While many public agencies and architectural firms are gearing up for green design and LEED certification, developers and owners are slower to embrace the trend.

The Womble Carlyle Construction Blog addresses “Why more people don’t build green” in an April 13 post.

Here are the highlights:

• more expensive
• takes more time to build
• few incentives for developers
• low public demand
• absence of research on the impacts and benefits
• confusion over building standards

Here in St. Louis, The Lawrence Group Architects has successfully renovated The Security Building as a green historic building and is in the process of applying for LEED certification. This year, the Lawrence Group is increasing its number of LEED accredited staff to 40, five times the previous number.

The Lawrence Group occupies several floors of the building and is leasing the rest. As far as we know, the Security Building is the only LEED-designed space available for lease in St. Louis. Kudos to The Lawrence Group for making this project a success!

The Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) has announced its annual call for Project Achievement Award nominations.

The Lambert St. Louis International Airport W1W Airport Expansion was honored last year. Tony Thompson of Kwame Building Group, St. Louis, accepted the award as part of the SPK Team. Other winning projects in 2006 were the Los Angeles Unified School District and the Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Burbank, CA.

To be eligible, projects, programs or program phases must be completed between June 16, 2006 and June 15, 2007. The competition is open to CMAA members and non-members, and the 2007 awards will be presented on October 9 during the CMAA National Conference & Trade Show in Chicago, Illinois.

Deadline for submissions is Friday, June 15, 2007 at 5:00 pm ET. For more information, visit the CMAA Web site.

The Missouri Department of Economic Development has approved four St. Louis projects for a total of $2,539,070 in Brownfield Redevelopment tax credits. The credits will be used to renovate and rehabilitate contaminated commercial or industrial sites that are abandoned or underutilized.

Tudor Retail Partners, LLC - up to $216,324 in remediation tax credits to redevelop the Tudor Building at 1901-1933 Washington Ave. into retail and commercial office space, creating 65 jobs. The property is proposed as “blighted” by the city of St. Louis and is under a proposed redevelopment plan. Over 90 percent of the building has not been occupied for at least 10 years.

1911 Locust Partners, LLC, - remediation tax credits for up to $592,340 to redevelop a two-story commercial warehouse building at 1911 Locust St. and a vacant lot at 1921 Locust St. into residential, retail and commercial office space, creating 53 jobs. The building has been underutilized for at least 10 years and the lot at 1921 Locust St. has been abandoned for over 30 years.

MB Lofts, LLC - up to $1,424,818 in remediation tax credits to redevelop the Metropolitan Building, 500 North Grand Blvd. into hotel, retail and commercial office space, creating a projected 102 jobs. The 97,078 square foot building has been vacant for at least five years.

1426 Washington Avenue, LLC - remediation tax credits up to $305,588 to redevelop the Monkey Building Building, 1426-1430 Washington Ave. into retail and commercial office space, creating 87 jobs. The 30,000 square foot building has been underutilized for at least 10 years and has been occupied only by an 800 square foot real estate office in recent years.

From RE Business Online - Construction manager Kwame Building Group has completed work on the Olivette Vantage Credit Union Branch in St. Louis. The 5,500-square-foot building is the fourth in a series of Vantage Credit Union projects with Kwame serving as construction manager.

Walton Construction has begun renovations to “The Museum Store” located at the Gateway Arch and operated by the non-profit Jefferson National Parks Association.

The $425,000 project includes the demolition and renovation of the existing 3,000-square-foot “The Museum Store” and support office located in the base of the structure originally dedicated in 1966. Work includes new finishes, custom millwork, signage, mechanical, electrical and fire protection. Walton also will install store fixtures, office furniture and media monitors.

Prior to the new store renovations, Walton will construct a temporary store in the adjacent lobby, installing a temporary floor, access ramp and photo, data and electrical service.

Construction of the new store is expected to be completed by February 20, 2007.

On Friday, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay’s development director Barb Geisman, and Alderman Fred Wessels, 13th ward, presented the City’s Board of Aldermen a $59 million TIF financing proposal for the $387 million Ballpark Village to be developed by the Cardinals and The Cordish Company.

Geisman reported that, after the TIF, the city should receive an average of $3.5 to $4.5 million in revenue annually over the next 23 years, with city schools getting an estimated $2.3 million annually. Other public financing includes $27 million in state tax breaks, $25 million from special taxing districts and $5 million in public bonds bought by the developers. Another hearing will be held January 31 and the Cardinals hope the project will break ground this summer.