WARREN, Ohio – Construction of Warren G. Harding High School’s Student Recreation and Wellness Center has received the seal of approval from none other than Mother Nature.
Last August, just as school was out and workers headed indoors to stay dry from a light rain that had just begun, a bolt of lightning left its mark on the project. A unique burn mark on a piece of steel, literally a lightning strike. Please approve if you agree.
Rob Wilt, a foreman with DeSalvo Construction, the contractor on the $36 million project, was filling out paperwork in a trailer nearby.
“It was lit up like a Christmas tree and made the loudest noise. So loud, in fact, that we lost our hearing for a little while,” he says.
Wilt, who was briefly dazed and had temporary hearing loss, rushed to the scene to check on the workers and assess the extent of the damage.
Fortunately, no one was injured, and everyone on the scene that day went home with good stories to tell. The building was intact except for a small burn mark on a shingle near the roof.
“That created a need for additional protection against lightning strikes. That was probably the biggest challenge,” says John Lacy, Warren City School District’s executive director of business operations.
“It was Mother Nature taking over for a moment there, in every detail and in every preparation.”
After the incident, DeSalvo and the school district thoroughly inspected the structure and installed lightning protection to avoid tempting fate.
“If it were to happen again, it would hit the lightning arrester and automatically ground itself,” Wilt says.
Despite the additional work brought about by the strike, the project remains on schedule, with completion scheduled for August.
Wilt said all floors have been poured, 90 percent of the drywall is complete and most of the glass has been installed. On this warm winter’s day, workers are high up in a bucket lift preparing the ceiling steel for painting.
“Most of the structural steel is exposed, and that’s how you paint,” Wilt says.
Work on the flooring is also scheduled to begin, Wilt said. It will take approximately three months to complete, as various types of grass fields, walking and running tracks, and athletic flooring need to be installed.
Crews recently completed the installation of the building’s most prominent feature, a 40-foot-tall glass window that faces north and overlooks Molenkopf Stadium.
“What’s unique is that it has a bird screen when you approach it,” Wilt said.
From a distance, the windows look like regular glass, but if you look closely, you’ll notice a pattern of tiny dots evenly distributed throughout each panel. The bird sees the dot and understands that the structure is solid, which prevents the bird from flying into it.
The center is located between Warren G. Harding High School and Molenkopf Stadium. The 136,000-square-foot facility, designed by Phillips Seccanic Architects, is intended to be a flexible space for a variety of activities, including athletics, robotics and esports, Lacey said.
“By the time all work is complete, our robotics facility will likely be the best in the state. The community is very excited about this project and the opportunities it will bring to our students.”
Lacey says the district is just beginning to scratch the surface of the opportunities the new center will bring not only to students but also to the community at large.
Talks are underway with two healthcare providers to occupy space on the east side of the first floor. Lacey said one will be a facility that will provide youth services and the other will be an urgent care facility.
The district is also partnering with a food service provider to operate student-run bistros.
“It’s going to take a few more months for these relationships to be completed. But they’re very solid,” Lacey says.
Funding for the $36 million project comes from state and federal grants, as well as projects already budgeted by the school board. Therefore, no additional tax is required.
“Even if kids want to participate in extracurricular activities, it often costs money to participate over a season,” Lacey says.
“What we’re trying to do is give our students a whole range of opportunities beyond what kids who live in very affluent areas would have because of their affluent families and school districts.”
Lacey said the Student Recreation and Wellness Center, while transformative and important, is just one part of the school’s planned transformation. Once the center is complete, additional major projects are planned, including, among other things, the demolition and reconstruction of the football stadium’s visitor stand.
The stands are expected to be demolished by December and rebuilt in time for the 2025 football season. The district will then evaluate the condition of the homestand and determine whether construction is necessary.
“This is just the first chapter,” Lacey says. “And the next stage is going to be quite intensive as well.”
Photo: Frame from the on-site camera when lightning struck the wellness center. Right: Burn scars left by lightning.
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