a Better Bubble™

ConstructionForum 🕸

Emerson Said to be Considering Office in New Clayton Tower

1 year 7 months ago
From St. Louis Business Journal:  Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) is considering establishing an office in a prominent new office tower in Clayton, according to people familiar with the matter. The people said Emerson is looking at taking several floors in one of the two towers that make up the $250 million Forsyth Pointe development, […]
Zo

AMICSTL Nets $15M in State Funding

1 year 7 months ago
From St. Louis Business Journal:  The project to build a $55 million advanced manufacturing center in St. Louis received a major boost as the Missouri General Assembly included $15 million in the state budget to support construction. Last year, the federal government through a national competition called the Build Back Better Regional Challenge, included $7 […]
Zo

North End of Orchard Town Center: What Will it Be?

1 year 7 months ago
From The Edwardsville Intelligencer:  Construction on a new Olive Garden restaurant began in Orchard Town Center (OTC) last month, according to Scott Slemer, the village’s director for public works. In addition, the Plum Street entrance for OTC is open, after the northern entrance opened off of Governors’ Parkway, just west of Troy Road. Olive Garden […]
Zo

Why We Should Stop Saying “Underrepresented”

1 year 7 months ago
From Harvard Business Review:  Remember when media outlets and academia used to refer to socially marginalized groups as “nonwhites”? It doesn’t take a lot of social awareness to cringe at that term today. Now, folks use the term “underrepresented” instead. It may feel like the safest option among the minefield of language and politics we […]
Zo

The Ugly Truth Behind “We Buy Ugly Houses”

1 year 7 months ago
From Pro Publica: Cory Evans was well-versed in the HomeVestors of America playbook when he arrived at a suburban Los Angeles home on Nov. 4, 2016. His franchise with the “We Buy Ugly Houses” company had executed more than 50 deals in the preceding two years. Patriot Holdings would soon become one of the company’s […]
Zo

$6M Earmarked for PowerPlex Has Not Been Spent

1 year 7 months ago
From St. Louis Business Journal:  Funds earmarked by St. Louis County for the redevelopment by youth sports complex PowerPlex have not been used by the developer, and are still available if the project finds an alternate site, a county official said. The St. Louis County Council agreed in February 2021 to use $6 million in […]
Zo

Two Senior Housing Projects in St. Louis Move Forward

1 year 7 months ago
From St. Louis Post-Dispatch:  Two projects that will add more than 100 apartments for seniors across north and south St. Louis moved closer to final approval Wednesday. The first project, from Yaphett El-Amin of Fields Place LP, plans to build about 90 apartments for seniors with a grocery store and other commercial space at the […]
Zo

The Sad History of Jamestown Mall

1 year 7 months ago
From KSIS 1050 AM:  It’s incredible how some malls in the 2020s seem to be thriving, while others are left to whither with high vacancy rates and a future date with redevelopment or at least the wrecking ball. This is a look at one of the latter, the Jamestown Mall in suburban St. Louis, currently […]
Zo

Workers Give Construction’s Slow Tech Adoption a Thumbs Down

1 year 7 months ago
From Construction Dive: Dive Brief: Industries like supply chain management and healthcare are benefiting from the perception of technological proficiency, while construction is viewed as “the least technologically competent” by workers, according to a new study. Construction ranked at the bottom of 10 surveyed sectors, according to purchase-to-pay software developer Yooz’s 2023 Technology in the Workplace survey, released […]
Zo

VIDEO: Pipe Trades Partnership Launches Fourth Cohort of CHAMPIONS Workforce Program

1 year 7 months ago
More than two dozen people from underrecognized populations have entered the pipe trades in the last three years through a unique partnership between Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 562, the Mechanical Contractors Association of Eastern Missouri (MCA EMO), and the Plumbing Industry Council (PIC). Now, the CHAMPIONS Initiative is preparing to launch a fourth cohort of […]
Tom Finan

Wiegmann Associates Begins Work on New Wright City High School in Missouri

1 year 7 months ago
Wiegmann Associates has begun mechanical contracting work on the new Wright City High School for Wright City R-II School District in Wright City, Missouri. Wiegmann is installing HVAC systems to serve the entire new high school including classrooms, science and computer laboratories, administration spaces, library, commons, cafeteria, practice gym and lockers. Wright Construction Services is […]
Dede Hance

Illinois Launches Pre-Apprenticeship Program for Climate-Related Fields

1 year 7 months ago
From St. Louis/Southern Illinois Labor Tribune:  Weeks after bolstering support for pre-apprenticeship programs in the construction trades, Illinois is launching another program to promote pre-apprenticeships in climate-related fields. Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity announced $10 million in funding for the Climate Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program and $6 million for […]
Dede Hance

Bank Failures Put Squeeze on Construction Loans

1 year 7 months ago
From Construction Dive:  On the surface, the recent collapses of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and First Republic Bank shouldn’t harm the multifamily sector as much as other commercial real estate asset classes. Recent data from research firm MSCI shows that local and regional banks hold a relatively small percentage of apartment loans. Over the […]
Dede Hance

Jamestown Mall Demo Contract Increased to Avoid ‘Massive Hole’

1 year 7 months ago
From St. Louis Business Journal:  The owner of Jamestown Mall is doubling an engineering contract to figure out how to demolish the vacant mall to make way for future development, soon after a feasibility study recommended development of a new agriculture technology campus at the site. The St. Louis County Port Authority, which owns the […]
Dede Hance

Forum’s June 16th Event Features LA-Based Construction Tech Innovator Dafna Kaplan

1 year 7 months ago
On June 16th, Construction Forum will continue its anniversary year theme “THE FUTURE IS NOW: Celebrating Systems Change”. The Forum is hosting an appearance by Dafna Kaplan, the founder of an LA-based manufacturer of futuristic affordable housing. The event will be held from 7:30-9:30 AM in the Maryville University Auditorium, 630 Maryville University Drive. Dafna […]
Tom Finan

First Look: Chemical Building Redevelopment Renderings

1 year 7 months ago
From CityScene STL:  We now have our first look at what the redevelopment of the Chemical Building into a 240-room dual-brand hotel (Residence Inn & Springhill Suits by ) looks like. J.T. Campo Architects posted these images on their website showing what the beloved building will look like after redevelopment. Immediate observations show the street-level […]
Dede Hance

McBride Proposal for Wildwood Gets Flack From Residents

1 year 7 months ago
From West Newsmagazine:  A proposal for 131 attached and detached single-family dwellings in Wildwood Town Center is getting some pushback from nearby residents. McBride Berra Land Company LLC has proposed the Crestview development on the north side of Crestview Drive, east of its intersection with Eatherton Road. To accommodate the development, the company is requesting […]
Dede Hance

Gross Mechanical Announces Management Changes, Headquarters Move

1 year 7 months ago
Gross Mechanical has announced personnel changes related to a new five-year strategic plan, as well as a planned relocation of the company’s headquarters. Michael Gross will assume control of the Gross the estimating department. As that transition solidifies, he will eventually oversee estimating, business development, and preconstruction services as the company’s Chief Sales Officer. New […]
Tom Finan