St. Louis’ Lean, Green Construction Machine

In the face of a national economy buffeted by rising energy costs, financial market difficulties, and competition in many of the industries where the United States has traditionally led, the leadership that our St. Louis construction industry has shown is very encouraging

This leadership was demonstrated by the projects selected as winners of CNR's 2008 Regional Excellence Awards. There is a strong showing among our winners this year of of vision and capability in the areas of sustainability ("green" construction), "lean" cost-effective building techniques, and design and construction that recognizes the role of technology in our future.

I want to thank our Editor Peter Downs; the St. Louis Chapter, National Association of Women in Construction; and our judges:  Sarah Tetley of PGAV Architects, president, St. Louis Chapter, American Institute of Architects; Price Marr, manager, strategic sourcing, Ameren; George Azzani, president, Kaiser Electric; Stephen Bannes, professor and program director, graduate studies in construction management, Washington University; Rick Lodewyck, president, CDG Engineers; and Terry Simpson, senior project manager, Northstar Management Co. Their hard work and thoughtful consideration have made this year's awards something very special.

An update to last month's cover story "The St. Louis Riverfront: Where's the Attraction?" brings very positive news. In the article, which can be found in its entirety on our website http://www.stlouiscnr.com/features/article/st_louis_riverfront_plans/, we presented a brief history of the area surrounding the Gateway Arch and some solutions proposed by area designers and planners. 

 In 2005 Mayor Slay asked the Danforth Foundation to develop bold plans to transform the St. Louis riverfront. After accepting the Danforth Foundation's report, Mayor Slay called for federal legislation to transfer ownership of portions of the 91 acres comprising the Arch grounds to a local entity. He asked a blue-ribbon panel to give him their best advice on what that entity would be and how to proceed with plans to "activate" the park.
"Little has been heard publicly from them since the mayor's announcement," the article reported.
 
On May 8, after just a week on the job, Tom Bradley, the new superintendent of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial for the National Park Service announced that the National Park Service will begin public discussion for ways to reinvigorate the Arch grounds as encouraged by the Danforth Foundation.
An interview with Bradley (http://www.stlbeacon.org/issues_politics/development/arch_superintendent) on the St. Louis Beacon - the "News That Matters" website founded by refugees from the Post-Dispatch - presents a profile of thoughtful guy with strong experience in public/private partnerships involving the National Parks.

Walter Metcalfe, former chairman of the law firm of Bryan Cave and a member of the taskforce appointed by Mayor Slay, seems to feel the same way. I received the following e-mail from him following Bradley's announcement:

"I enjoyed your "Perspective," Metcalfe wrote (http://www.stlouiscnr.com/columns/article/st_louis_riverfront/)

"I recall the 1963-1964 conversations on Disney," he wrote.  "What if?" today?

"Good commentary and dialogue in the article as well. Peter Raven, Bob Archibald and I have been working with the Danforth Foundation on public polling and economic studies to gain reality and hard information on what people will enjoy and what will keep people in the area after being attracted to the Arch, etc. 

"To be continued, but not forever."

General contractors told members of  the  Midwest Council, American Subcontractors Association  (ASA) that market conditions in the commercial industrial markets have  changed, but remain strong.  Representatives of McCarthy Building Companies, Kadean Construction Companies, and J.E. Foster Company spoke at the ASA's annual "Meet the Generals" business meeting program.

"You don't need to worry in the near future," Paul Hartwig, senior vice president of McCarthy Building Companies. "The country's doing well as far as we can see out, which is 4-5 years."

Hartwig noted that the industrial sector is very strong with a number of large energy-related projects coming online and that area hospitals also have a strong commitment to building programs.

Mike Eveler and Matt Breeze, principals at Kadean Construction, also stated that they expected continued growth in their company, which has doubled its volume in the last five years.

Joshua Foster, president of J.E.  Foster said that his company's business mix has been turned on its head in 2008, from 80 percent commercial to 80 percent bid educational, state, and municipal projects.

All three generals credited the strong subcontractor community and the training level of the workforce in St. Louis for their successes. On the Pinnacle hotel/casino project, Hartwig said,  "We put a million dollars of construction in place a day. We never would have been able to do that anywhere else in the country. There's a phenomenal culture of integrity and partnership here."

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