New office HQ with a view for Arcturis

Renovations are underway on new office headquarters for Arcturis, a St. Louis-based national design firm, who plans to move to the 13th floor of the former Peabody Plaza building, which now serves as a focal point of the new Gateway Plaza at 701 Market St. in downtown St. Louis.

Arcturis partnered with Tarlton Corp. to serve as construction manager of the 11,500-SF, build-out project - adding to the award-winning portfolio of the two, women-owned businesses.

The dynamic duo previously collaborated on the build-out of the new Spire corporate headquarters which earned LEED Gold for Commercial Interiors certification from the U.S. Green Building Council and was recognized with an Edwin F. Guth Award for interior lighting design from the Illuminating Engineering Society.

Slated for completion by the end of this year, the renovations and tenant build-out include the demolition of existing office space; installation of new partitions; high-end, industrial-look finishes and MEPFP design-build enhancements.

An impressive glass-wall storefront, fabricated and installed by Missouri Valley Glass, welcomes employees and visitors into the office suite. The storefront features one-half-inch-thick clear tempered glass sections situated within a span that is 9 feet tall and 22 feet long. The entry doors are flanked by two wide sections on each side, with sleek, brushed stainless hardware and trim completing the modern design.

In addition, the office space incorporates a wellness area featuring a lounge and cafeteria, as well as a “light laboratory” that Arcturis design teams will use for fixture testing and to simulate different light conditions in project designs for clients.

The Tarlton project team includes Joe Scarfino, project director; Diane Grimsley, senior project manager; Beth Barton, superintendent; and Joe Carr, cost engineer.

Vestal Corporation: Can't stop, won't stop

Covid-19 challenges over the last six months have not slowed down Vestal Corporation; in fact, you could say their business is thriving because of it.

Vestal’s Covid-19 response strategy bolstered the consulting firm’s ability to remain highly productive on current projects and significantly contributed to new project wins.

In response to the pandemic Vestal quickly made several strategic technology advancements, including its 2019 transition to MS Office365 that enabled team members to be well connected remotely via MS TEAMS. 

Additionally, Vestal increased its external bandwidth by 250% to accommodate an increase in remote team members and provided the Building Information Modeling “BIM” team with powerful desktop and notebook computers required to support high productivity remotely.

“Business doesn’t get easier or more forgiving during a pandemic. You adapt, get smarter, get stronger and find creative ways to achieve success,” said Mark Hubbs, principal | vice president of project development for Vestal.

Design backlog from major projects with Constellation Brands, AB InBev, Nestle Purina Petcare and Proctor and Gamble positioned Vestal well to navigate the market’s reaction to the pandemic. 

“While some design firms are turning to contract employees during the pandemic, Vestal has been well-positioned to add talent and expand its capabilities. We see a strong construction market on the horizon and are more prepared than ever before for the opportunities it will create, ” said Dale Carlton, principal | vice president of project management for Vestal.

Recent projects won by Vestal include a bio-diesel production facility in the metro-east (STL), storage facilities in Shrewsbury and Fenton (Mo.) and multiple projects for a high-purity chemical manufacturer in Earth City, Mo.

Vestal has also been very active in its pursuit of several mega projects schedule to start in the 4th quarter of 2020. 

These successes have led Vestal to add 14 new team members since March 2020 and its continued efforts to hire additional talent.

About Vestal Corporation: Vestal is an internationally-recognized, strategic partnering firm providing specialty architecture, multi-disciplinary engineering and construction consulting through its Integrated Project Design approach. 

St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station wins ENR project award

The St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station, constructed by McCarthy Building Companies, has earned top recognition in the “2020 Best Projects” competition, sponsored by ENR Midwest, the regional edition of national publication Engineering News-Record (ENR).

A panel of industry judges selected the aquarium as Best Project in the “Renovation/Restoration” category. The annual competition honors building teams for achievement in several areas including overcoming challenges and teamwork, safety, innovation & contributions to the industry, construction quality & craftsmanship and function & aesthetic quality of the design.

Built within the footprint of a 19th century iron umbrella train shed, the St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station is a signature element of a $187-million redevelopment of the National Historic Landmark structure.

The 120,000-SF, two-story attraction brings together more than 13,000 animals, from 257 species, in 44 exhibits that provide visitors with immersive perspectives of underwater life in the world’s rivers, streams and oceans.

Using advanced technology and ingenuity, the construction team overcame formidable construction challenges while protecting and preserving the property’s original columns, footings, foundation, underground piping and other infrastructure.

Thirty-two “Best Projects” winners were selected from a list of 112 entries submitted from across the 10-state Midwest region. Winners will be featured in-depth in the December edition of ENR Midwest and honored at a virtual award event in December.

“The renovation/restoration and highway/bridge categories had some of the most competitive fields we have ever seen and most categories were difficult to winnow down to just one best project winner and award of merit,” noted ENR Midwest editor, Jeff Yoders, in the article announcing the winners.

For more details and to view the complete list of 2020 ENR Midwest Best Projects winners, visit https://www.enr.com/blogs/10-midwest-musings/post/50027-enr-midwest-selects-32-best-project-winners-for-2020

Bond Architects receives WBE Certification

Bond Architects, a nationally-recognized St. Louis architecture and interior design firm, has been officially certified by the State of Missouri’s Office of Equal Opportunity as a Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE).

Since its inception in 1992, Bond Architects has been committed to promoting and supporting diversity in the A/E/C field. The firm has partnered with a wide range of MBE/DBE/WBE firms throughout its history and values long-standing relationships with diverse professional service firms and vendors.

“The Bond Architects team appreciates and understands the value diverse suppliers bring to the table and is honored to be a part of this community. We are thankful to have obtained our WBE certification and hope that it will also benefit our partners and associates for their continued growth and success," said Susan Pruchnicki, principal-In-charge at Bond Architects.

As a woman-owned business with 80 percent of their employees consisting of female architects and staff in 2020, Bond Architects prioritized obtaining an official WBE certification to not only solidify its commitment to diversity, but also sto upport clients in their mission to inspire inclusion, connection and collaboration in their professional service firms.

“Having our WBE certification not only allows us to better meet the needs of our clients but it also affirms our unwavering commitment to be a place of equal opportunity and employment in an industry that has historically lacked significant involvement of professional women,” Pruchnicki said.

Both firm partners, Susan Pruchnicki and Art Bond, remain actively involved with the firm and its day-to-day operations.

Bond Architects is located at 222 South Central Avenue, Suite 501, in St. Louis, Mo. For more information about Bond Architects’ commitment to diversity and its projects and services, visit BondArchitectsInc.com.

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.

Brinkmann completes Promise Christian Academy, Leonardo DRS

Brinkmann Constructors recently completed construction on a new school for Promise Christian Academy in Town and Country, Mo.

The 16,000 SF, special needs school includes eight classrooms, an occupational therapy room, speech therapy room, gym, teacher workspace and offices and a commercial kitchen. The space can accommodate up to 64 students.

Brinkmann worked closely with Promise to help design and manage the project to stay within the fundraising budget. Through constant communication and collaboration, the design-build team delivered a quality, alluring building, on schedule and within budget.

“The Brinkmann team used creative thinking to get this project under budget so the build could move forward. One of the biggest tactics implemented was the use of tilt-up construction. This eliminated exterior steel, metal stud framing and sheathing and a high dollar exterior façade, saving the client time and money. Working with ACI (Boland Architects), the new design provided a low-maintenance final product while keeping the desired curb appeal and exterior finishes,” said Wes French, Brinkmann project manager.

"Brinkmann Constructors not only employs the best of the best, but they also employ personnel who took the time to understand the special needs community and embrace our mission. This created top-notch teamwork that made the project flow seamlessly. Brinkmann Constructors has left a lasting impression on the hearts and minds of the Promise community. We will forever embrace them as a part of our family and a part of our story," said Meredith Heintz, head of school.

Promise Christian Academy is a private, faith-based school that takes a therapeutic approach to special education with specific programs designed to meet all of its students’ individual needs.

Brinkmann Constructors also recently wrapped up construction on a new 170,000 SF engineering development and light manufacturing facility in Bridgeton, Mo. for Leonardo DRS, a U.S.-based defense contractor.

This Leonardo DRS facility will be home to the business unit headquarters; housing leadership, management and a centralized back office functionality. The space will give the organization the flexibility to expand with minimal impact to the current workforce.

Brinkmann served as the GC and also provided interior build-out for the warehouse, including a best-in-class engineering, research and development laboratory and office space. Construction finished two weeks ahead of schedule and included a phased schedule to allow for DRS to begin installing furniture before the building was completed. The architect on the project was TR,i Architects.

Landco launches home office upgrade service

As months of pandemic work-from-home arrangements start to show the strain, St. Louis-area commercial contractor Landco Construction has a solution: REMOTivate yourself and your employees with home office makeovers.

Landco president Linda Bernhard said its new service can help companies lean into an uncertain situation with improvements that keep employees motivated and efficient.

“It could be a long time before we get back to normal. Everybody has people working from home - sitting at their dining room table or down in the basement surrounded by 2x4 studs and raw insulation. A proper home office can make them more productive,” Bernhard said.

Landco specializes in constructing contemporary, effective and environmentally aware workspaces for many St. Louis companies and campuses, including several Fortune 200 organizations.

Bernhard says that when the coronavirus struck earlier this year, it quickly became clear that the shelter-in-place orders were putting many clients’ construction plans on indefinite hold.

“They didn’t know how long they’d be keeping employees working remotely,” Bernhard said.

So, her team came up with REMOTivate, a service it could offer to both employers and employees to improve the work environment for the remote workforce.

Landco’s bundled offerings bring home office functionality to work-from-home locales. They range from the very simple -- a desk and chair -- to more premium packages that could include a sit/stand desk, executive chair, acoustical panels, even light construction such as installing a privacy door.

“We can make this package work for everybody. Employers can offer it as a perk to their workers, maybe to help transition them to permanent remote work. “They may be looking at downsizing their campus, giving up some rental space to save on their rent,” Bernhard said

Employees may treat themselves in order to be more efficient and comfortable in their home offices -- or may upgrade an employer’s offered renovation with extras of their own.

Landco is working with its partners, CI Select, Golterman & Sabo (G&S Architectural Products), Request Electric Inc. and Automated Data Systems, to put together a menu of standardized offerings that can be ordered easily and delivered quickly.

“We need products that are turnkey -- that we can turn around in three to five days,” Bernhard said.

Landco employees will observe stringent safety protocols, maintaining social distancing when they deliver and assemble the REMOTivate orders.

And it’s a service she believes will continue to be attractive to some clients, even when the initial COVID-19 crisis abates.

“What we’ve been encountering over the past few months has opened everybody’s eyes to a new way of working. If employers can save rent, if employees can work from home, I do see a need (of) continuing for this," Bernhard said.

CRE project designs 'on point' for future

The evolution of commercial building design over the last few years to include more open space, rich amenities, safety and tech-driven concepts is proving to be a well-thought-out and timely choice, especially when considering the current and future demands and regulations resulting from COVID-19.

Building spaces, notably office and other shared spaces, are in the spotlight now more than ever before, prompting the focus of discussion for the St. Louis CCIM virtual meeting last week.

Tony Kennedy with Colliers International, moderated the meeting; panelists included Larry Chapman, president and CEO of Seneca Commercial Real Estate; Korey Baker, associate director of market development for Compstak; Toby Heddinghaus, president of Gray Design Group; Scott Haley, managing director of US Capital Development and Tim Gaidus, senior project designer at HOK.

“When Seneca embarked on the Edge series of buildings, the focus was on creating an environment that employees want to be a part of, which in turn, helps the companies that become our tenants compete successfully for, and to be able to retain the best and brightest talent. These designs easily adapt to the changing demands of the occupants and are highly compatible with the new COVID-19 paradigm,” said Chapman.

Edge at West Park, located just west of the I-270/Olive Blvd. interchange, provides a flexible, employee-centric environment which maximizes the building’s common areas to provide amenities critical to helping companies recruit and retain the best talent, regardless of market conditions. FM Global, a worldwide insurance company based at Maryville Centre Office Park, is set to move into the top floor of the four-story building in November.

“Edge at West and Forsyth Pointe are two of the more prominent office developments planned in St. Louis County right now. With some uncertainty in the market surrounding COVID-19, it's refreshing to see these projects advancing on schedule. I'm very confident that US Capital Development and Seneca will deliver top quality buildings to the market that adapt to the needs of the users, both in terms of the current pandemic and also their long- term ability to recruit and retain top tier talent, “ said Jim Loft, president of St. Louis CCIM and executive vice president of Gershman Commercial Real Estate.

The recently completed EDGE@BRDG (BioResearch & Development Growth) Park, an innovative 160,000 SF, four-story lab and office building on the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center campus in Creve Coeur, Mo., is now finished and its first lead tenant, Benson Hill Biosystems, one of the fastest growing leaders in the field of plant sciences, has just moved in.

Forsyth Pointe, located on Forsyth Blvd. between Brentwood Blvd. and Meramec Ave., consists of two towers totalling nearly 1million SF of space, half of which will be dedicated for office use and the other half to a 1,250-spot garage. The west tower is slated to have 202,054 SF of space across 14 floors and the east tower to have 255,114 SF of space across 16 floors, two floors of which will be for the underground parking garage. Over 24,000 SF of retail is planned.

Other forward- thinking design elements mentioned that are currently being implemented in building design include:

• Walkable environments- fresh air spaces with plenty of distance

• Wide open staircases

• Refuge areas

• Phone booths

• Huddle rooms

• Roll up (garage) doors

• Touchless automatic door opening

• Restroom doors with no handles

• Plasma filtered air

• More robust cleaning services

• Anti-microbial coatings

• Hand sanitizer stations

• Biometrics instead of touchpoint

• Robotics and automation

• Holograms/virtual reality

The next St. Louis CCIM event is scheduled for September 15th from 11:15 am - 1:00 pm at the St. Louis Club in Clayton, Mo. For more info, please visit https://ccimstl.com/events/.

9-Mile food truck garden set to bloom July third

Missouri’s first food truck garden, 9 Mile Garden, is set to open on July 3, 2020 at 9375 Gravois Rd. in Affton, Mo.

Developed by Guerrilla Street Food co-founder Brian Hardesty and Seneca Commercial Real Estate, 9 Mile Garden brings a family-focused entertainment district to the St. Louis area; offering local foods and drinks alongside outdoor movies, live music and performances, community events and more.

Previously known as Chapman Ventures, the company redeveloped Affton Plaza and began working on ideas for phase two of the project — which turned into 9 Mile Garden.

The garden plans to host five trucks for lunch, seven trucks for dinner and nine trucks for special events, according to Hardesty. The garden is also equipped with its own bar, The Canteen, who plans to serve 40 taps of local craft beer, wine, small batch cocktails, cold brew coffee, kombucha and more—all on draft.

“It’s such a cool concept and will truly be great for the area.  BEX really overcame the inclement weather challenges of late winter and early spring to get this project completed on time. That meant capitalizing on the good days we had and working overtime and weekends (to deliver on schedule),” said Ethan Bruckerhoff, superintendent for BEX Construction Services, who was responsible for the GC on the structural components of the project.

The full list of participating food trucks includes Balkan Treat Box, FarmTruk, Seoul Taco, Guerrilla Street Food, Doggie Mac’s, Sugarfire 64, Essentially Fries, Wok and Roll, The Saucy Iguana, Ukraft, Truckeria del Valle, Burgers STL, Wayno’s, Blues Fired Pizza, Spud Shack, The Crooked Boot, Honest to Goodness, Sedara Sweets, Zia’s on the Hill, Super Smokers, CJ’s Deli, Tastebudz Express, Heavy Smoke BBQ, Fire & Ice Cream Truck, Truck Norris, Scoops & More, Poptimism, Graze, Smokey’s Q, and Twisted Tacos.

Live bands will play every Friday night and a jumbo outdoor movie screen will show movies every Saturday night during warm weather months. Family-friendly games, such as pickleball and air hockey, board games and theme nights will all be included. The garden grounds and The Canteen can also be rented for private events.

The grounds of the food truck garden will open for lunch on Friday, July 3rd, and continue operating for both lunch and dinner service through the weekend. The grand-opening week will feature several live musical performances and charitable events. The garden and its staff will follow health and safety guidelines set by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and St. Louis County, officials said.

GARDEN HOURS

Lunch: Mon-Sat, 11am-2pm

Dinner: Tue-Sat, 5pm-9pm

Special events every Friday & Saturday night

CANTEEN HOURS

Mon-Thu, 11am-midnight

Fri-Sat, 11am-1am

Other partners on the project include KOLB Contracting and Coralic Architecture.

City Foundry STL gears up for debut, despite official opening date

St. Louis' $220 million mixed-used development, City Foundry STL, is gearing up for their highly-anticipated debut, despite an official opening date.

The 15-acre site includes 122,000 SF of food hall and public market space, 107,000 SF of creative office space and 105,000 SF of retail shops - all rolled into its own midtown destination on Forest Park Ave between Vandeventer and Spring streets.

Steve Smith, CEO of the Lawrence Group, the property's developer, has reinvented the former Century Electric site with inspiration from similar developments - like Chelsea Market in New York City and Krog Street Market in Atlanta. 

Unlike a typical outdoor mall, the majority of vendors in the development are independently-owned, small businesses - as well as a few emerging concepts new to St. Louis - who will make their debut in the nearly 100-year-old foundry structure. The food hall and public market will bring together more than twenty different local chefs, each with their own unique-food-concept "mini restaurants,” as well as the other vendors in the food space.

The collective City Foundry STL team sees the public market as an opportunity to give local chefs, restaurateurs, artisans and more a platform to rebuild from COVID-19.

“Our local hospitality industry defines the current culture and uniqueness of our city. It’s also the most vulnerable during this time. Our hope is that City Foundry can be a place for ideas to incubate and grow into a viable business; a place where new concepts will be surrounded by industry leaders to learn from and succeed,” said City Foundry STL asset manager, Will Smith.

Anchor tenants include grocery store Fresh Thyme Farmers Market and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, which marks its first metro area location.

Other tenants include: 18Rails|The Venue @City Foundry STL, Buenos Aires Cafe, Bullhorn, City Taco Shack, Fassler Hall, Gateway Blend, Good Day, Great Rivers Greenway, Hello Poke, Orion Genomics, Press Waffle Company and Punch Bowl Social.

An on-site hiking-and-biking trail connecting Forest Park to downtown St. Louis is in the works via Great Rivers Greenway, the sponsoring regional agency. Free parking will also be available, with over 1,000 parking spaces on site.

City Foundry STL continues to progress on construction of the overall development. An exact opening timeline will be determined and announced soon, based on recommendations from health officials as well as the comfort level of future customers.

Prospective tenant interest has returned to pre-covid levels, according to the development team, with 95% of office space leased and 65% of the development pre-leased overall.

For more information on leasing, please contact Rob Soete at rob@cityfoundrystl.com.

Centene Community Ice Center's time to shine

It's time to shine for Centene Community Ice Center, the first new indoor ice complex for the St. Louis region in decades.

The $82 million facility, which opened to the public in September 2019, is prepared and excited for the recent spike in the area’s youth hockey programs, driven, in part, by the St. Louis Blues’ “Hockey STL 2020” campaign.

Led by the not-for-profit St. Louis Legacy Ice Foundation as a catalyst for the development of the Maryland Park Lake District, the public-private initiative was launched to help bring much-needed ice skating facilities to the region, provide recreational opportunities and drive economic growth through sports tourism. 

"The Centene Community Ice Center is the result of legacies and countless other efforts to create a collaboration between four state, county and local governmental agencies, five major not-for-profit tenants and the NHL’s St. Louis Blues Hockey Club. A unique and massive collaboration of public funding, private donations, tenant contributions and industrial revenue bonds were pooled to make this vision a reality. And in the end, over 1 million visitors will visit our facility annually bringing over $20 million in economic impact each year,” said Patrick Quinn of the St. Louis Legacy Ice Foundation.

The collaborative effort to create the multipurpose home for the St. Louis Blues and the surrounding community included design-build partners Mike Kress and Tom Proebstle with Generator Studio and John Komlos, Matt Sander and Jeff Cook with ARCO Construction.

In addition to three indoor sheets, the fourth outdoor rink is multipurpose, intended for winter pond hockey and year-round community events. In warmer weather the rink transforms into a covered 4,400-spectator amphitheater operated by Live Nation.

The center houses the new Mercy Medical Sports Performance Center, the Bauer Skills Training Center, a restaurant, a grab-and-go market, concession stands for every rink and separate locker rooms for the public, Lindenwood and the Blues. 

To increase inclusivity, ARCO and Generator ensured the center was accessible for a broad range of abilities with all three fully adaptable indoor ice rinks. St. Louis Blues Sled Hockey, Blues Blind Hockey and the St. Louis Blues Special Hockey, all call the ice center home. 

“At any point in time, our facility could be playing host to 2,500 fans for a college hockey game or international figure skating event in the main arena, while in another arena we are hosting the highest levels of amateur hockey while a learn-to-play session is happening on yet another ice sheet and all the while a live-band plays rink-side for 500+ kids, teens and adults enjoying a public skating on the expansive covered, outdoor rink,” Quinn said.

The multi-sheet facility is home to multiple tenants including the Blues, Lindenwood University men’s and women’s hockey teams, the AAA Blues and the St. Louis Lady Cyclones.

With a strong emphasis on being a community asset, the majority of available ice time at Centene Community Ice Center will be dedicated to residents, youth, high school and college teams. 

Centene Ice also offers public skating and lessons, various hockey programs for kids, youth and adults and may be rented out for special events. For more information, you may visit their website at www.legacyice.org.