Fifth Third Arena is home to the UC Bearcats men’s and women’s basketball teams and women’s volleyball team. Renovations to the 26-year-old facility, originally named the Myrl H. Shoemaker Center, include the creation of a 360-degree seating bowl with space for 11,500 spectators. The new design will reduce the arena’s capacity from 13,176 seats to 11,500, which allows for more comfortable seating — permanent seats will replace rollaway bleachers — and better spectator sight lines. These new changes finally address issues that were apparent since the arena first opened in September 1989.

The renovation also includes new concessions and restrooms, an upper-level concourse with fan amenities, expanded food and beverage options, a new Bearcats lounge and super suites. A new main entrance and plaza with ticketing and guest services round out the rest of the renovation. The project is pursuing LEED certification.

Construction on the arena’s four new luxury suites above the end-zone seating will begin next month; however, major renovation work won’t start until next spring after the 2016-17 basketball season ends, according to Cincinnati.com. During construction, the Bearcats will need to find a place to play for the 2017-18 basketball season. No location has been chosen yet.

Last August, UC Board of Trustees approved an interim $2.2 million funding request to allow the Populous and Moody Nolan design team — both of which hold offices across the nation — to remain on schedule, with construction anticipated to start in March 2016. As of December 2015, the university had raised only $25 million for the project, forcing it late last year to push back most of the work to April 2017. The project is expected to be 100 percent privately funded through suite and ticket sales as well as donations, according to Cincinnati.com.

The construction of the new arena may help enhance the school’s chances of joining the Big 12 conference, as several schools compete for bids. For instance, the University of Memphis pledged to make $500 million in facilities upgrades if it joins the Big 12, according to Cincinnati.com. UC, itself, has made $300 million in facilities upgrades in the past decade, including an $86 million of Nipper Stadium last year. If UC joined the Big 12, UC President Santa Ono said the university could look at expanding the stadium even more, reported Cincinnati.com.

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The renovation of Morgens Hall, originally built in 1964 by locally based F.W. Pressler & Associates (now PFB Architects), has surpassed most new construction projects for sustainability and aesthetic quality. This, in turn, has earned the building design awards from the AIA Cincinnati, AIA Cleveland and AIA Ohio, according to Aaron Hill, partner architect with Richard Fleischmann + Partners Architects Inc., the firm responsible for the Morgens Hall renovation.

The renovation project was not initially in the university’s 2000 construction plans, according to a statement by the university. Then, both Morgens Hall and Scioto Hall were set to be demolished.
In 2008, however, the buildings’ foundations were found to be stable, prompting the university to opt for renovation as opposed to building new facilities from scratch. Scioto Hall, which is currently under renovation to mirror Morgens Hall, is set to be complete in August 2016.

Rooms in Morgens Hall as well as Scioto Hall will feature glass panels with adjustable privacy screens, which will not only give students privacy, but will also conserve energy due to the opaque and thermal weaved design. The hall’s small rooms and superior insulation will also help to reduce lighting, heating and cooling costs.

The location of Morgens and Scioto Halls will allow students to forgo personal transportation because they can walk, ride a bike or take a bus to get around the campus, according to a statement by the university. Their proximity to the existing library and the recreation center also made them an ideal housing option for students, said Mary Beth McGrew, AIA, senior associate vice president of Planning + Design + Construction, University Architect Division of Administration and Finance, according to the University of Cincinnati website.
 

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The university is designating this series as a Green Bond, as it meets the voluntary, best practices Green Bond Principles established in January 2014 by environmental finance experts and banks, according to Robert Ambach, the university’s senior vice president for administration and finance.

“Since sustainability is woven into all aspects of the university in terms of academics, research and extracurricular activities, it only made sense to further extend that to our financing,” Ambach said. “UC is already nationally recognized for our sustainable energy efficiencies and savings and our high-performance green buildings. That momentum will only continue at UC, and this step is an important milestone in our focus on sustainability.”

Scioto Hall, a 16-story, 142,000-square-foot building, has remained largely vacant since 2008. The building is one of the university’s iconic, 1960s-era Three Sisters residence halls, along with Morgens Hall, which was recently renovated by Richard Fleischman + Partners Architects Inc. of Cincinnati, and the now razed Sawyer Hall.

Similar to the work completed on Morgens Hall, the renovation will transform the underutilized Scioto Hall into a modern, energy-efficient, on-campus residence for approximately 450 University of Cincinnati upperclassmen. Beds will be spread across 140 apartment-style suites with a specific focus on energy efficiency and responsible material use, and construction is scheduled for completion in August 2016.

The renovation will replace the hall’s existing concrete and brick exterior with 2,000 high-tech glass panels, creating an attractive and energy-efficient facade. Each panel will include a half-inch of air space and have low-emissive properties, preventing heat loss or gain. These partially fritted panels will also feature a reflective pattern, decreasing solar heat gain by 20 percent. The panels will work together with interior, custom-fit roller shades that will increase energy efficiency and user comfort while decreasing heating and cooling costs.

Additionally, the new Scioto Hall will include modern mechanical systems geared toward energy efficiency. After renovation, the university expects to see energy savings similar to those documented in Morgens Hall. Following energy-efficiency upgrades, Morgens Hall saw a 46 percent decrease in overall energy consumption when compared to pre-renovation figures.

LED lighting will also be used exclusively throughout the renovated Scioto Hall. An energy recovery system will further support sustainability efforts and increase air quality, capturing exhaust heat and using it to warm fresh air being pumped into the building.

A majority of the facility’s interior doors will be built using Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)–certified wood. Many other building materials will be sourced locally or regionally, reducing transportation-related energy use and expenses. Considering all of these sustainability efforts, the project is anticipated to earn LEED Silver certification or greater.

“It’s important to note that this project got off to a sustainability-conscious start before the first hammer was swung as part of the ongoing renovation,” said Mary Beth McGrew, university architect and associate vice president of planning, design and construction. “Reusing the existing building eliminated the need to send truckloads of debris to a landfill. Not to mention that on-campus living for students reduces the use of personal transportation to get around campus and beyond.”

The move to increase environmental sustainability bolsters the University of Cincinnati’s reputation as a green leader. The campus is currently home to seven LEED-recognized facilities and, in April 2014, was named one of the country’s top green schools by The Princeton Review, its fifth honor. Its efforts have also been recognized by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, earning the organization’s silver award, and by both Duke Energy and the EPA.

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