After a recent ribbon cutting ceremony and dedication, Otterbein University broke in their new synthetic turf field Saturday with a 20-0 win over Marietta College.  The Kleingers Group worked with MSA Architects on the renovation of Memorial Stadium.  The new project includes upgrades to the Memorial Stadium field turf and track facilities.  Two of our sports field design gurus, Craig Honkomp and Megan Cyr, were on hand to take in the game and field dedication ceremonies.

After a decade of planning, the new $46 million, 203,000 sq. ft. Armstrong Student Center  facility opened it’s doors for the first time last week on the Oxford campus of Miami University. Many events were scheduled to celebrate this wonderful space, including building tours and a well attended building dedication ceremony.  The new student center is a combination of new construction and retrofitting existing structures.  The new student center is three floors and will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  The center includes a theater, offices for student organizations, meeting rooms, and several dining facilities.

A second phase of the project will create additional meeting rooms and a new dining facility. The second phase is expected to be complete by 2017.  The Kleingers Group is proud to have been part of this great achievement for Miami’s Students and Alumni alike.

Wright State University recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for their new classroom building. The new facility will be approximately 60,000 square feet and located west of University Hall and north of the primary pedestrian path from parking to the main academic quad. The Kleingers Group provided the civil engineering and surveying on this exciting new project.

The project features two large Bio-Detention Basins traversed by a highly used pedestrian walk. The walkway features two Black Locust Wood Plank bridges, with steel cable railings that overlook the planting areas. The meticulously landscaped Bio-Detention Basins are engineered with a sub-surface drainage system and a specialty soil mix designed to improve both stormwater quality and quantity. This feature is a purposeful and tactile demonstration of the University’s commitment to environmental stewardship.

Additionally the project incorporates a large lower level outdoor plaza. The plaza space is flanked on the east by a cast stone seat wall and on the south by a series of terraced retaining and seat walls. The outdoor space can also be enjoyed through the expansive, full height, lower level windows.

The long awaited University Station mixed-use project is set to begin construction. The Kleingers Group has participated in many aspects of the development site located at Montgomery Road and Cleneay Avenue adjacent to Xavier University’s Campus. The unique project, which is a collaboration of The Ackermann Group, Messer Construction, and Xavier University, is conceived and designed as a pedestrian-friendly urban space set upon 20-acres of land. Kleingers’ intrepid team of engineers, surveyors, and field crews have been working in a collaborative effort alongside the design team, City of Norwood, City of Cincinnati, various community leaders and Xavier University over the past two years. The design links previous work completed by The Kleingers Group to the new development; including site design at Hoff Quad, traffic impact studies, signal design, and widening projects along the Montgomery Road and Dana Avenue Corridors. The new off-campus development is intended to serve the University and its neighbors. The pedestrian oriented urban space creates a welcoming environment for the whole community to serve as more than a ‘standard’ mixed-use environment.

University Station brings a welcomed visual and economic improvement to the University’s neighboring communities. The $54 million Phase One development is located on 15 acres designed to include office space, retail, restaurants, a Xavier University bookstore, 900 parking spaces, and a 180 unit apartment complex.

Incorporating existing site features of the former Zumbiel Packaging and BASF plant into the design, while satisfying pedestrian connectivity & budget requirements, presented a challenge to the development team. Throughout the design project, Kleingers worked with the Client to navigate these issues to help make this exciting project a reality. Phase One of the project presents a tight schedule, breaking ground in mid-July with a scheduled completion of Fall 2014. The second phase of the development will include additional office space, retail, and a possible hotel.

Sportworks Field Design, a division of The Kleingers Group, was selected by MSASport to be a part of the design team for a new synthetic turf baseball infield at Northern Kentucky University. Kleingers provided a partial boundary survey, complete topographic survey, redesigned the fence lines (including an 18-foot home run fence in center field), designed the turf drainage and storm sewer system and set the final field elevations to blend seamlessly into the natural grass outfield. Kleingers also consulted with MSASport to finalize the new field location which included relocating home plate out from the backstop by approximately 15 feet. The project was constructed, and the new synthetic turf infield was installed over the winter by the certified field installers at The Motz Group. The new infield was praised by team members and spectators alike as the Norse opened their 2013 season just days after a winter storm dumped five inches of snow on the field. Typically, a weather system like this would cause game cancellations due to messy infields and unsafe play conditions. With the new drainage system and synthetic turf field in place, the opening weekend double header was played as scheduled.

All three firms, The Kleingers Group (through our Sportworks Field Design division), MSASport, and The Motz Group are members of the Synthetic Turf Council, the national organization which publishes standards for design and construction of synthetic turf projects.