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United States Infrastructure: Past, Present and Future

10 months ago
From BigRentz:  In November 2021, Congress passed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The IIJA funds desperately needed improvements to the United States infrastructure. This historic bill is the largest commitment to U.S. infrastructure in over 100 years. The IIJA includes $500 billion allocated for surface transportation systems, $73 billion to update the […]
Dede Hance

For Offsite to Grow, We Need Better Training

10 months ago
From Offsite Builder:  Most builders and developers are busy doing what they do every day —building single-family homes, duplexes, townhouses and multifamily projects. And most of them are doing so using traditional on-site building methods. But those builders and developers have also been hearing the growing drumbeat about this thing called offsite construction. Offsite first […]
Dede Hance

Crestwood Allocates Yearly Block Grant for ADA Upgrades at Park

10 months ago
From Call Newspapers:  The Crestwood Board of Alderman voted May 28 to use the city’s allocated Community Development Block Grant funds to make Americans with Disabilities Act improvements at Crestwood Park. The CDBG funds are administered annually through the St. Louis County Office of Community Development. Previously, the city received $23,400 annually, though beginning this […]
Dede Hance

Adare Brown wins Steedman Fellowship in Architecture

10 months ago
From Washington University’s The Source:  Brooklyn, N.Y.-based architectural worker and alum Adare Brown has been selected as winner of the 2023-24 James Harrison Steedman Memorial Fellowship in Architecture. Established in 1926, the biannual Steedman Fellowship is organized by the College of Architecture and Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design at the Sam Fox School […]
Dede Hance

Megan Wilker Joins Frisella Landscape Group

10 months ago
Frisella Landscape Group is proud to announce its new landscape design architecture service line, an expansion of the company’s design-build services, along with the appointment of Megan Wilker as the Lead Landscape Architect. Responding to increased demand for projects requiring a landscape architect seal, this strategic development allows Frisella Landscape Group to enhance its residential […]
Dede Hance

Glen Carbon Fire Department’s Training Facility Back on Front Burner

10 months ago
From Edwardsville Intelligencer:  Following a 10-month-long pause, Glen Carbon Fire Protection District officials are back with their burn building. In August 2023, Glen Carbon Fire Chief Jason Whitaker and others came to the building and development panel to champion a new training facility that would be built in front of the district’s new fire house on West Main […]
Dede Hance

SLDC Taking Over Minority Business Certification From Airport

10 months ago
From St. Louis Post-Dispatch:  The city’s economic development office is taking over the job of deciding whether contractors meet guidelines for minority and women-ownership, ending a longtime arrangement that had outsourced those duties to St. Louis Lambert International Airport. The St. Louis Development Corporation Board is set to vote Thursday on a new three-year, $175,000 […]
Dede Hance

New Industrial Park Under Construction Shows Location’s Continued Strength

10 months ago
From St. Louis Business Journal:  An industrial project in the works for years has advanced to the construction stage due to demand, according to its developer. River Valley Commerce Center, a $117 million three-warehouse speculative industrial project, received approval from the city of Maryland Heights in 2022. Although a groundbreaking for the project at 149 […]
Kacey Crawley

County’s Westward Expansion Continues

10 months ago
From MRN:  The Wentzville area is booming. It spans just over 20 miles and is home to over 47,000 people. As the city’s population continues to grow, so has the demand for residential and commercial developments. Just last month, Midas Hospitality celebrated the grand opening of TownePlace Suites by Marriott, alongside city officials. This four-story, […]
Kacey Crawley

Edwardsville Could Allow Homeowners to Place Solar Panels in Their Yards

10 months ago
From Intelligencer:  Edwardsville’s Public Works staff wants the city to amend an ordinance that controls residential solar panels to allow them to be taller, and in some cases, allow them in a resident’s front yard. The bulk of the June 13 administrative and community service panel was devoted to discussing these planned changes. Assistant City […]
Kacey Crawley

Tarlton Expands Preconstruction Services and Estimating Team

10 months ago
Tarlton, St. Louis’ largest women-owned general contracting and construction management firm, expands its preconstruction team with the addition of Eric Davis, a skilled manager who brings his vast industry knowledge and training to the position. As preconstruction manager, Davis works closely with Tarlton’s clients in the critical stages of estimating and preconstruction on their projects. […]
Dede Hance

Illinois Begins Multiyear, Record-Breaking Transportation Upgrade Plan

10 months ago
From St. Louis Business Journal:  Illinois has embarked on a record-setting transportation upgrade program. The state will spend more than $41 billion to build and repair transportation infrastructure. It is the largest investment in state history and will involve all 102 Illinois counties. Gov. J.B. Pritzker said it is an area of the state that […]
Kacey Crawley

STLCC Helps Geospatial Technology Careers Take Flight

10 months ago
From MRN:  Mapping technology comes with certain expectations. We expect it to work, be accurate, adapt when we fail to follow instructions and get us back on course. But how does all of that happen? “There’s a whole lot of science and knowledge getting us to that point,” said Stephen W. White, EdD, president and […]
Kacey Crawley

Crestwood Allocates Yearly Block Grant for ADA Upgrades at Park

10 months ago
From Call Newspapers:  The Crestwood Board of Alderman voted May 28 to use the city’s allocated Community Development Block Grant funds to make Americans with Disabilities Act improvements at Crestwood Park. The CDBG funds are administered annually through the St. Louis County Office of Community Development. Previously, the city received $23,400 annually, though beginning this […]
Kacey Crawley

Developers Plot New $66M Plan for Vacant North City Warehouse

10 months ago
From St. Louis Business Journal:  Two development firms are partnering to on a new effort to turn a vacant warehouse in the city’s Near North Riverfront neighborhood into 177 apartments. The developers behind the $65.9 million project, at 2000 N. Broadway, are Virginia-based ABC Realty Advisors and the Lodging to Living Fund of Bethesda, Maryland-based […]
Kacey Crawley

Worker Wellness Blog: Culture

10 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 […]
Dede Hance

Commit to a Culture of Safety

10 months ago
From Construction Business Owner:  The risk of injury is always present in construction. When it comes to safety, there’s always room to improve. Whether you lead a large or midsized construction business or work as a contractor with a small, trusted team, you have the power to improve the safety of your operations and how […]
Kacey Crawley

Questions Raised About Jamestown Mall Demolition Contracting Process

10 months ago
From St. Louis Business Journal:  Questions have been raised by non-winning contractors and some of the winning minority subcontractors about the process surrounding the St. Louis County Port Authority’s awarding of a contract for demolition of Jamestown Mall, according to a report in a construction trade publication. The Port Authority, the owner of the 145-acre […]
Kacey Crawley

Is Vertical Integration the Answer for Offsite Construction Growth?

10 months ago
From Offsite Builder:  Vertical integration is a strategy that, in theory, allows an offsite manufacturer to streamline and optimize its operations by taking direct ownership of the different stages required to produce and build a home, instead of relying on outside contractors or suppliers. A lot of companies have been attempting to — or at […]
Kacey Crawley