Ottoville Local
School District
Ottoville, Ohio

This $12.7 million K-12 facility broke ground on May 1, 2002. The new 133,000 sf building houses 850 students. The elementary wing of the building includes four pre-kindergarten classrooms, 18 regular classrooms and a computer lab. The middle school wing houses six classrooms, and the high school include 11 regular classrooms, two science classrooms/labs and a combined prep area. The media center, visual arts center and music education spaces are for use by all students.

This is a unique project for the Ohio School Facilities Commission because it is the first to feature a geothermal heating and cooling system. This system will have considerable cost savings compared to standard HVAC systems employed on similar projects. A geothermal system uses the thermal energy stored in the earth's crust to provide heat and carry away heat for the building’s heat pump system. The system consists of a large well field that has over 158 wells that were drilled to depths of 350 feet. This well field allows the exchange of heat through the use of piping heat exchangers.

The building was completed and occupied in August 2003 - five months early, which accommodated a more desirable fall move-in instead of December as originally planned. The accelerated schedule was made possible by the close working relationship established between Barton Malow, the District, the architect, Kraig Bielhartz Architects and the trade contractors.