Student Interns Work to Activate First Floor Spaces

Charlie Setterfield; Chad R. Bridgman

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Conference: 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Publication Date: June 24, 2017
Start Date: June 24, 2017
End Date: June 28, 2017
Conference Session: Architectural Division Technical Session 2
Tagged Division: Architectural
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 17
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--28860
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/28860
Download Count: 425

Paper Authors

biography

Charlie Setterfield Sinclair Community College

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Charlie Setterfield is a Professor of Architectural Technology at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio. With more than 20 years experience in the architectural and construction industries, including responsibilities in all aspects of architectural project delivery and construction management, Setterfield brings real-world experience to the classroom. Setterfield’s courses focus on BIM, IPD, materials and means of construction, “green building”, professional practice and building codes. As a Plans Examiner, Setterfield balanced building code requirements with owner and contractor concerns. Setterfield teaches Autodesk Revit and its integration into analysis software, including Navisworks. Setterfield spearheaded a six-discipline IPD capstone resulting in student work that has been featured at various venues, including AU, the American Society for Engineering Educators and the League for Innovation in the Community College.

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biography

Chad R. Bridgman Sinclair Community College

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Chad currently serves as an Internship Coordinator for the Science, Mathematics, & Engineering Division at Sinclair Community College. Prior to managing the internship program he served as Academic/Career Coach for Sinclair on a Department of Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) Grant, and entered into Sinclair as a Displaced Worker Counselor, assisting individuals seeking training to compete in today’s workforce. Before that, Chad held various higher education and workforce development positions servicing individuals under the Trade Adjustment Assistance and Workforce Investment Act programs. He holds a Master’s degree in Management from Indiana Wesleyan University and a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Management from the University of Dayton. He is passionate about exploring and developing ways to bridge the gap between education and workforce needs.

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Abstract

Downtown (city name) has experienced significant growth over the past few years, particularly in residential projects and first-floor commercial business, despite being a “rustbelt” city, which typically have recovered more slowly from the recession of 2008-2010. Demand for first-floor space is very high; there has been a 10 percent increase in first-floor occupancy since 2010. But with its supply of move-in-ready first-floor spaces nearly gone, downtown (city name) needed a creative solution to match more vacant first-floor spaces with eager entrepreneurs.

Many barriers inhibit revitalization efforts to activate first-floor storefronts, including lack of site readiness and insufficient architectural and engineering knowledge about what it will take to make a site move-in ready. The (local economic development agency), along with its partners at (local power utility), (local architectural firm), (local engineering firm), and (community college), undertook a pilot program targeting first-floor spaces and provide an opportunity for entrepreneurs and students to grow in downtown’s creative community. The first phase employed interns in architectural and engineering fields at (community college) to assess the current condition of each space and develop designs to bring the vacant first-floor space back to productive use. Students worked with professional mentors at their respective firms to complete their work. The second phase will enlist student help to actually build-out one downtown vacant first-floor space into a move-in-ready, blank canvas for a new tenant.

Using a $25,000 Regional Economic Development Grant from (local power utility), this pilot program will produce several measurable outcomes:

• Provide real-world experience for student interns (part time employment) in architectural technology and mechanical engineering (HVAC R) at firms which have historically only employed university co ops (full time employment). • Provide opportunities for students to present completed research and design work to a variety of downtown building owners. • Help complete inventory of downtown’s first-floor spaces so small businesses can make more informed decisions about which spaces will best suit their needs. • Increase assistance to property owners to accomplish the technical work required before tackling any renovations. • Lower pre-development costs for small businesses that want to open a business in a vacant, first-floor space. • Help inform local companies regarding enrollment trends in community college programs aligning with their industry and the benefit of recruitment.

In addition to the unique aspect of using public-private partnerships to increase small business occupancy for first-floor spaces, the program supports attraction and retention of college graduates through civic engagement and new internships with local professional services firms. Community college internship coordinator and faculty managed the student portion of the program, which provided students with real-world experience assessing conditions, creating as-built drawings, performing code analysis, developing estimates, and generating designs that incorporate LEED elements. The grant funded student wages, while the architecture and engineering firms provided mentorship pro bono. The (local economic development agency) serves as fiscal agent for the project and facilitates the interface between professional firms and building owners, as well as developing a priority list of targeted spaces.

Assessment of the intern’s work was completed using a process developed by the (community college)’s Internship Coordinator. Regular surveys of student performance were conducted and employers met with faculty and the Internship Coordinator on a regular basis. Two interns were employed during spring semester 2016, and both interns have been offered ongoing employment at their respective firms. As phase two of the project is developing, a large local contracting firm has agreed to engage a (community college) construction management intern to assist with the build out of one the first floor space activation projects.

Citation
Format

Setterfield, C., & Bridgman, C. R. (2017, June), Student Interns Work to Activate First Floor Spaces Paper presented at 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio. 10.18260/1-2--28860

TY - CPAPER
AB - Downtown (city name) has experienced significant growth over the past few years, particularly in residential projects and first-floor commercial business, despite being a “rustbelt” city, which typically have recovered more slowly from the recession of 2008-2010. Demand for first-floor space is very high; there has been a 10 percent increase in first-floor occupancy since 2010. But with its supply of move-in-ready first-floor spaces nearly gone, downtown (city name) needed a creative solution to match more vacant first-floor spaces with eager entrepreneurs.

Many barriers inhibit revitalization efforts to activate first-floor storefronts, including lack of site readiness and insufficient architectural and engineering knowledge about what it will take to make a site move-in ready. The (local economic development agency), along with its partners at (local power utility), (local architectural firm), (local engineering firm), and (community college), undertook a pilot program targeting first-floor spaces and provide an opportunity for entrepreneurs and students to grow in downtown’s creative community. The first phase employed interns in architectural and engineering fields at (community college) to assess the current condition of each space and develop designs to bring the vacant first-floor space back to productive use. Students worked with professional mentors at their respective firms to complete their work. The second phase will enlist student help to actually build-out one downtown vacant first-floor space into a move-in-ready, blank canvas for a new tenant.

Using a $25,000 Regional Economic Development Grant from (local power utility), this pilot program will produce several measurable outcomes:

• Provide real-world experience for student interns (part time employment) in architectural technology and mechanical engineering (HVAC R) at firms which have historically only employed university co ops (full time employment).
• Provide opportunities for students to present completed research and design work to a variety of downtown building owners.
• Help complete inventory of downtown’s first-floor spaces so small businesses can make more informed decisions about which spaces will best suit their needs.
• Increase assistance to property owners to accomplish the technical work required before tackling any renovations.
• Lower pre-development costs for small businesses that want to open a business in a vacant, first-floor space.
• Help inform local companies regarding enrollment trends in community college programs aligning with their industry and the benefit of recruitment.

In addition to the unique aspect of using public-private partnerships to increase small business occupancy for first-floor spaces, the program supports attraction and retention of college graduates through civic engagement and new internships with local professional services firms. Community college internship coordinator and faculty managed the student portion of the program, which provided students with real-world experience assessing conditions, creating as-built drawings, performing code analysis, developing estimates, and generating designs that incorporate LEED elements. The grant funded student wages, while the architecture and engineering firms provided mentorship pro bono. The (local economic development agency) serves as fiscal agent for the project and facilitates the interface between professional firms and building owners, as well as developing a priority list of targeted spaces.

Assessment of the intern’s work was completed using a process developed by the (community college)’s Internship Coordinator. Regular surveys of student performance were conducted and employers met with faculty and the Internship Coordinator on a regular basis. Two interns were employed during spring semester 2016, and both interns have been offered ongoing employment at their respective firms. As phase two of the project is developing, a large local contracting firm has agreed to engage a (community college) construction management intern to assist with the build out of one the first floor space activation projects.

AU - Charlie Setterfield
AU - Chad R. Bridgman
CY - Columbus, Ohio
DA - 2017/06/24
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Student Interns Work to Activate First Floor Spaces
UR - https://peer.asee.org/28860
DO - 10.18260/1-2--28860
ER -