The James A. Rhodes State Office Tower, located on Broad Street, is nearing the end of its third year of a four-year, $70 million modernization project. Built-in 1974, the office building is the tallest building in downtown Columbus.
The modernization project includes adding insulation and replacing windows (3,162 to be exact!) and increasing the energy efficiency of the building. In addition, all 15,000 granite panels on the façade of the building will be cleansed, using an ecofriendly stone cleanser, and repaired.
Work on the window replacement and granite repair work is more than 70 percent complete. The last of the granite work should be completed by the end of 2021.
Turner Construction of Columbus, the construction manager for the project, oversees approximately 60 workers on site each day. Before the pandemic, crews worked at night to replace windows to not interrupt state employees working in the office during the day. Crews replace three windows per night.
One note of interest, protective netting was installed on the 41st floor to discourage the peregrine falcons from nesting at the Rhodes Tower in the spring seasons. The step was necessary to ensure the safety of the construction workers but also the falcons. During their nesting season and after the chicks hatch, the falcons are more territorial and aggressive with intruders.
Schooley Caldwell Associates serves as the project design team for the façade restoration.
More information on the modernization project can be found here.