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McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., one of the largest and most accomplished contractors nationwide for scientific and pharmaceutical research, recently celebrated the grand opening of the new Jeffrey T. Fort Neuroscience Research Building for Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Designed to accelerate research in areas that include Alzheimer’s disease and brain tumors, the […]

The Annual Quality Concrete Awards Dinner hosted by the Concrete Council of St. Louis took place on Thursday, April 11, 2024, at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis, Missouri. The evening featured the presentation of two college scholarships and recognition of ten outstanding examples of quality concrete construction in which member firms of the […]

From Area Development:  The cement industry generates about eight percent of global carbon emissions every year. Cement is the binding agent in concrete. Although cement is only about 10 percent of concrete by volume, its production consumes a tremendous amount of thermal energy to break down limestone into lime, the key ingredient in cement, with […]

From Builder Online:  As associate dean of Construction Sciences and Building Technology at Dunwoody College of Technology, Heather Stafford Gay has personal experience as a woman in the construction industry beginning in her teen years. With personal perspective and professional experience to back it, Gay is passionate about recruiting women into the industry through educational […]

From Construction Next:  With the labor shortage no end in sight, construction companies need to put considerable thought and effort into hiring and retaining talent—especially from the younger generations. According to data from the Associated Builders and Contractors, the construction industry will need an estimated 501,000 additional workers on top of normal hiring in 2024 […]

From Work Design Magazine:  As workplace designers we are “agents of impact”—curators of space and corporate culture that have influence well beyond the office building itself. Understanding our role and best practices in this transformational time of collective action amidst a climate crisis are not only key to our success as designers, but also our responsibility […]

From Build Steel:  The development of two major building materials in the early 20th century — steel framing and gypsum panels — “marked a major departure from typical practices that dated back hundreds and thousands of years,” says Larry Williams, executive director of the Steel Framing Industry Association (SFIA), in a recent Walls & Ceilings […]

From Building Design + Construction:  In a world where technology’s rapid pace has reshaped how we live, work, and communicate, it should be no surprise that it’s also changing the PreK-12 education landscape. This digital transformation in education has brought about a new era of learning that extends beyond the traditional classroom setting. Technology integration […]

From Area Development:  Once again, the ability to source abundant skilled labor tops the charts as the most valuable asset to a community. Companies have struggled for five years or more to find solid, deep pools of talent to support their operations, and consultants really have to perform a lot of due diligence in this […]

From Construction Dive:  Nonresidential construction spending ticked up 0.2% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.19 trillion, according to Associated Builders and Contractors’ analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. The rise in March signals a positive shift following two consecutive months of construction spending contraction at the beginning of 2024, according to […]

From NPR:  The Eads Bridge is an architectural masterpiece. Built over the Mississippi River to connect Missouri and Illinois, it boasts a list of “firsts”: It was the first bridge in St. Louis, the first to use steel and the first in the U.S. to use caissons for its piers. The iconic bridge turns 150 […]

From Construction Dive:  The number of construction job openings dropped by 39.9% from a month earlier to 274,000 on the last day of March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The data measures the number of open positions for which contractors are actively hiring. March 2023 also saw a low number of job openings […]

The St. Louis Board of Aldermen’s Special Committee on Reducing Red Tape is rebooting its 2023 incarnation and is inviting participation. The committee will hold a series of public listening sessions to hear directly from business owners and entrepreneurs. A special listening session is being held on Monday, May 13 from 3:00 – 5:00PM for […]

By Jennifer Hasamear, S. M. Wilson & Co. Editor’s Note: This article originally ran as a blogpost on S.M. Wilson’s Beyond the Build.  For decades, thousands of construction workers have battled mental health issues silently and alone in a “tough guy” culture and high-pressure situations, leading to stress, burnout and self-harming behaviors such as alcohol/substance disorder and […]

An IBEW/NECA Electrical Connection team is now wiring the 15th St. Jude Dream Home in the St. Louis area while donating all resources to build it. When completed later this year, proceeds from the ticket sales of the home – $1.65 million — will benefit children served by the renowned St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®. […]

The American Subcontractors Association (ASA) Midwest Council celebrated the winners of its Red-Carpet Awards Gala on April 20th, 2024. The ASA Midwest Council hosted 420 people, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Downtown St. Louis, for the 31st annual event. The award categories included General Contractor of the Year, Outstanding MEP Subcontractors, Outstanding Specialty Subcontractors, […]

The Associated General Contractors of Missouri (AGCMO) has awarded a record $82,000 in scholarships to 30 students across the Midwest. Included in the 2024 scholarship class are eight trade apprentices, seven graduating high school seniors, and 15 college/university students. “These students represent the future of our industry,” said Leonard Toenjes, AGCMO president. “From future engineers […]

This week Construction Forum drone photographer Louis Kelly, owner of Drone Eagle, LLC, has updated progress on “NEO Vantage Pointe,” a 269-unit luxury apartment complex being constructed by ARCO. The project, which is nearing completion, is located at 12401 Boulder Springs Parkway in the Southwest quadrant of the Page/I-270 interchange in Maryland Heights. The developer […]

From St. Louis Post-Dispatch:  Crews have begun to install drywall. Tile in some of the apartment bathrooms has been laid. And the historic plaster adorning hallways is under restoration. Jefferson Arms, the 14-story, 120-year-old historic hotel near Tucker Boulevard and Washington Avenue in downtown St. Louis, is slated to open next April with over 400 […]

From ENR:  At the site of a former coal mine in Jefferson County, Ohio, the Friendship Highwall Reclamation Project eliminated more than 9,000 linear ft of dangerous exposed cliffs and transformed the area into parkland, native wetlands, forest and prairie, with a a funding award from a U.S. Dept. of the Interior program several years […]