Mills Group Uses Cloud Collaboration to Reimagine Wheeling, WV

The Ohio County Development Authority (OCDA) Sports Complex, located within “The Highlands,” is an ambitious project to the Wheeling, WV, and surrounding tristate region, one that will require an equally ambitious plan to implement. The 180,000 sq. ft multiuse complex would house volleyball and basketball courts, soccer and football fields, climbing walls, an adventure course, an arcade, a fitness training area, and food service.

It’s a big project — one set to bring more business and foot traffic to The Highlands and Wheeling region. Mills Group, with offices in Morgantown and Wheeling, WV and performing work throughout the state , partnered with Moody Nolan of Columbus, Ohio, to meet the challenge.

Led by Mills Group principal architect Victor Greco, the complexity and scale of the project will require the coordination of a diverse group of consultants—particularly ones with expertise in recreational sports complex projects. And since The Highlands is primarily a tax increment financed project, Mills Group needed to remain on budget and within deadlines to ensure all stakeholders were satisfied.

This is where cloud-based BIM 360 Design helped streamline communication and collaboration between distinct teams and enabled Mills Group to deliver a successful project.

As a tax incremental financing (TIF) project, the sports complex will be an integral addition to the OCDA and Wheeling community. It was therefore critical Mills Group and team maintained local buy-in throughout the design and construction phases. To keep stakeholders and the community engaged, Mills Group hosted a series of public presentations throughout the sports complex planning—providing transparency on progress.

The massive complex and 15-acre site sits adjacent to the Mill Group master planned Highlands Town Center. This provided the architectural design context.

"We had to make sure the building had a presence so it could be seen," says Ryan Hess, principal at Mills Group. "It needed to be both visible and visitable, as the goal of this development was to bring hundreds of people to participate in tournaments — and then, of course, stay at the hotels, eat at the restaurants, and so on."

The close collaboration between Mills Group and Moody Nolan had an unexpected result: a blending of cultures. This collaboration helped the firms assimilate to one another. "We were able to see Moody Nolan's best practices from its Columbus office, and they were able to see ours," Hess says. "This put us culturally on the same team."

Breaking down silos led to greater transparency and knowledge-sharing, resulting in more efficient collaboration while using BIM 360 Design. Teams were able to understand one another's processes and preferred ways of working, ultimately maximizing the partnership.

"The way we collaborate means we can work from anywhere. It doesn't really matter where we are located doing our work; the ability to collaborate allows us to group more architects around the same table."

The Highlands project is running on schedule — something Mills Group attributes, in part, to cloud-based collaboration.

BIM 360 Design helped Mills Group overcome location challenges, securely share models, increase productivity, and build stronger relationships with partner firms.

What's more, The Highlands has opened new doors for the West Virginia firm by expanding their portfolio and service offerings.