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St. Louis Business Journal:  A city of St. Louis board is seeking proposals for retail at a long-vacant manufacturing site in the Mark Twain I-70 Industrial neighborhood. The Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority issued a request for proposals for 7800 Goodfellow Blvd., a 16.5-acre site it owns, saying that a “retail-anchored, multiple-use development” would be […]

From Facilities Net:  The term “regenerative building” is a little bit of a misnomer. Of course, the term doesn’t mean that buildings themselves – their walls, roofs, materials – regenerate. Rather, a regenerative building refers to one that is able to produce a positive outcome on its environment, whether that means helping regenerate an ecosystem, generating […]

From The Bluebeam Blog:  Drones – also known as unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs – vary in size and operability. Some are single-rotor machines, akin to a helicopter, but most are multi-rotor affairs, combining more than two rotors with fixed-pitch spinning blades, which generate lift. Multi-rotor drones often feature three, four, six or eight rotors; […]

From Webster-Kirkwood Times:  In an effort to establish a “unified campus,” St. Peter Catholic Church is speaking to Kirkwood city officials with an offer to swap properties. The proposal, a key component to the church’s master plan, requests that the city cede a section of West Jefferson Avenue to St. Peter. The avenue divides the […]

Dr. Dimitri Feys, an associate professor of civil engineering at Missouri S&T, has been named a Fellow of RILEM, the International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems and Structures. He was presented with the honor during the 77th RILEM Annual Week last month in Vancouver, Canada. “I have been a member of RILEM since […]

On October 4 at The Sheldon Concert Hall Construction Forum presented a panel discussion exploring what it will take to create equitable development to revitalize the North Side. Panelists were Pastor Andre Alexander, president, Tabernacle Community Development Corporation; Matt Drinen, principal, Emerald Capital; Brian Phillips, executive director and assistant vice chancellor, Washington University Medical Center […]

From the Texas Standard and NPR: A handful of plumbers and construction workers are training as substitutes so they can relieve public school teachers when they head to the state Capitol to protest a bill that would create education savings accounts. As a plumber and an HVAC technician, Travis Cantwell said he’s used to unclogging […]

From Construction Dive:  Melvin Gravely is CEO of Cincinnati-based TriVersity Construction and author of “Dear White Friend: The Realities of Race, the Power of Relationships and Our Path to Equity.” Opinions are the author’s own. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s recent report on discrimination in construction exposed what many jobsite workers already know firsthand: Racism runs rampant […]

From Fast Company:  Labor shortages in the trades are a big problem, and it’s only getting worse. If you’ve tried to hire someone to do work in or on your home recently, you’ve likely experienced this firsthand—the U.S. construction industry alone is facing a shortage of more than 500,000 workers. This is likely just the […]

From Missouri Independent:  Cleaning up Coldwater Creek and other radioactive waste sites in St. Louis County will cost more than twice what federal officials thought six years ago, a new federal report finds. A report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office released Tuesday finds the government’s financial liability at the sites ballooned from $177 million […]

From Riverfront Times:  This summer, Abstrakt Marketing Group, by far the largest employer in Laclede’s Landing, grew increasingly frustrated by the city’s inaction on the large unhoused population living on the riverfront near its offices. “I propose you come out of your office and show up,” says one email from Abstrakt sent to various city […]

From The Bluebeam Blog:  Chloe Gharios loves pink. Her workspace is covered with it. She dons its different hues often, especially in the videos she publishes on social media, where she has an ardent following. “I’ve always been that pink, loving, very girly person,” said Gharios, whose Instagram handle is @Chloetheengineer. “I love glitz. I […]

by Dr. John Gaal Editor’s Note: Each week, Dr. John Gaal, director of worker wellness for the Missouri Works Initiative, a non-profit workforce formed by the Missouri AFL-CIO, collects and comments on news and trends in workforce wellness and life balance. Construction Forum carries the Worker Wellness & Well-Being Blog as a regular feature. The […]

“The hybrid office is not going away, and neither is the continuous evolution of audio/visual technology reshaping and improving business connectivity.” So noted Schaeffer Electric President Justin Kohlman as he announced the launch of a new Workplace Technology Solutions (WTS) division. Schaeffer’s WTS division will offer complete audio/visual turnkey services including consultation, design, installation and […]

The American Subcontractors Association (ASA)-Midwest Council recently elected its officers and board of directors for the 2023-24 fiscal year. Dennis Voss, Golterman & Sabo, was elected as the 2023-24-chapter president. Voss succeeds Mr. Dan Tucker, MC Mechanical Services. Voss will serve a one-year term as president, which began July 1 and will expire June 30, 2024. […]

From Building Design + Construction:  “The pandemic is behind us.” That’s what most cities and businesses are saying as the lockdown months get further and further in the rearview. Meanwhile, we’ve seen hybrid work truly take root and many markets seeing a “flight to quality” as tenants choose to leave outdated buildings in favor of […]

From Mid Rivers News Magazine:  O’Fallon had proposed using bonds to help a growing business move to the city from its current location in St. Louis County. That now will happen. At its Sept. 28 meeting, the City Council voted 9-0 authorizing the issuance of $5 million in industrial revenue bonds. Council member Deana Smith […]

From Construction Dive:  U.S. contractors wasted between $30 billion and $40 billion in 2022 due to labor inefficiencies, and it appears to be getting worse, according to a new survey from FMI Corp. Nearly half of respondents (45%) said they saw declining labor productivity on their job-sites in the last 12 to 18 months, compared to […]

From New Atlas:  The extraordinary Hadrian X bricklaying robot rocks up to a building site looking like a regular truck, then extends a 32-m (105-ft) boom arm and starts precisely laying up to 300 large masonry blocks an hour. It’s pretty remarkable to watch. We’ve had our eye on this Australian bot since it was […]

From Builder:  Multiple messages were carried by the sound of hammers pounding in Charlotte, North Carolina. On the surface, approximately 1,000 volunteers joined forces to help the local Habitat affiliate build The Meadows at Plato Price, a 39-home project on a site that was once occupied by an African-American school that closed as part of […]