Ladue School District kicks off $126 million building program

S. M. Wilson & Co. has officially broken ground on Ladue School District’s Future-Ready Schools building program in St. Louis, Mo.

S. M. Wilson is serving as the Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) for the district’s $126M Proposition L bond referendum, passed by the community in April. Projects include renovations and additions to Ladue Middle School, Old Bonhomme Elementary School and Spoede Elementary School.

On June 16, students, parents, staff, board members and residents from the local community came out to celebrate three separate groundbreaking ceremonies to mark the beginning of construction.

“We are excited to celebrate these milestones with our community because that’s who this is about: our community,” said Ladue School District superintendent, Dr. Jim Wipke. “This is a significant step toward providing the future-ready schools that all of our students deserve and sharing our gratitude with a community that invests in the education of its children.”

S. M. Wilson has been working with Ladue Schools for 13 years, serving as the Construction Manager for four building programs. Previous projects include construction of the district’s Early Childhood Learning Center, renovations and additions at Ladue Middle School, Reed Elementary School, Conway Elementary School and Old Bonhomme Elementary School. Most recently, S. M. Wilson completed the $67M renovation and addition to Ladue Horton Watkins High School.

“We are honored to work with Ladue School District once again. Our goal is to deliver beautiful schools for the students, staff and community to support the District’s mission: ‘Together, we will empower every student to become a passionate learner and achieve his or her highest potential,” said S. M. Wilson project director, Mike Hanner.

Ittner Architects and Perkins+Will are the project architects. Construction is set to be complete by the end of 2023.

Riechmann Bros. and Poettker Construction break ground on John Deere dealership

Riechmann Bros. broke ground on a new John Deere dealership location on February 23rd, alongside Poettker Construction Company, who is serving as the design-build contractor for the 15-acre development in Metro East.

“We pride ourselves on having a team of high-quality technicians and the largest parts inventory for same-day services. This new facility will allow greater accessibility for our customers,” said Bill Riechmann, CEO of Riechmann Bros.

The 34,000-SF facility will be located only a few miles from the original Breese, Ill. location built in 1988, providing ample space to accommodate customers, help accelerate training programs and increase employee retention.

The pre-engineered metal building will feature a canopy to match John Deere’s signature brand colors, showcase brick and stone wainscoting, epoxy floor finish and mezzanines for additional storage. The new facility will feature:

- an inside wash bay, providing a location to wash equipment while escaping the challenges of winter and freezing temperatures;

- a corporate training room to host technician and sales training with John Deere;

- private offices for the management and sales teams, allowing for confidentiality amongst customers; and

- two separate vehicle maintenance areas for agriculture and lawn care equipment.

Multiple energy-efficient elements such as LED lighting and extra insulation to control heating and cooling loses have been incorporated into the design.

“Poettker Construction is excited to work on a project that will contribute to the economic development and investment in the Breese community,” said Keith Poettker, president of Poettker Construction Company.

The anticipated completion date for the new Riechmann Bros. location is late 2021, just in time for their 100th anniversary.

New dermatology, skin cancer center breaks ground in O'Fallon

Holland Construction Services has broke ground at 331 Regency Park Drive in O’Fallon, Ill., for the new construction of Metro East Dermatology & Skin Cancer Center, which is expected to be complete by summer 2021.

O’Fallon Mayor Herb Roach, who attended the recent groundbreaking ceremony, said he’s proud to welcome Metro East Dermatology to the O’Fallon business community.

“Through my experience in business and serving as mayor, there are typically three essential things needed to ensure a successful business. The first, a good building site that will support your growing business, the second is an excellent and capable group of people helping you construct that business, and most importantly, a dedicated and highly-skilled team of people leading that business. I have no doubt Metro East Dermatology will have tremendous success in our O’Fallon community and will attract business throughout our region,” Mayor Roach said.

Metro East Dermatology offers cutting-edge surgical treatment for skin cancer as well as specialized medical dermatology. Owner, Dr. Jamie McGinness, specializes in Mohs surgery, a highly-effective and precise treatment for most forms of skin cancer, with an unprecedented cure rate of up to 99 percent.

“We selected Holland because of their reputation of integrity, and because they have a tremendous amount of experience with similar medical facilities in this area,” said Dr. McGinness.

As one of the only fellowship-trained Mohs surgeon in the Metro East, he and his wife, Jackie McGinness, FNP, established their practice in Shiloh (Ill.) three years ago and decided it was time to build a new, permanent space as their business continues to grow.

“We feel very honored to have been selected for this project not only because it is an exciting and needed development for the community but because one of our own employees recently came here for treatment,” said Holland Construction president, Mike Marchal.

The 12,000-SF building is designed by ACI Boland Architects.

Jaguar Land Rover rolling into Chesterfield

Chesterfield, Mo. has another new business coming to town - Jaguar Land Rover Chesterfield, which is set to open its doors in spring 2021.

New construction began last week on the 32,000-SF, seven-acre site at 1 Jaguar Land Rover Way, marked by a groundbreaking ceremony with city officials and other stakeholders in attendance.

The new dealership will mirror Jaguar Land Rover’s current brand imaging of luxury and state-of-the-art craftsmanship. It will be the first facility owned by Imperial Motors outside of the Chicago area.

Dealer/principal Jordan Aron worked with the City of Chesterfield to ensure the aesthetics of the building would blend with the surrounding community. The site was chosen for its convenient location to serve customers in several counties in the St. Louis metro area.

“This is an exciting time of growth for our family and our business. We remain highly committed to providing our customers with the highest level of care and attention. The same we have been doing since 1953,” Aron said.

The new dealership will have 18 service bays with dedicated equipment and staff for express service and maintenance. The waiting room will include complimentary Wi-Fi, several choices of seating options and quiet workspace.

“We are extremely happy to be part of the Chesterfield community. People here want to feel good about the people and the company where they do business. That’s exactly the kind of market we thrive in,” Aron said.

The company plans to hire a staff of managers, sales and service personnel.

“Brinkmann is proud to work with Imperial Motors to bring Jaguar Land Rover to the Chesterfield Valley,” said Kendrick Lathum, project director for Brinkmann Constructors, the general contractor on the project.

“The addition of this dealership to the area continues the strong economic growth in Chesterfield,” Lathum said.