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DECEMBER 5 - 11, 2011
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LEGAL AFFAIRS
Calfee: Energy efficiency features integrated continued from PAGE 13
showroom for gas appliances was even being used as a parking garage. “You could see what that lobby used to be like,” said architect Bob Porter of his first impressions of the building. Mr. Porter’s firm, Vocon Inc., is designing Calfee’s space. The building, on the National Register of Historic Places, also served as home to a number of other businesses, including KWY radio and WKYC-TV, Channel 3, before going dark after a failed attempt to put condominiums in the building. Vacant since the early 2000s, the structure now has a more certain future; Calfee has signed a 20-year lease with options for additional years. “What we’re doing, the investment we’re making, is not only good for our law firm but the city of Cleveland,” said Mr. Ballard, who did not disclose Calfee’s costs for the renovations, which started in summer 2010.
Making it work The newly named Calfee Building — for which the developer is Steve Calabrese and the structure’s architect is Sandvick Architects — ultimately is a mix of old and new. “People work differently today,” Mr. Ballard said. “We’re able to drop into this historic structure a 21st-century law firm.” The building features smaller individual offices (even for the firm’s partners), with more emphasis placed on open spaces for informal gatherings and meeting with others. “This really is about the way lawyers are working,” Mr. Ballard said. “This is about firing people up.” It’s an office design that is catching up to the legal industry, according to Mr. Porter. “The trend is more work gets done when we collaborate with other people,” he said. Historic tax credits were used for the project, which means there were added stipulations to the design. For example, all aspects of the twostory atrium’s historic shell needed to remain visible, meaning ceilingto-floor walls could not be used in the wide open space. The solution: glass dividers, some of which can be made temporarily opaque for privacy purposes. Also now located within the parking-garage-turned-lobby are a fountain, seating and reception area. Conference rooms and a food service section, including café-style booths and seating as well as space set aside for a market, are on the upper level. Calfee also has incorporated other amenities such as an exercise room and rooftop garden. “Ultimately you want people to be healthier,” Mr. Ballard said. Plans are in place to apply for gold level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, standards that are particularly challenging given the age of the building, according to Mr. Porter. Green features include waterconserving fixtures, efficient lighting controls and a white roof, which reduces heat gain and will lessen the building’s overall energy usage.
Cleveland pride For Mr. Ballard, a native of Northeast Ohio, the project is nothing short of a labor of love. “We’re really part of the revitalization of downtown Cleveland,” he said. “Look at all the things that are happening a block from where
JANET CENTURY PHOTOS
ABOVE, RIGHT: Calfee law firm employees soon will move into the new Calfee Building at East Sixth Street and Rockwell Avenue, which is undergoing major renovations, as managing partner Brent D. Ballard demonstrates. we’re standing.” Not only is the managing partner excited to be close to projects such as the medical mart and convention
center, he sees the building as the perfect place for his law firm. “It sort of fits us like a glove, now and in the future,” he said. ■
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