Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has contracted with Kwame Building Group Inc. for construction management of various renovations and new construction projects related to the university’s facilities master plan.

KWAME will act as an advisor to the University by reviewing project program, design and construction phases relative to issues of cost, schedule, constructability and quality control.

Source: Commercial Journal St. Louis

St. Louis-based Walton Construction Co. has completed construction of a $15 million Wal-Mart Supercenter located in Jacksonville, Illinois, according to REBusiness Online. The grand opening for the 200,000-square-foot retail center was held last week. During construction, 90 percent of the project subcontractors hired by Walton were residents of the Jacksonville community.

Source: REBusiness Online

Perhaps the most accurate word for predicting the construction economy in 2008 is “tumultuous,” according to Ken Simonson, the chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC).

Simonson reports that some nonresidential segments such as energy will grow, while others such as lodging will slow or decline. Diesel fuel, copper and steel prices will increase but a slumping demand for gypsum and other residential construction products may help moderate building costs.

Labor accounts for roughly half the cost of a construction project, and shortages mean higher wage. Simonson predicts that some crafts may experience labor shortages, but workers in the residential specialty trades will be plentiful.

Overall, Simonson predicts overall nonresidential building cost increases of less than 6% and wage increases from 4.5% to 5.5%.

Kwame Building Group of St. Louis played a key role as program manager in helping St. Louis Community College achieve LEED Gold certification on its new Wildwood campus. The project received the certification this month.

The $18 million 75,000-square-foot St. Louis Community College Wildwood campus is the largest community college facility in the United States to receive U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification.

“Having KWAME as our full-time, on-site construction manager on a job of this size and complexity insured that the work progressed as it should and that all prerequisites were met to qualify for LEED,” said Carla Chance, vice chancellor of business and administration services at St. Louis Community College.

“Without question, KWAME was a key player in our LEED Gold accomplishment,” she said.

The new campus construction included high-tech classrooms, a science lab, faculty and administrative offices, an art studio, and a bookstore. The rooftop was planted with 4,000-square-feet of sedum, a drought-tolerant plant that reflects heat in the summer and insulates the building from cold in the winter. The facility will be 30 percent more energy efficient than a typical code-compliant building of the same size.

Nonresidential construction starts were down 13.1% in January as compared to January 2007, according to Reed Construction Data. Monthly starts have been slowing since October 2007 and were down down 8% from December 2007

In 2007, nonresidential starts were up 10.6% as compared to the 2006.

The slowdown in nonresidential construction starts is expected to continue into the summer and then recover enough to end 2008 at about the same level as 2007. Commercial building starts are expected to be impacted most by an abrupt slowdown in Gross Domestic Product in the first half of 2008, according to Reed.

Statistics show that the education and health care sectors are both weakening, while starts in public safety buildings and cultural/religious facilities have not declined. Construction starts for heavy/engineering projects were down 13% from last January.

Source: Reed Construction Data

St. Louis-based Lawrence Group and Austin Tao & Associates have merged, combining two successful, well-respected St. Louis design practices that have been teaming on national and international projects for many years.

The Lawrence Group board of directors approved the acquisition as a move to expand services both nationally and internationally. Austin Tao joined Lawrence Group as a principal and is responsible for the firm’s growing international work.

“We’re picking up Austin’s Beijing, China, office as part of this acquisition,” said Lawrence Group CEO Steve Smith.

“The combination of our practices will allow us to more effectively grow our international business, where we both already have significant design assignments.”