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From St. Louis Business Journal:  St. Louis construction company Ben Hur Construction has a new CEO, following the March resignation of its previous leader. Koray Ozgenc will take over the helm of the company effective Monday, April 17, the firm announced Friday. He will succeed previous CEO Jim Schug, who resigned in March. Longtime Ben […]

From CoStar:  Sometimes, it takes a partnership to make a village. In the case of Union at the Grove, Green Street Real Estate Ventures teamed with a consortium of local interests to bring six multifamily buildings to the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood during a pandemic that created financing challenges and construction delays. Partners in the […]

This past Saturday (April 15)  Dr. John Gaal, director of worker wellness for the MO Works Initiative, participated in the “Hike for Hope” in Tampa, FL. The walk event was co-sponsored by American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and  focused on suicide prevention in the construction industry. The organizer of the walk was Vince Hafeli,  president […]

by Tom Finan, Executive Director/Co-Founder, Construction Forum On April 7th we “celebrated” the 45th anniversary of the Executive Order that dictated that the percentage of tradeswomen be set at 6.9% on federally-funded jobs. I use “celebrated” in quotations because in all those years we’ve never reached that high a number. That’s about to change. But […]

by John Gaal, EdD, director of worker wellness, Missouri Works Initiative 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 will be carrying the Worker […]

An extraordinary architect and leader, Hellmuth designed dozens of award-winning buildings across the globe and, as president and later chairman and CEO of HOK, raised HOK’s profile within the design community and beyond. During his leadership, HOK was listed as one of the world’s most influential companies by Time Magazine, repeatedly earned mention in Fast […]

According to a new study, the state of Missouri is losing out on nearly $250 million each year because of shady construction companies and the Carpenters Union wants it to stop. Carpenters Union representative R.J. Catizon addresses the Wentzville City Council on the problem of tax fraud in Missouri’s construction industry, Wednesday, April 12, 2023. […]

A new Where We Stand Update reports, the St. Louis region stands about in the middle among the peer regions on roadway congestion. This is different than what has been seen in the recent past, when the region has consistently been one of the least congested large metropolitan regions. It is too soon to tell if these […]

From St. Louis Post-Dispatch:  The Board of Aldermen here will meet Wednesday night to decide on tax incentives for a controversial $70 million apartment and commercial complex — one week before two newly elected aldermen are sworn in. Cheryl Bratton, an opponent of the development, alleges that Mayor John Gotway’s decision to call the special […]

IBEW/NECA Electrical Connection contractors comprise 14 of the 16 largest electrical contractors ranked this year by the St. Louis Business Journal. The rankings are by local billings in 2022. Meanwhile, reflecting the robust service nationally by IBEW/NECA contractors, the top five in companywide billings nationally are all members of the St. Louis Chapter of the National Electrical Contractor […]

From Missouri Department of Economic Development:  Meridian Medical Technologies, a Kindeva Drug Delivery Company and leading global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) focused on drug-device combination products, announced today it will expand in Bridgeton, investing more than $100 million and creating 30 new jobs. Meridian’s expansion includes the purchase of a new, 155,000-square-foot facility […]

From Construction Business Owner:  Software selection can be a daunting task, whether it’s for accounting, project management, scheduling, estimating, timecard capture, contact management or another process. Software becomes part of your infrastructure. Business is about doing better than the competition. Quality, efficiency, customer service and other processes are impacted by software. Also impacted are cost […]

From St. Louis Business Journal:  A developer who set out years ago to try to revamp Laclede’s Landing into a residential area has nearly all $55 million of its planned projects either finished or under construction. Brian Minges of development firm Advantes Group and his development partners began buying properties in Laclede’s Landing, once a […]

From Missouri Department of Economic Development:  This week, the Department of Economic Development (DED) recognizes National Community Development Week, April 10-14, 2023, which highlights the impact of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program nationwide. The CDBG program is overseen and funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and administered at […]

From Ladue News:  When one door closes, another one opens – or, in the case of Lauren Thorp, owner of the beloved Bonboni Mercantile Co., the same door opens with a fabulous new focus. “Instead of Bonboni Mercantile Company, we are Bonboni Interior Design – but the heart is the same,” says Thorp, who opened […]

From St. Louis Public Radio:  The East St. Louis Housing Authority — the city’s biggest landlord — has started work on a $26 million expansion and modernization plan. The five-year plan, which has been approved and primarily funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, includes the city’s eight complexes. “It’s time for […]

From St. Louis Business Journal:  Leaders of the project to build a $55 million advanced manufacturing center in St. Louis say it will meet the needs of industry and potentially create hundreds of new businesses while providing “strong, diverse and equitable growth” for the region. The federal government last September awarded a $25 million grant […]

From Mid Rivers News Magazine:  The concept of The Meadows serving as a downtown for Lake Saint Louis is moving closer to reality as residential projects adjacent to the shopping center continue to be developed and achieve occupancy goals. Problems that owners described in 2022 as out-of-state ownership with no local management and unkept and […]

by Tom Finan, Executive Director, Construction Forum “Intentionality, intentionality, intentionality.” That was the reply that Vivian Martain, civil rights compliance officer for Millstone Weber, gave when asked for three words describing what it takes to be a truly inclusive contractor. She was part of an afternoon panel at MODOT’s annual Civil Rights Compliance and DBE […]

For the third consecutive year, S. M. Wilson & Co. has been recognized by the Women’s Foundation of Greater St. Louis (WFSTL) as a top place for women to work in the annual Women in the Workplace: Employment Scorecard. Honorees of the sixth annual award program were selected based on data submitted about structural efforts […]