Wayside Waifs celebrates new campus additions

A virtual ribbon-cutting ceremony was held this morning (October 28, 2020) to celebrate the opening of the new Wayside Waifs Campus, located at 3901 Martha Truman Rd in Kansas City, Mo.

The campus additions include a new, 9,000-SF Canine Behavior Center and an 8,000-SF Education & Training Center expansion.

"We are honored to be the building partner for Wayside Waifs, the largest pet adoption campus in Kansas City. These state-of-the-art facilities will help to bring solutions to our community for both pets and people, " said Phil Thomas, president of A.L. Huber, who partnered with SFS Architecture on the project.

The Canine Behavior Center was built behind the existing, main shelter building and includes 21 indoor-outdoor kennels, three real-life rooms, indoor and outdoor play and training areas, a dedicated medical exam room with grooming space and a training classroom for visiting animal welfare colleagues.

The behavior center will serve 21-42 dogs at a time in a quiet and controlled environment. This building and program will be the second of its kind in the nation.

The Education & Training Center expansion, built on the northeast corner of the current shelter, will serve 15,000+ people annually.

The expansion includes three indoor multipurpose rooms that can be combined into one large room for hosting large group and events, indoor dog training classrooms, collaborative meeting space, office and work space for education staff and volunteers and 3,500 SF of storage and facilities offices​.

In 2018, Wayside adopted more than 5,600 animals into “loving, forever homes.” Wayside Waifs has served homeless, abused and abandoned animals for over 75 years.

A.L. Huber grows in scope and size

Coming off a record year in 2018, A.L. Huber is building on its longtime reputation for quality construction and positioning itself for growth in additional market niches such as healthcare, industrial, and information technology.

 “We are a 116-year old company and in a successful time of transition,” said A.L. Huber President Phil Thomas who assumed majority ownership of the company in 2015. “It’s been a great 3 ½ years. Along with my ownership, we have four additional owners as well. Our future is very exciting.”

 A.L. Huber’s revenue topped $83 million in 2018, up more than 70 percent from $48 million in 2017. Thomas says the growth is largely due to the firm’s strong preconstruction team, which has tripled over the past five years and has helped transform A.L. Huber’s business model.

“A lot of times, people think because we are doing preconstruction work that our pipeline is two years out, but we actually can build 6-8 months down the road,” Thomas said. “We collaborate closely with owner and design team and move projects through the design phase quickly. We know that if we can get the budget and schedule to the owner early, that means we don’t have hiccups when submitting for permits and don’t end up over-budget.”

In the technology market, A.L. Huber recently completed Fishtech Group’s new Cyber Security Operations Center in Martin City as well as Sprint’s new 5G Experience project. The firm reinforced its industrial division in 2018, completing a 315,000-square foot manufacturing facility for Aspen Products in Kansas City and a 255,000-square foot distribution center for TVH in Olathe. On the healthcare front, A.L. Huber is expanding geographically – currently completing construction of a hospital addition in Fall Rivers, S.D..

A.L. Huber’s founding family, the Huber’s, remain partners and very active in the storied construction firm, with Augie Huber serving as CEO. Thomas and Senior Vice President Keith Dorrian guide the firm’s day-to-day operations.

“One of the unique things about our story is that my only job has been at A.L. Huber, and Keith’s only job as been at A.L. Huber. I started here 35 years ago and Keith 23 years ago, so try to drive best practices from everyone we meet—including our peers,” Thomas explained.

With more than 100 years as a family-run business, A.L. Huber prides itself on low turnover. Once they start, employees typically stay with the firm for the remainder of their career.

“It’s still a family culture here, and we truly work hard at finding the best people and then we work hard at keeping them together.”