Vantage Career Center shows facility

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

After more than two years of waiting, Vantage Career Center students and staff celebrated the official opening of its renovated and expanded facility on Monday.

A number of dignitaries, Vantage board members and administrative officials and those involved in the project were on hand for the grand opening, while students and staff in fancy red Vantage shirts led visitors on tours of the renovated facility.

After a welcome by Superintendent Staci Kaufman, who acted as emcee of the event, Vantage Board President Lonnie Nedderman thanked voters in each of Vantage’s member school districts for supporting the project, as well as students and staff for their patience during the facility project.

Nedderman also got a laugh when he talked about the many construction meetings held throughout the project.

“I can’t say I will really miss the meetings, but I appreciate the professionalism in which the meetings were run,” he said.

Chad Stevers of Gilbane Building Company, construction manager on the project, and architect Bruce Miller of Garmann Miller talked about the difficulty of the project.

“This was a very difficult project, to say the least,” Miller said the Vantage project was “probably one of the most difficult designs we’ve ever had to complete.”

The architect explained that the state-of-the-art facility project entailed installation of new electrical wiring and systems, HVAC, water lines, heating systems, technology infrastructure and fire alarms, all while keeping the building operational for students.

“A real honor and treat for us to be a part of,” Miller concluded, and also thanked Gilbane for keeping the project on schedule and on budget, as well as the contractors who worked on the building.

Stevers also noted that all six phases were completed on schedule and school started on time in each phase and introduced Vantage students who participated in the Junior Builders program that involved helping work on the building.

Also speaking was Amy Lloyd of the Ohio School Facilities Commission, which funded more than 70 percent of the project, who congratulated Vantage on completion of the building renovation and addition.

Kaufman thanked Connie Boley, a Vantage graduate and owner of the Artful Swan, who designed and helped complete the “Ed G” sculpture located at the entrance to the commons area, and noted that the sculpture would be on display in the Statehouse atrium on March 7.

The Vantage superintendent also cited some of the “fun facts” of the project, noting that the school went from 123,000 square feet to 187,000 square feet, with the entire building gutted and renovated. The building is also now 34.2 percent more energy efficient, and there were 160 miles of electric wire pulled and 34 miles of conduit installed on the project. The building has 156 skylights, 4,200 yards of concrete was poured, and 30,000 square feet of terrazzo tile installed. Contractors used 170 tons of structural steel and 142 tons of steel joists, while Vantage now has a 5,000-amp electric service, with 1,200 amps going to each of the school’s nine “big bay” labs. Kaufman also noted that a minimum of 85 percent of construction waste was either recycled or otherwise diverted from landfills.

The Vantage superintendent gave special thanks to Treasurer Lori Davis for her work on the construction project and Director Bob Vennekotter, as well as maintenance supervisor Dave Young and warehouse manager Don Mosier for their knowledge

“They contributed knowledge of this building that nobody else had,” she noted.

The superintendent also thanked the Vantage

Kaufman also got a bit while concluding her remarks, when she talked about the Vantage community and its support. “Thank you, our community, for making our new career center a reality.”