The latest Dayton History project broke ground today.
Dayton, Ohio (July 19, 2018) — Carillon Historical Park held a groundbreaking today for its Heritage Center of Regional Leadership. The new 32,000-square-foot building will connect the Carillon Brewing Co. to the Kettering Family Education Center, which is the gateway to the 65-acre Dayton History campus.
The Leadership Center will feature classrooms, meeting spaces, an exhibit gallery, an outdoor dining plaza, restrooms, an expanded terrace and an approximately 700-capacity banquet facility, and will be the new home of Culp’s Café, which currently is southwest of the site. The renovated café will include a large, early 20th-century soda fountain and a restored 1904 Barney & Smith Car Co. rail car.
Dayton History President and CEO Brady Kress called the Leadership Center “another key component in our master plan," and thanked several benefactors for stepping forward to make this project possible, as well as for helping to pave the way for future renovations at one of the nation’s fastest growing history complexes.
Woolpert is providing structural engineering support to Roll & Associates, the project architect, and Danis Construction is the contractor. Peter Giessel, a senior structural engineer with Woolpert, said this project is unique in its geometric challenges and process opportunities.
“The Brewery and the Education Center are oriented in line with natural features of the land and the city waterline, so connecting these with the new Leadership Center requires some alignment at unusual angles,” Giessel said. “As far as the process, since the contractor was brought on before the plans were finalized, we’re operating somewhere between design-build and design-bid-build. But it’s going really well. We’ve worked with Danis on the new CareSource building, and both Danis and Roll are consistently great to work with and produce outstanding results.”
Giessel added that he is familiar with the park due to Woolpert’s involvement on multiple projects, including the Carillon Tree of Light and the under-construction Brethen Tower, as well as on a personal level.
“I love taking my kids to the park in my spare time,” said Giessel, a father of six. “They especially enjoy the carousel. It’s just such a great local resource, and it beautifully brings local history to life. It’s great to be a part of it all.”
The Heritage Center of Regional Leadership is projected to open next year.
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