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Coatless Boy Inspires 20 Years of IBEW Giving

5 months 4 weeks ago
“Where’s your coat?” asked Sylvester Taylor on a cold and windy day in 2004 to a child he was mentoring. “I don’t have one,” said the 12-year-old. That a basic need had gone unmet inspired Taylor to launch an annual coat by the organization he founded that same year – the IBEW Electrical Workers Minority […]
Dede Hance

$96M Apartment Tower Opens at City Foundry

5 months 4 weeks ago
From St. Louis Business Journal:  A $96 million expansion at City Foundry has opened, adding 270 apartments at the mixed-use development. Tenants have moved into One Foundry Way, a 14-story tower at 3835 Foundry Way in Midtown. The new tower is part of the second phase of development at City Foundry, a redevelopment of a […]
Dede Hance

Planned Tariffs Could Disrupt Construction Projects

5 months 4 weeks ago
From Construction Dive:  President-elect Donald Trump has promised to impose widespread tariffs when he takes office in January. For commercial builders and their clients, that could spell major price hikes. While much about the plan remains uncertain, industry leaders are already bracing for its potential impact. The scale of the tariffs — and how rigorously […]
Dede Hance

Transforming Workplace Culture to Attract Gen Z to the Public Sector

5 months 4 weeks ago
From Stanford Social Innovation Review:  As of 2023, nearly 20 million people are employed by the government at the state and local level. State and local government employees play a significant role in supporting and uplifting their local communities by making a direct impact through the essential services they provide such as policing, engineering, maintenance, […]
Dede Hance

Is Sustainable Construction an Answer to Housing & Climate Challenges?

5 months 4 weeks ago
From NY Times:  Laying the foundations for a more sustainable world is one of the construction industry’s greatest challenges. Buildings are responsible for 39 percent of energy-related carbon emissions, yet at the same time a worldwide housing shortage sees millions of people in need of adequate accommodation. The construction industry has recognized the urgent need […]
Dede Hance

Town Center Development Projects Postponed Until January

5 months 4 weeks ago
From West Newsmagazine:  Two public hearings will be held open until the January Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Commission meeting as they were not timely publicized. Through no fault of the city’s, public hearings for two developments proposed for Town Center were inadvertently left out of the intended publication necessary to alert affected residents. One was […]
Dede Hance

Report Shows Off-Site Construction Teams Grow & Facilities Diversify

5 months 4 weeks ago
From Construction Business Owner:  BuiltWorlds’ recently released 2024 Offsite Construction Annual Benchmarking Report paints the sector as one in the midst of an evolution, revealing widespread internal prioritization of off-site construction as well as increasingly diversified facilities and methods. “Off-site construction, particularly prefabrication and modularization, is experiencing rapid growth and innovation across residential and commercial […]
Dede Hance

RAPs Can’t Keep Up With Demand for New Labor

5 months 4 weeks ago
From Construction Dive:  The U.S. has invested heavily in registered apprenticeships in a range of industries and as a primary method of growing the construction workforce. But the number of workers those programs produce are far from what the industry needs, according to a new report. In 2024, the federal government poured $244 million into […]
Dede Hance

State Lawmaker Revives Push to Merge St. Louis City & County

6 months ago
From St. Louis Business Journal:  A Democratic state representative on Tuesday pre-filed legislation to put a constitutional amendment before voters merging the city of St. Louis and St. Louis County. The move, by Ian Mackey, D-Richmond Heights, could reignite debate around the idea in the 2025 legislative session after it was dropped in 2019 as […]
Dede Hance

Federal Reserve’s November 2024 Beige Book Released

6 months ago
The Beige Book is a Federal Reserve System publication about current economic conditions across the 12 Federal Reserve Districts. It characterizes regional economic conditions and prospects based on a variety of mostly qualitative information, gathered directly from District sources. The St. Louis region is part of the Eighth District. Economic activity across the Eighth District […]
Dede Hance

Worker Wellness Blog: Do the Math!

6 months ago
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 […]
Tom Finan

McCarthy Named One of the Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America

6 months ago
McCarthy Holdings, Inc. (McCarthy) is proud to once again be included in an organization named one of the 2024 Healthiest 100™ Workplaces in America. The Heathiest 100 honors the “best of the best” in corporate health and wellness. McCarthy, comprised of McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. and Castle Contracting LLC, is the oldest privately held national […]
Dede Hance

Buyer of Webster’s Ozark Theater Will Complete Two-Decade Restoration Journey

6 months ago
From the Webster-Kirkwood Times: James (Jim) Onder of OnderLaw has confirmed his purchase of the old Ozark Theatre, along with the neighboring property occupied by the Webster Garden CafĂ©. “I close on the property in a couple of  days. That’s going to happen,” Onder told the Times on Tuesday. Onder is acquiring the two properties from […]
Tom Finan

Oculus Inc. in Partnership With IMEG Wins $56M U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Contract

6 months ago
Oculus-IMEG JV, a Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Mentor-ProtĂ©gĂ© partnership between St. Louis-based Oculus Inc. and IMEG Corp., has been awarded a Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC) by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract will run for at least four years, with an option for a three-year […]
Tom Finan

7 Trends Shaping the Build-to-Rent Market in 2025

6 months ago
From Builder Online:  While the build-to-rent (BTR) market has experienced a softening recently as the higher cost of capital has discouraged deals, the general state of the market is “good and getting better,” according to Callum Parrott, president and head of single-family rental (SFR) and BTR for Mill Creek Residential. On the supply side, rate […]
Dede Hance

How Automation Is Actually Closing the Labor Gap

6 months ago
From Area Development:  Industrial automation and robotics offer huge benefits to manufacturing and warehouse distribution and fulfilment operations. This is not a new concept; articles going back decades have explained how these applications can improve quality and consistency, optimize productivity and throughput, increase worker safety, and reduce direct labor cost. The topic has gained currency […]
Dede Hance