Bottleworks Project

Bottleworks is an integral part of Indianapolis’s history. The Bottleworks District was redesigned to resurrect this piece of history with a modern twist. The recent restoration and renovation project has brought the iconic historical landmark back to life. This work of art adds tremendous value to the ever-growing and ever-changing Indianapolis downtown scene. Bottleworks is a multi-faceted facility that, when completed, will boast state-of-the-art hotel rooms, restaurants, cafés, and shops. It is also providing much-needed employment opportunities for the Indianapolis workforce.

Project Overview:

The Bottleworks Project required countless hours of design work and an exceptional level of collaboration by different construction teams, one of whom was CIH. It was a challenging but rewarding project that helped us cement our fingerprints on one of the most iconic buildings in the Indianapolis metropolis. We thought it would be best if we heard the story straight from the CIH team that was heavily involved in the Bottleworks Project. We asked them a few questions and here is what they had to say:

Thoughts from some of the CIH team involved:

1. ^{What was it like working on the Bottleworks Project?
   At times, intense. Large projects like this have a lot of moving pieces that have to come together rapidly at the end. Otherwise, pretty cool. Love being a part of large projects.}
2. ^{What makes this project different from other projects you’ve worked on?
   I’ve never been a part of completing any hotel construction. So that’s a nice addition to my resume. Also, the nature of this project with so many different suppliers and working with the existing facility, especially the brass doors, made it different.}
3. ^{What were some challenges you faced renovating such a historic building?
   The biggest challenge was that the trades in front of us were behind, because of the time it took to restore the terrazzo floors. So recovering from that and still getting done on time by adding manpower from subcontractors was a challenge.}
4. ^{What are you most excited about people seeing when Bottleworks opens to the public?
   The red doors! I think they will appreciate those.}

1. ^{What was it like working on the Bottleworks Project?
   Bottleworks was a whirlwind non-stop action-packed project. As a PM starting in August, I was onsite for the majority of my first 90 days at CIH. The hotel was a full-service construction installation project. Coming from a GC background and being onsite each day, it felt very familiar, but contracted scope was very new to me. As I continue to closeout and complete punch items in January 2021 it is great to see just how far the hotel has come and how amazing CIH’s work turned out.}
2. ^{What makes this project different from other projects you’ve worked on?
   Bottleworks is/was my first project assignment at CIH. It was different than any other project that I’ve worked on due to scope, sourcing, and scheduling overall installation. Client preference superseding design documents was also very new and different to me, resulting in a lot of change orders and reprioritization of tasks daily based on Client request.}
3. ^{What were some challenges you faced renovating such a historic building?
   Several challenges with historic elements included material not being a standard size to replace or rework (i.e. many hinges were patented in 1922), using existing elements that were visually appealing but not ideally functional to incorporate new hardware (i.e. decorative escutcheon plates), and rework of existing frames and doors that needed to be resized sometimes took an entire day to complete one opening (basement doors and frames that had shifted several inches out of plumb due to building leveling over time). Also, client preference superseded architectural design so it was a very client-micromanaged and modified design for several key areas in the hotel, i.e., second-floor meeting rooms and brass entry doors.
   Materials and schedules had been delayed for each trade in different ways due to the pandemic which impacted the overall schedule. We were able to overcome the challenges by leveraging our commitment to being expert client service providers. This allowed us to accommodate the Client’s requests and constantly reprioritizing our overall project execution and installation strategies.}
4. ^{What innovative products or services did you implement?
   Our team made use of brass hinges, pivot hinges, and closers that maintained the integrity of the historical openings. Not sure if those are innovative, but they were new to me!}
5. ^{What are you most excited about people seeing when Bottle Works opens to the public?
   I am most excited about people/guests seeing the red entry doors pop in the hallways and the third-floor terrace suites that have a great view of downtown. Also, the grand staircase and historic brass doors that have been modified with new hardware.}
6. ^{Do you have a funny or interesting story about working on this project?
   While working on the historical doors in the second-floor meeting room areas, we found an old Indianapolis newspaper clipping from presumably 1930s being used as a shim behind historic hinges. Please see the images below.}

1. ^{What was it like working on the Bottleworks Project?
   Crazy pace and hectic.}
2. ^{What makes this project different from other projects you’ve worked on?
   Being a historical area in our city, and by the cultural trail is pretty cool.}
3. ^{What were some challenges you faced renovating such a historic building?
   Making historical openings function properly and prepping for modern locksets.}
4. ^{What innovative products or services did you implement?
   Not sure, other than making old things look and work like new.}
5. ^{What are you most excited about people seeing when Bottle Works opens to the public?
   The historical brass openings, the stairwell by the lobby, and the plaster artwork on the
   ceilings.}
6. ^{Do you have a funny or interesting story about working on this project?
   Really never had any time to stop and smell the roses so to speak. Hectic pace.}

Bottleworks Project Pictures

“We were very excited to work on this historic project. I’ve lived in the Indianapolis area the majority of my life and I remember these buildings from childhood. For our company to be involved in the planning, execution and installation of such a project makes all of us at team CIH proud.”

Ron Couch AHC, CFDAI

CIH, President & CEO

Bottleworks District

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