Higley served as Construction Manager for the Phase II restaurant (Pura Vida) renovation, adjacent to Cuyahoga Community College’s Hospitality Management School.  This $1.5 Million, 4,000 SF renovation included recycled wood for the bar’s ceiling and wall, a viewing area of the kitchen, connected to the Tri-C Culinary Arts School, and a hoist where students view meat utilized in the restaurant food production. The restaurant’s design transitions from breakfast to dinner to reflect the different audiences it will serve. Pura Vida specializes in incorporating locally produced ingredients in the cuisine.

Phase I (Hospitality Management Center) included a $5.5 Million, 25,000 SF renovation on the first floor of the former May Company department store. Higley converted that space into a culinary school, which includes three multi-purpose demonstration kitchens, technology-enhanced classrooms, a reception desk, offices, student lounges, & shell space for this future restaurant. The renovation features top-of-the line commercial appliances & LCD screens for instruction.

Project Achievments

• Helped devise a creative solution, using existing merchandise shafts for kitchen exhaust fume hoods to the building roof.
• The existing floor had an 18-inch rise over 300 feet. The complex leveling work required eight different pours to accommodate design requirements (recessed floors for carpets in some areas) and polished concrete floors in other areas.
• Project earned: 2010 Downtown Cleveland Alliance Downtown Development, 2012 CMAA Project Achievement, and 2013 NAIOP Mixed Used Interior Design of the Year Awards.