THP provided structural engineering services for the renovation of the former Macy’s-anchored building adjacent to Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati. The adaptive reuse project includes 150,000 SF of office space and 35,000 SF of retail/restaurant space and is part of city’s plan to enhance the Fifth Street corridor.

THP was brought on as a sub-consultant due to our previous experience with the 1990s-vintage building, which was originally envisioned as a 27-story tower. Three main challenges during the renovation included resolving large infills by closing old escalator and other openings with steel infills and tying them back into beams and columns, reskinning the building with new high-performance curtainwall and supporting steel structures, and adding cantilevers on the building’s southeastern corner due to the previous diagonal entrance not fitting the new design.