Don Durst and Ziti at far right with all the teams who earned Perfect Day ribbons at the CPE agility trial on September 10, 2023.

Ziti earned her third Excellent Q in Standard agility on September 1, 2023, and is now competing at the Masters level in both Standard and Jumpers With Weaves. She was also able to earn a Perfect Day ribbon in a recent CPE agility trial for qualifying in all five events that day. After her personal best FastCAT runs in June, Ziti regained her title as the fastest beagle in the country! As a result, Ziti will once again go to the FastCAT Invitational in Orlando this December. To stay in shape, Ziti ran four 100-yard dashes in an exterior CPE Speedway event in August.

Ziti is now over one tenth of a mile per hour faster than the next beagle.

Ziti and Don running a Pitstop event in an outdoors CPE Speedway trial.

HDC is working with Metro CD Engineering to conduct facility assessments of totaling over 600,000 SF of space. The facilities date from the original 1953 construction and include newer facilities such as the dormitories and a new administration building. This is HDC’s first time working on the campus, which is across the street from us on Morse Road. President Charissa Durst also owns the 1875 Sharon Township Cherry Hill School building, which sits at the entry of the Ohio State School for the Blind on High Street. The goal of the assessments is to make recommendations for renovations and demolitions for immediate, short-term, and long-term planning. The result of the study will be used to determine the buildings that move forward with lighting upgrades for energy conservation.

 
L: Entry lobby to the Old Administration Building at the Ohio School for the Deaf, which retains its original 1953 pendant light fixture. R: One of the new dormitories built in 2012.

HDC was awarded a project to modernize five elevators in the City of Columbus Department of Public Health Building on Parsons Avenue. This building previously served as the Ohio State School for the Blind before they moved to their current campus with the Ohio School for the Deaf in 1953.

 
L: Front elevation of the Health Department. R: One of the elevator lobbies next to historic stone walls.

How did HDC end up getting this project? We previously worked on the team that prepared criteria documents to modernize nine elevators in the Ohio Statehouse and Senate Building with engineering firm Roger D. Fields & Associates and elevator consultant Lerch Bates’ Columbus office where a key component was modernizing the controls without impacting the design features from the 1990s rehabilitation.

 
L: Front elevation of the Ohio Senate Building. R: View of the top of one of the atrium elevators.

HDC subsequently supported the Bailey Edward design team, which included Lerch Bates’ Cincinnati office, to modernize nine elevators in the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Cincinnati for the GSA, where a key issue was preserving historic interior finishes and lobby finishes. Typically, elevators are modernized about every 30 years, when their components reach the end of their life cycle.

 
L: The first floor elevator lobby of the Peck U.S. Federal Courthouse features marble panels and green tile. R: The upper floor elevator lobbies feature a distinctive red floor tile.

Typically, the cab itself (a steel box), the hydraulic cylinder, and the shaft remain unchanged. Upgrades include new microprocessor-based controls (both inside the elevator and at every lobby level), new pump motors and valves, new closed-loop door operators, new lobby status panel at the security desk, new LED light fixtures, and new interior cab finishes.

HDC submitted the final version of the National Register of Historic Places nomination for the Baker Brothers Wholesale Grocery Building in December 2022 and the National Park Service officially listed it in June 2023! The nomination was highlighted in Ohio History Center’s Echoes Magazine September & October issue of Echoes Magazine.

To read the nomination, click here.

In April of 2022, HDC submitted a partial Schematic Design set with a menu of scope items, estimates, and work recommendations for the Northcoast Behavioral Health Center’s former Dietary Building for review by the Ohio Department of Development of Developmental Disabilities. The project was on hold but suddenly came back to life in March when a user group needed to move into the building. The Dietary Facility was built in 1993 and had not had any major updates in 30 years. It was designed as a kitchen to prepare meals for all the residents living in the complex. In 2015, the main hospital was renovated and expanded and by 2016, five buildings were demolished, including buildings built in the 1940s as part of the original Hawthornden State Hospital. The former Dietary Facility was then relegated to storage and overflow offices. HDC’s scope is to determine all work needed to convert the building into permanent office and storage use, and then provide a logical phasing schedule to accommodate a two-year funding cycle, with the first phase to be implemented this year.

View of the former dietary facility at Northcoast Behavioral Health.

As a puppy, Ziti was enrolled in agility classes as a way to dissipate her excess energy—she is the first and only HDC beagle to actually get the zoomies. She took to it immediately since it was not too different from jumping over rocks and walking fallen logs in her favorite metro parks. Ziti and Charissa started trialing in 2022 as Novice A (first timers for both handler and dog) and advanced through Open into Excellent for Standard agility, Jumpers with Weaves, and FAST. Ziti loves Jumpers with Weaves since she does not have to slow down or pause as required in Standard agility. FAST is her least favorite, since it now requires her to take obstacles on her own while Charissa is 15 feet away in the distance challenge. Our goal is to see if we can get Ziti into the Masters level and accumulate enough points to go to the Agility Invitational before Ziti gets too old/slow to compete in the FastCAT Invitational at the same time.

   
Left: Ziti takes a long jump obstacle at an AKC trial. Right: Ziti scrambles over the A-Frame with the judge watching. Photos by Mike at GameOnAgility.

HDC was introduced to Kabil Associates while team members on Burgess & Niple’s Life Sciences Building project for The Ohio State University back in 1996. Almost 30 years later, Kabil Associates is still HDC’s go-to firm for structural engineering services, especially if it involves a historic building. Kabil Associates was established in 1980 by Shashi Savla, PE, who remains its President. Kabil Associates was the structural engineer on the Sojourner Center for Women and Children in Hamilton, Ohio, HDC’s first project with the State of Ohio. Other notable projects include the Lincoln Theatre, where Kabil had to infill portions of the basement as remnants of the 19^th century building foundations were found to still be present and repair large holes in the steel structural members in the ballroom created by a prior renovation project. Kabil was also on the team for Stewart Elementary School, which required special handling of the 1870s rubble stone foundation after it was exposed to expand the lower level and to repair structural damage caused by a fire. Kabil has also supported many of our historic structure reports, including ones for the Mount Zion Baptist Church in Athens, the Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in South Point, and the Hunter Robbins Museum in Granville.

   
Left: Sojourner Center entry with octagonal lobby tower whose structural members had to be sized to resist outward force. Right: Stewart Elementary School excavation exposed the stone foundation.

   
Left: The new Lincoln Theatre balcony required two new support columns at the center. Right: Floor beams at the Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church still has original hand hewn logs with tree bark.

HDC was awarded two projects with the City of Columbus in 2023. The one that started first is the renovation of neighborhood facilities in two locations. The first is the All THAT Teen Center on East Livingston Avenue. The Teen Center is located in the former Shady Lane Presbyterian Church, which was built in 1959 and expanded in the mid-late 1960s. When the congregation left the building in 2019, it was acquired by the Teen Center, whose mission is to mentor teenaged youth in academic achievement, life skill development and career planning to succeed in school and beyond. Work at the Teen Center includes improving the parking lot and exterior lights, replacing the roof, updating the HVAC system to add air conditioning, replacing the exterior doors, adding an exterior monument sign, and repairing drains and piping to stop the water infiltration issues in the basement. The second location is Carol Stewart Village on West Broad Street, which is former 1980s era motel complex converted into a neighborhood for young adults who have aged out of the foster care system with on-site programs and services. Work at this location consists primarily of replacing deteriorated pavement and curbs, replacing the packaged heating and air conditioning wall units with more secure versions, and replacing the wooden doors and frames with more secure steel versions. The design for both locations had to fast tracked since the funding sources requires that construction be completed in 2023. Both projects are currently out to bid.

   
Left: Entry elevation of All THAT Teen Center. Right: One of the former motel wings at Carol Stewart Village.

The five fastest dogs of each breed in 2021 were invited to run in the nationals at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Also going on at the same time is the national agility invitational. Ziti received her FastCAT invitation in October and on December 11, 2022, Ziti began her adventure!

DAY 1

  Left: Lots of people ask us about the car decorations when we stop for breaks. Right: Ziti and Don at the South Carolina border.

Day 2

We make it through Georgia and the weather gets warmer and warmer as we head south. Unfortunately, it gets cloudy and rains a little when we reach Florida. We decide to take a lunch break in Flagler Beach and see how Ziti likes the seaside. Once a wave sneaks up on her and gets her wet, she decides she doesn’t like the ocean.

  Left: Ziti on Flagler Beach. Right: Ziti very suspicious of the water sneaking up on her.

Day 3

Ziti runs a respectable 8.034 on her first preliminary run in the morning. A worker tells us the track is considered slow because it has a sand base instead of a dirt base, so the dogs don’t get as much traction. We then take Ziti to a state park that allows dogs for a hike in the afternoon.

  Left: Ziti posing on the podium after a qualifying first run. Right: Ziti having more fun posing at Wekiwa Springs State Park.

Day 4

Ziti runs a 7.862 in the afternoon when it’s warmer, for her second preliminary. We also learn that she is currently 11^th in the “Speed of the Breed” list after the first preliminary run! We then take her inside the Orange County Convention Center to check out the vendors and watch some of the agility trials.

  Left: Ziti’s Speed of the Breed ranking on the monitor. Left: Ziti in front of the Orange County Convention Center.

Day 5

Ziti has the day off, which is good since it’s supposed to rain today. We take her to Lake Louisa State Park for some hiking. It started off great but then the rain came and Ziti wasn’t so happy to pose for photographs after that.

  Left: Ziti having fun on a trail at Lake Louisa State Park. Don and Ziti in the rain on a boardward over the Green Swamp.

Day 6

Ziti has her final run in the morning and manages a decent 7.986. Ziti definitely runs faster when it’s hot, and with yesterday’s rain came a cold front. Her run time makes her the #1 beagle of the event. Her final run also earns enough points for an FCAT5 certificate, which comes with another big rosette ribbon. As a reward, we take Ziti for a long hike back at Wekiwa Springs State Park, where we all get wet and muddy slogging through some flooded trails.

  Left: Ziti and Don on the podium with today’s rosettes. Right: Ziti in front of the park bobcat sign after a 4+ hour hike through the swamp.

Day 7

During the awards ceremony, we’re surprised (and thrilled!) to hear the announcement that Ziti places 9^th overall in the Speed of the Breed listing and gets another big rosette for a top 10 placement!

  Left: Ziti and Charissa being presented with a Top 10 placement rosette in Speed of the Breed. Right: Ziti knows she made an impressive showing at her first FastCAT Invitational!

Days 8-9

We pack everything up, including the six rosettes Ziti won (#1 Beagle, #9 Speed of the Breed, FCAT5, and three qualifying runs) and start the two-day drive back to Ohio. It’s sunny so we take her back to Flagler Beach, but she still doesn’t like the moving waves of the ocean. After a four-hour drive we stop at the Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force. The Eighth Air Force was stationed in England and conducted bombing runs all over Europe during World War II.

  Left: Ziti still not happy with Flagler Beach. Right: The B-17 bomber is the centerpiece of this museum.

After nine days on the road, Ziti is very happy to be back on her own couch! Fittingly, the 2023 Ziti Calendar is all about happiness. Click here for a copy.

HDC continues to work with lead firm Tetra Tech on the assessment of historic national cemetery lodges for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In December 2021, Charissa Durst and Cathie Senter traveled to Brooklyn, New York, to visit the lodge at Cypress Hills National Cemetery. In 2022, Cathie traveled with Tetra Tech historic architect Leila Hamroun to the lodges at both Corinth National Cemetery in Mississippi and Glendale National Cemetery near Richmond, Virginia. A common theme during fieldwork is climbing in and out of windows!

    At left is the exterior of the Cypress Hills National Cemetery Lodge. In the center is Charissa on the rear roof and at right is Cathie inspecting the porch roof.

  At left is the Corinth National Cemetery Lodge , which is unusual for its gambrel roof. At right is the Glendale National Cemetery lodge, which features patterns in the mansard slate roof.