MMI provided structural and civil engineering services for the historic Bell Artspace Campus. Three buildings were renovated into 79 units of affordable live/work housing for low to moderate-income artists, cultural workers, and families. The Band Room was restored for such as community recreation, athletic practice, and marching band rehearsals. The construction budget was approximately $37.4 million in 2017.

​

The general scope of our services for this project included generating repair documentation for the historic campus which is comprised of five existing buildings.  The existing buildings include 1 to 3 story buildings, some of which were interconnected. The campus occupies approximately two city blocks. All of the existing buildings exhibited extensive evidence of severe framing and masonry damages.

​

The existing historic facility was built in 1900’s, with additions made in the 1920’s.  The scope of work for the existing facilities included an extensive demolition and repair program, with removal of all non-load bearing elements and finishes, and replacement of many of the load carrying elements as well. 

​

In order to determine the repair scope, our services included field determination of the existing construction, including observation of damages and deficiencies, and subsequent preparation of construction documents which accurately described repair, replacement or modification of the existing framing. MMI had to work hand in hand with the contractor during construction as the majority of the framing had become significantly termite damaged and needed to be replaced. Temporary bracing and sequencing of the work was necessary to prevent the collapse of the existing masonry walls.