors, AoR and WJE. The methodology for existing envelope repair of the Ramova included the following. • Initial Inspection: The contractor will provide WJE access to an area of the facade, and WJE will perform an initial close-up inspection to identify specific areas for repair. Upon completion of the initial close-up inspection, WJE assigned repairs and/or identified specific areas or units to be removed for additional observation of underlying conditions. • Initial Demolition & Follow-Up Inspections: Upon completion of the initial demolition, follow-up inspections were conducted to review the concealed conditions, develop a better understanding of how the facade is supported, and refine the scope of repair work. • Repair Assignment & Supplemental Detail Development: Repairs were selected from the typical repair techniques, which were included in the bid documents as a base quantity and unit prices and modified as needs for specific locations and conditions. This process was completed with significant contractor input regarding constructability of the details, cost and schedule implications. • Periodic Inspections: As the supplemental details were developed and implemented, periodic inspections were performed to evaluate the constructability of the repairs for the masonry, roofing, marquee/canopy and art glass window to determine if there was need for further modifications of the details. • Punch List & Final Inspections: Near the completion of the project, WJE assisted the Contractor in preparing a punch list of work

Solution: Preserving, rehabilitating and revitalizing the Ramova Theater has also preserved, rehabilitated and revitalized its cultural position in the ever-evolving Bridgeport community. The original theater block has been reimagined as an 1,800-person live concert hall, craft brewery, taproom and grill. Meticulously restored, the Ramova once again lights up South Halsted, bringing top performing acts to the neighborhood, alongside educational programs, workshops, and community outreach initiatives. Exterior enclosure rehabilitation projects require design professionals to manage and balance a combination of many varied and sometimes opposing factors including historic preservation standards and considerations, code requirements and client expectations. The Ramova theater project included an architect and Owner that were new to the idea of adaptive reuse and through WJE's role on the project was able to provide a practical primer to preservation, restoration, rehabilitation and the differences between each of these relative to the standards as they relate to historic buildings and how they are interpreted relative to the other influences on a rehabilitation project. It also included many conversations with the historic preservation agencies to negotiate the need for lesser unnecessary repairs and beautification in the name of restoration are often some of the most difficult challenges faced in the preservation industry. Historic preservation especially for the exterior enclosure of a building (which is the public's perception of the project) is a constant balancing act of appropriate scope of repairs, justification of replacement of undamaged original fabric, when is it okay not to repair, and managing the client’s expectations with regard to the limitations of a historic building not looking shiny and new. These considerations became even more challenging with the Ramova theater that had sat vacant for nearly 40 years trying to incorporate new services and code requirements but also meeting the historic preservation requirements for incentives including tax benefits or other financial means are at stake. The Ramova Theater full retrofit of a vacant building illustrates how the collaboration of the project team with WJE as the exterior enclosure consultant and how they successfully navigated the challenges of maintaining authenticity, integrating contemporary regulations and codes into a historic building, balancing preservation and restoration processes while providing Our Revival and the regulating agencies (City of Chicago, state historic preservation office - IHPA, the National Park Service) and others with a successful project. The project meets the Chicago Sustainable Development Policy by exceeding the Chicago Energy Code by more than 20% and by utilizing plumbing fixtures that contribute to a 40% reduction in water usage. Additionally, the project is a recipient of a loan through the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) finance program, based on use of high-efficiency building systems and high-performing roofing and window wall systems. Additionally this a project example of the most sustainable building is the one that is already built and rehabbed to be energy efficient through the use of exterior wall and roofing materials coupled with mechanical system upgrades.

Value: “Demolition by neglect” is phrase utilized in the industry to illustrate the deterioration and destruction of buildings that have outlived the original useful purpose. The Ramova theater sat vacant for nearly 40 years and fell into disrepair due to differed maintenance because of factors including ownership structure, financial burden, site logistics, code regulations and other non-technical issues. The combination of many issues including durability of materials, environmental and sustainability concerns, and historic preservation or political influences, can lead to extreme deterioration of these buildings caused by environmental influences, resulting in safety and financial burdens until adaptive reuse or demolition occurs. The Ramova Theater had been vacant since the 1980s, so when the development team decided to rehabilitate, it was imperative to put together a team that had experience working on these types of adaptive reuse projects to be able to react to unforeseen conditions without causing major schedule or budget implications. WJE's role as the exterior envelope consultant and interior plaster restoration consultant, provided the team with that needed experience. The ownership and design architect had never taken on an adaptive reuse project, so were unfamiliar with numerous unforeseen conditions that need to be addressed during construction as part of work on an existing historic building. WJE was able to assist the design architect, general contractor and Ownership in navigating the challenges of working on a historic building. This methodology included significant WJE field time to work collaboratively with the masonry, window, signage and roofing subcontractors review and adjust scope and repairs throughout the project as new conditions were discovered and priorities reevaluated to ensure the project could be completed within in the established budget as is typical for the adaptive-reuse exterior envelope rehabilitation work. Rather than providing detailed project documents, this approach requires a good working relationship and frequent interaction between the owner, contractor, enclosure consultant and architect/engineer during the repair work to address design detailing and scope issues expeditiously, which was typically communicated through site visit reports (examples attached). WJE was successful at this approach as it required expertise in the systems to anticipate general parameters for the project and adjust specific repairs and actual extent of scope is determined while the repairs are being performed. On the exterior of the building, repair and preservation efforts focused on the original theater entry facade, with its large stained glass and divided-lite vision glass window, marquee and neon building signage as focal points. All but one piece of the original stained glass rosette was able to be reused, in new caming, within the larger vision glass window, maintaining not only the original appearance of the window by also the original effect: allowing a large amount of daylight into the theater’s entry lobby. Terra cotta on the east facade was repaired to the greatest extent possible, and only replaced where necessary. WJE utilized this methodology for the envelope rehabilitation of the Ramova Theater and provided the all stakeholders with successful project from aesthetics, schedule, finances, functionality and preservation!

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Additional Info: Here are some additional articles and press releases for the project as well roles for other project team members for the exterior enclosure projects Central Building and Preservation (Central) - masonry subcontractor (east facade - restoration) contact Mark Kuberski MBB Masonry (MBB) - secondary masonry subcontractor (common brick masonry -other facades) contact Chris Zamora Rigali Studios (Rigali) - art glass window restoration - contact Bob Rigali Chicago Ornamental Plastering - interior plaster restoration contact Matt Luczak Pine Roofing - roofing subcontractor contact Jay Pine Marquee Restoration and Canopy Reconstruction - subcontractor South Water Signs BAUM Revision - Additional Developer contact John Reynolds WJE project team - Rachel Will, Nicole Declet, Amanda Marshall, Gloria Moy, Pat Giblin, and Jason Aspin. Pat Giblin was a member of the project team and is currently a member of IIBEC, Rachel Will was the project manager. https://blockclubchicago.org/2024/09/18/bridgeports-ramova-theater-is-now-a-chicago-landmark/ https://variety.com/2023/music/news/ramova-theatre-chicago-reopening-jennifer-hudson-chance-the-rapper-quincy-jones-1235790457/ https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/ramova-theatre-to-reopen-this-fall-under-ownership-led-by-quincy-jones-jennifer-hudson-and-chance-the-rapper/3279248/ https://www.chicagostarmedia.com/realestate/ramova-theatre-salt-shed-other-historic-local-buildings-win-preservation-award/article_378279da-5ff1-11ef-bba3-0f9bff25a694.html https://ramovachicago.com/

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