AGCMO honors excellence in construction at the 2024 Keystone Awards Gala

The Associated General Contractors of Missouri (AGCMO) recognized exceptional achievements in the construction industry during its 2024 Keystone Construction Awards Gala, held on November 7 at the River City Casino Hotel. The event celebrated contractors for excellence across 12 specialty disciplines, with notable accolades, including the designation of Specialty Contractor of the Year.

Stephen Leamon, superintendent at Pace Construction Company, was honored with the Show Me Excellence in Craftsmanship Award for his outstanding work in asphalt paving. Leamon was commended for his leadership in scheduling, budgeting, and reducing downtime and for his dedication to crew training.

The gala also featured the presentation of 11 First Place Keystone Awards, honoring contractors for significant contributions to various projects, including manufacturing, research, hospitality, sports, and historic renovations. Among the winners, Ben Hur Construction was recognized for its work on Procter & Gamble’s manufacturing facility, while KAI, alongside McCarthy Building Companies, earned an award for the Jeffrey T. Fort Neuroscience Research Building Link Bridge at Washington University. Other top recipients included PARIC Corporation for the Kings Hill Redevelopment, Millstone Weber, LLC for the I-270 North Design-Build project, and Russell for the 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis renovation.

The Brightline Florida Higher-Speed Rail project received a National Class Keystone Award for its impressive work outside Missouri. The collaboration between Herzog Contracting Corp., StacyWitbeck Inc., and RailWorks Corp. is the largest U.S. passenger rail project in over a century, spanning 165 miles and allowing train speeds of up to 125 mph.

The Keystone Awards assess projects based on how contractors overcome challenges and meet high standards in safety, budget management, and schedule adherence rather than focusing solely on aesthetics or scale. A panel of judges, including experts from architecture and engineering firms as well as academic institutions, evaluated the nominees.

Additionally, AGCMO recognized 12 Specialty Contractors of the Year (SCOTY) for their exceptional performance in timeliness, budget compliance, and overall contribution. Boyer Fire Protection, with the most votes, was named Specialty Contractor of the Year, with other honorees including ROSCH Company, Elastizell of St. Louis, and Guarantee Electrical Company.

SEE A LIST OF ALL THE KEYSTONE AWARD WINNERS HERE.

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Header image: A photo of the award-winning Jeffrey T. Fort Neuroscience Research Building Link Bridge at Washington University School of Medicine. Image courtesy of KAI Build

Urban League senior apartments, community center break ground in Dellwood

Last week, KAI joined the Urban League of Metropolitan Saint Louis to break ground on the organization’s new senior apartments and community center located at 9947 West Florissant in the City of Dellwood in North St. Louis County.

KAI is providing design-build services on the 40,000-square-foot facility which is expected to be complete by December 2022.

The $10 million, three-story building will include 44 resident units (40 one-bedroom units and four two-bedroom units), plus a community room on the main level for 12-15 people and a resident lounge with a kitchenette and restrooms. The main level will also include a private manager’s office, reception area, workroom and shared access to the community room.

At a time when the shortage of affordable housing in communities around the United States regularly makes the headlines, another less visible housing crisis is also intensifying, according to KAI CEO Michael Kennedy, Jr.

The number of elderly people with ‘worst case housing needs’—defined as renters with low incomes who do not receive government housing assistance and pay more than one-half of their income for rent, live in severely inadequate conditions, or both—is increasing rapidly. Nearly 10 million households with an occupant over age 65 spends more than 30 percent of their income on housing; roughly 5 million of those households spend more than 50 percent.

“The growth in the population of Americans aged 65 or older is projected to reach nearly 73 million in 2030, and more than 83 million in 2050, which means that senior households increasingly will be renters,” Kennedy said.

“Resources for housing and supporting our aging population are scarce in relation to the scope of the problem. To the Urban League and its board members and donors, the Missouri Housing Development Commission and Michael Gardner and his team at Gardner Capital, St. Louis thanks you; this community thanks you; and I thank you for partnering with KAI to bring seniors in this community this much needed project,” Kennedy said.

The Urban League of Metropolitan Saint Louis’ mission is to empower African Americans and others throughout the region in securing economic self-reliance, social equality and civil rights. The organization is committed to investing in the continued redevelopment of the West Florissant Corridor through Dellwood and Ferguson.

The goal of the development is to give seniors in Dellwood not only the opportunity to live in a brand new building but to also have easy access to many services and programs offered by the organization, including the popular Senior Empowerment Series.

Presenters at the groundbreaking ceremony also included Urban League president & CEO Michael P. McMillan; St. Louis County Executive, Sam Page; St. Louis County Council Chair, Rita Heard Days; City of Dellwood Mayor, Reggie Jones; and Missouri State Senator, Brian Williams.