St. Louis construction VP named AEC '40 Under 40'

Aaron Retherford, vice president of business strategy for Kadean Construction, has been named to the 40 Under 40 Class of 2020 by Building Design + Construction, a major national publication serving the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industries.

Retherford is recognized for his career achievements, passion for the AEC profession, involvement with industry organizations and service to his community. He joined Kadean and its executive team in September 2020 and has 13 years of construction industry experience.

“Aaron has established himself as a proven young leader in our industry, and he richly deserves this national honor,” said Mike Eveler, president of Kadean Construction. “In his short time with us, he has already made a big impact in executing our growth and business development strategic plan and building our brand locally, regionally and nationally.”

Building Design + Construction cited Retherford’s success in growing annual revenues, developing a turn-key civil design-build service for site development work and establishing a permanent Omaha office for his previous employer, among many accomplishments. They also noted his role as a board member and treasurer for the Greater St. Louis Honor Flight organization, as well as committee memberships with KIDstruction and the St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers.

Retherford is Kadean’s executive leader for growth and business development across all offices and future expansion efforts. He focuses on building relationships and developing plans to execute strategic growth initiatives, which include expanding work with current clients and pursuing national clients in new markets. Retherford also helps market and execute Kadean’s Design-Build and VDC (Virtual Design & Construction) capabilities.

Retherford is 37 years old, an avid golfer and holds a B.S. in Construction Management from Illinois State University.

The Barclay condos 'top out' in Kirkwood

Kadean Construction Company recently celebrated the topping out of The Barclay, a $12 million luxury condominium project currently under construction at 204 N. Clay Street in downtown Kirkwood, Mo.

The final roof truss of the four-story structure, developed by Savoy Investments, LLC., was hoisted into place by Cheltenham Construction Services, one of Kadean’s subcontractors, signifying that the structure has reached its maximum height.

“The entire project team has done a great job of keeping this job site safe for workers while responding to the site’s logistical limitations. I credit the collaboration of everyone involved for keeping this moving towards a successful outcome," said Mike Eveler, president of Kadean Construction.

The 40,000 SF building will feature fourteen luxury condominiums with underground parking and other luxury amenities.

“We are so gratified that this project has remained on schedule during the COVID-19 public health pandemic, which has adversely affected the progress of many other construction projects across the St. Louis region,” said John Pennington, partner and co-owner at Savoy Investments.

Construction began in November 2019 and is scheduled for completion in early 2021. Other partners on the project include Core 10 Architecture and KPFF Consulting Engineers.

This is the second new condominium construction project for the Savoy Investments and Kadean duo to build on the same block in downtown Kirkwood. In 2018, Kadean completed construction of The Madison Condominiums at 110 W. Madison Avenue.

Kadean Construction kicks off $2.3 million warehouse expansion

G.H. Tool & Mold, a division of Tooling Tech Group (TTG), has begun construction on a $2.3 million expansion at 423 W-W Industrial Park Dr. in Washington, Mo.

General contractor Kadean Construction recently broke ground on the metal warehouse project, adding 21,000 SF of space to the existing 40,000 SF-facility. The original space will remain the bread-and-butter of the company, who manufactures tooling for the die cast and aerospace industries.

"The addition will house two, 60-ton bridge cranes, which are used for moving materials in the manufacturing area within the building," said Scott Rakonick, senior project manager for Kadean Construction.

The addition will also include a large, double-column bridge mill with a 70,000-pound capacity.

"The Kadean team has been a pleasure to work with and our project is running right on schedule so far. They are a very knowledgeable group and are running the project very efficiently," said Dave Graves, president of G.H. Tool & Mold.

Other project partners include Washington Engineering & Architecture, Inc. and Varco Pruden Buildings.

The project is expected to be complete in the third quarter of 2020 and bring on approximately 25 more employees over the next five years.