Building Partnerships

S. M. Wilson & Co. 2 BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS

About the Cover —S. M. Wilson & Co. is proud ofthe beautiful, newly renovatedheadquarters for the Big Bro-thers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri. An amazing transfor-mation on the corner of Grandand Olive in downtown St.Louis, Mo. has taken place. Theonce abandoned F. W. Wool-worth building, the new BBBSheadquarters, is now a brilliantexample of historic renovation.

Front Cover Photo - Courtesy of Sam Fentress


Features12 What Can Green Do For You?

Determining the Cost Impact of a Sustainable Building Project

17 The Pursuit of a More Diverse Industry S. M. Wilson Takes the Lead

Market SegmentsCommercial

14 Confronting ChallengesObstacles on City Municipal Project Solved Through Pre-Construction Planning and Collaboration

Healthcare

9 Attention to DetailPatient Tower Additions Present Unique Difficulties

Historic Renovation

5 The Woolworth Historic RenovationMerging Past and Present for a New Future

Education

20 Building LessonsS. M. Wilson Renovates Fontbonne University Science Center

Table of Contents

20

12

9

5


The Upside of DownsizingFrom Scott Wilson, President

he construction industry has been hit hard by the economic re-cession that has gripped our nation over the past 12–18 months.Everyone in this industry—including S. M. Wilson—has been ad-

versely affected by the slowdown in construction activity and the creditcrunch in the commercial real estate and retail industries. We’ve beenthrough some pretty tough times together in the last two years and nodoubt there will be others in the future, but as I write this, I am moreconfident than ever that 2011 and 2012 will bring improvements toour industry.

This edition of Building Partnerships points out some of the bright spots we are seeing onour radar screen. Healthcare and education continue to provide opportunities for us to buildnew facilities. Here are some great examples:

The recently completed $205 million BJC Institute of Health at Washington University forWashington University School of Medicine and BJC HealthCare was the single largest project inour company’s history, while the new 89,000-square-foot Duncan Wing patient tower at AltonMemorial Hospital opened in March after completing the rigorous state health inspection in asingle day.

A $10 million renovation and addition project at Fontbonne University and major building pro-grams for the Clayton School District in Missouri and Mascoutah Community Unit School District19 in Illinois show continued strength in these markets on both sides of the Mississippi River.

Despite these successes, we have had to downsize our staff and streamline our operations,which has not been a pleasant experience for any of us. But as the clouds of the economicstorm begin to clear, we find ourselves well positioned to survive and thrive in the years ahead.We have had the pleasure of developing and retaining an outstanding staff to manage our busi-ness and build our projects, and we now have a more effective organizational model, internalprocesses and procedures second to none, and a focused strategic plan in place.

And, two other very important points that will help us spring into action when the economyturns are: we have never been more financially stable, and we have the best portfolio of com-pleted projects we could ever hope for. Come on economy, “bring it on!”

We are starting to see the calm settle in after the storm, and we’re once again moving in theright direction. I hope you are riding the storm out as well.

Your partner in success,

Scott WilsonPresident

T

Building Partnerships is published by Oser-Bentley Custom Publishers, LLC, a division of Oser Communications Group, Inc.,1877 N. Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715. Phone (520) 721-1300, fax (520) 721-6300, www.oser.com. Oser-Bentley Custom Publish-ers, LLC specializes in creating and publishing custom magazines. Editorial comments: Karrie Welborn, [email protected]. Please call or fax for a new subscription, change of address, or single copy. This publication may not be reproduced in part or inwhole without the express written permission of Oser-Bentley Custom Publishers, LLC. To advertise in an upcoming issue of thispublication, please contact us at (520) 721-1300 or visit us on the web at www.oser-bentley.com. June 2010

Building Partnerships is a publication from S. M. Wilson& Co. It contains informative industry features aimed atdevelopers, architects, and engineering firms, as wellas prospective clients. The magazine also spotlights anumber of S. M. Wilson’s construction projects.

A publication from S. M. Wilson & Co.

Headquarters:2185 Hampton Ave.St. Louis, MO 63139

Phone: (314) 645-9595 Fax: (314) 645-1700

Visit us on the Web: www.smwilson.com

PresidentScott J. Wilson

Vice President Internal OperationsDale Miller

Vice President Field OperationsBernie Loft

Vice President Pre-Construction and EstimatingFred Jaeckle

Vice President/Project ExecutiveSteve Mast

Vice President Business DevelopmentAmy Berg

Chief Financial OfficerMike Dohle

Chief Information OfficerMark Patterson

Rollins Construction Company, LLC3024 N. Ridgeview Dr.Indianapolis, IN 46226

Phone: (317) 545-6104 Fax: (317) 545-7440

Visit us on the Web:www.rollinsconst.com

Vice President Project ExecutiveKort Cole Garry Rollins

BU I L D I NG

Partnerships

The grand staircase withterrazzo stairand wood railsalong with theterrazzo floorson the first floor were refurbished to look as they had intheir prime.

Historic RenovationS. M. Wilson & Co. 5 BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS

PHOTO - Newly renovated BigBrothers Big Sisters headquartersPhoto courtesy of Sam Fentress

The Woolworth Historic RenovationMerging Past and Present for a New FutureBy Amanda Bohnert

The ProjectAt the corner of Grand and Olive, in the heart of GrandCenter in downtown St. Louis, stands the newly renovatedBig Brothers Big Sisters building. The structure, originallybuilt in 1932 and known for decades as the F. W. Wool-worth building, was abandoned in 1993. Ongoing decayturned the once lovely edifice into a blight on the land-scape. Despite this descent into disorder, the buildingwas registered as a historic building, and as such, thehistoric integrity of the structure was a requirement ofrenovation. S. M. Wilson & Co. took great pride in return-ing the dilapidated and abused building to the look andfeel of its past, while bringing it up-to-date in codeand materials.

Challenges & ResolutionsAs a historically registered building, much care had tobe taken to restore the building without changing thebuilding’s essence. The conditions of this particular his-toric renovation required the exterior window profile andthe exterior marquis be retained. And although the proj-ect required completely gutting the building interior, afew historic items were retained and restored to theiroriginal luster. The grand staircase with terrazzo stair and

wood rails along with the terrazzo floors on the first floorwere refurbished to look as they had in their prime. Oncetransformed, the building became the headquarters forBig Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri, and hometo the new Kranzberg Cultural Arts Center with a blackbox theater and cabaret, and Craft Alliance art galleryand artist studio.

The renovation project consisted of a completeoverhaul of the three floors, plus a lower level. As Con-struction Manager, S. M. Wilson reviewed all planneddocuments for design development, schematics andother conceptual concerns. In addition to the com-plexity of the administrative side of the build, DaveO’Brien, Project Executive, noted that the actualconstruction phase of a renovation almost always hasunforeseen variables and unexpected experiences. BobLeimberg, Senior Project Manager, added, “When youdemo a wall you may not find what the plans say youwill find. Original plans are often difficult to obtain, andover decades many things change without beingdocumented.” Leimberg explained that it was importantin this kind of construction to try not to be surprisedby the surprises. The vital task is to find a way toeconomically and efficiently work around the challenge

The vital taskis to find a way

to economicallyand efficiently

work aroundthe challenge

of the daywithout loss ofmoney or time.

Historic Renovation

PHOTO — Lobby of the new Big Brothers Big Sisters headquarters

Photo courtesy of Sam Fentress


of the day without loss of money or time. This meansfinding creative solutions that are acceptable to theowner/developer and architect.

Due to the fact that many challenges lie beneath thesurface of a historical renovation, constructability plan-ning is key to a successful project. Constructability bestpractices were utilized by the project team, which con-sisted of McCormack Baron Salazar, the owner; TriversAssociates, Inc., the shell/core and Big Brothers Big Sis-ters’ architect; Christner, Inc., Craft Alliance’s architect;and Fox Architects, Grand Center’s architect, throughoutthe development and implementation of the project.These practices ensured the best value as well as a

constructible solution. During the pre-construction phase,construction team members were involved in the reviewof the documents as they were being developed. Sinceteam input with regard to constructability is vital, meet-ings were held to discuss all viable options. “In manycases,” stated O’Brien, “their suggestions were incorpo-rated into the design, warding off problems that may haveoccurred in the field where they are much harder andmore costly to resolve.” However, this project was especially challenging because the building had beenabandoned, thus site and utility conditions and codecompliance were not completely verified until the renovation began.

Why Historic Renovations?

The first official attempt to record America’s history through its buildings occurred in 1949 when the NationalTrust for Historic Preservation was created.1 The Trust’smission is to preserve and revitalize historic places andcommunities. The National Register of Historic Places wascreated in 1966, as a part of the National Historic Preser-vation Act. These actions provide legal standards forcategorizing buildings as historic. Financial standardsarrived when the first tax credit laws for historic renovationwere enacted in 1976. Tax incentives from municipal, stateand federal entities became the most economical way torestore a building. The complex process is administeredjointly through the National Park Service (NPS), State His-toric Preservation Offices (SHPOs) and the Internal RevenueService (IRS). Tax incentives are awarded for preservation,restoration, reconstruction and rehabilitation. The successof historic renovation lies as much in understanding the de-tailed paperwork as in the intricate, careful work itself.

It is important in historic renovation to understand reg-ulations regarding the future of the renovated building.Being aware of the “compatible use factor” of a property,

making sure deteriorated architectural features arerepaired rather than replaced, and using gentle methods(no sandblasting) when clearing portions of an agedbuilding are important. Understanding the differencebetween the terms “certified historic structure,” “certifiedrehabilitation” and “historic character” is equally impor-tant. These regulations are contained in The NationalHistoric Preservation Act (NHPA).2 The extensive details inthis act must be clearly understood in order to completecost-effective historic renovation projects. It is also vital tounderstand the details of the Federal Historic PreservationTax Incentives Program. There are often attendant localand state regulations that must be followed.

Historic renovation is always a complex and detailedendeavor, both in the literal renovation work and in theextensive legal knowledge and paperwork accountabilitythat must accompany all aspects of the project. This isespecially true when tax credits, or an official listing as ahistoric property, are desired by the owner. 1http://geography.about.com/od/urbaneconomicgeography/a/historicpreserv.htm 216 U.S.C. §§ 470a to 470w-6, www.preservationnation.org

“Big BrothersBig Sistersasked us to design a spacethat was vibrantand modern.”— Joseph BrinkmannAIA, LEED® AP, Project Manager with Trivers

Historic RenovationS. M. Wilson & Co. 7 BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS

PHOTO — The new Kranzberg Cultural Arts Center cabaretPhoto courtesy of Sam Fentress

One of the major challenges of the project was the re-mediation of the existing sloping floor. In fact, the build-ing had originally been constructed to follow the slopinggrade of Grand Boulevard, which resulted in a two footslope from north to south. To level the floor, an eight-inch,lightweight concrete slab was poured in the theater, anda wood floor was constructed over the existing terrazzofloor to create a level space for the art gallery.

“Although the renovation project was full of tough chal-lenges and changes, the team stuck with it and met ourgoals,” stated Becky James-Hatter, President & CEO ofBig Brothers Big Sisters Eastern Missouri.

The Future Meets the PastWhen renovating a historical building the project teammust often carefully balance modernization and his-torical integrity. For this project, Trivers Associates de-signed a space for Big Brothers Big Sisters thatmarried the past with modern and contemporary

features. “Big Brothers Big Sisters asked us to designa space that was vibrant and modern,” stated JosephBrinkmann, AIA, LEED® AP, Project Manager withTrivers. “It needed to appeal to the young adults thattypically volunteer with the organization and be wel-coming to the “Littles” and their families. It also hadto be done with a responsible budget, as would be ex-pected with any nonprofit organization.”

Another challenge with modernizing the space required some of the first floor structural columns to be removed and replaced with 2 foot by 40 foot

S. M. Wilson & Co. Historic Renovation Projects

Adams School & Community CenterCOCA-Center of Creative ArtsSMG Office BuildingVitagraph Building

“We cannot express enough

how much weenjoy our

new space;everythingturned out

beautifully.”— Becky James-Hatter

President & CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters

Eastern Missouri

Historic Renovation

PHOTOS — Upper left: BBBS Lunch Room

Photo courtesy of Sam FentressUpper right:

Craft Alliance art gallery


beams. These structural improvements provided an openarea large enough for the first floor theater space to havea more open environment and eliminate obstructed views.

The plans also called for an eventual 2,000-square-foot rooftop garden for entertaining. In order toaccommodate the added weight, approximately 50additional structural steel beams were added toreinforce the roof. A rooftop staircase and wheel chair liftshaft also had to be constructed. However, in order toensure that the new penthouse met the standards of thebuilding’s historical compliance a full scale mock-up ofthe penthouse was constructed.

Renovation, by its very nature, requires the skill ofblending what was, with what is. S. M. Wilson is well-equipped to handle the complexity of historic renova-tions and bring buildings that are endangered by age,abandonment or urban growth back to usefulness andbeauty, as was the case with the Woolworth Building. “Wecannot express enough how much we enjoy our newspace; everything turned out beautifully,” exclaimedBecky James-Hatter. BP

Partnerships for the Woolworth Building

ABR ContractorsAccurate Asphalt Paving Co.Acme ErectorsADE Consulting ServicesAhal Contracting Co.Appliance SolutionsBell Electrical ContractorsCharles E. Jarrell Contracting Co.Christner, Inc. Cintas Fire ProtectionConveyor and Drive Equipment CompanyD & T SpecialtiesDannix PaintingDuneman DemolitionElastizellEngraphix Architectural SignageFox ArchitectsGolterman & SaboGrimes Consulting, Inc Helitech Div of SlabmastersInterface Construction CorporationInterior Construction ServicesJames G. Staat Tuckpointing and WaterproofingJB Hutch Construction KPFF Consulting EngineersKuenz Heating & Sheet MetalLackey Sheet MetalLawrence Fabric StructuresLorenz & AssociatesLyon IndustriesMays Maune McWardMC Masonry & RestorationMissouri TerrazzoNiehaus Construction ServicesO.J. Laughlin PlumbingOverhead Door Company of St. LouisP & P Artec, Inc.Paul Abt Contract Floor CoveringsSebcoShades, Shades & MoreSlyman BrothersSt. Charles Glass & GlazingThyssenkrupp Elevator Co.Trivers Associates, Inc.United Fire Protection Systems

Healthcare facilities, especially patient toweradditions, pose some particularlyunique difficulties.


PHOTO — Duncan Wing of Alton Memorial HospitalPhoto courtesy of Alton Memorial Hospital

Healthcare

Attention to DetailPatient Tower Additions Present Unique DifficultiesBy Carrie Bui

very building project comes with its own set of chal-lenges, but healthcare facilities, especially patienttower additions, pose some particularly unique dif-

ficulties. Along with typical issues such as budget or site con-cerns, adding a patient tower to an existing hospital includesconcerns about tying in the addition to the existing building;connecting the mechanical, electrical and plumbing compo-nents; and infection control.

S. M. Wilson & Co. has extensive experience in health-care construction including patient tower additions. Theyspend months of pre-construction on these projects toensure that the structures are built efficiently, effectivelyand safely. “There is a significant amount of planningthat has to go in these facilities,” said Bill Wagner,Project Executive with S. M. Wilson.

The company recently completed a patient tower expan-sion for Alton Memorial Hospital in Alton, Ill., and they arecurrently working on a new parking garage and patient towerfor Boone Hospital Center in Columbia, Mo. as well as arenovation and expansion for Community Hospital South inIndianapolis, Ind. Often, the project is more complex thanbuilding an additional structure on the hospital campus.When the construction team begins planning for a project,they look at constructability issues such as potential com-plications with basements or underpinnings, if there’s a needto relocate utilities, what types of materials can be used, costimpact and more, said Wagner. S. M. Wilson had to workthrough specific issues for each of these projects, such as

how to tie in the tower to the existing hospital, connectingutilities, and balancing construction around a building thatneeded to remain in operation.

Community Hospital SouthThe Community Hospital South project is a four-year proj-ect consisting of a new five-story patient bed tower, six newoperating suites with support area, a new power plant ad-dition and renovation of much of the existing hospital. Oneof the most challenging issues with this site, said GarryRollins, Project Executive with Rollins Construction Com-pany LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of S. M. Wilson & Co.,was the need to relocate the major utilities feeding the hos-pital, including electrical, gas, water, fire protection linesand medical gas lines. The construction team tackled thechallenge with plenty of upfront meetings to decide how tomove new lines before disconnecting the old lines, and howto keep the switch occurring in as short a time as possible.“The electrical had to be switched back and forth from twoseparate feeders to keep the hospital in operation,” saidRollins. “We had to make sure all the services remainedoperational while we did the cutovers.”

Rollins Construction built a new power plant addition tosupport the new hospital additions and power the existingfacility. This can be challenging for a construction team asexisting ceilings are “usually pretty packed with mechanicaland electrical,” said Rollins. Before any changes could bemade, the building team needed to find the systems’ routes.

E


from the ground floor to the fourth story. “I think, like most healthcare construction, the priority

is to get a quality healing environment, good value, de-livered in a rapid cycle, all challenges that tend to con-flict with one another,” said Mark Hayden, Senior ProjectManager with Community Health Network.

Alton Memorial HospitalS. M. Wilson provided construction management services forthe new bed tower at Alton Memorial. The new bed tower is78,000 square feet, has three stories and features 76 privaterooms as well as an inpatient pharmacy, therapy areas andlab services.

Senior Estimator Paul Wilson said “the devil’s in the details”with complex projects such as these. Missing even the small-est detail can have a big effect on a construction project.

A small detail that is significant but often overlooked,added Senior Project Manager Brett Goodman, is what to doif water gets into the basement excavation. The Alton projectincluded a full 22,000-square-foot basement, which requireda 22-foot deep hole. The team considered the possibility ofrain and planned ahead to determine the best way to drainwater from the excavation. This was imperative, because theamount of water collected in the excavation would have over-whelmed Alton Memorial’s existing drainage system. Their so-lution was to put in a storm line that connected to thefoundation drainage system.

“You always want to draw on previous experience whenyou approach these types of projects, and you don’t want tolimit that resource to just S. M. Wilson,” said Goodman. “I liketo get the subcontractors involved as well. The subcontractorshave valuable experience in their areas of expertise that I liketo tap into. That goes with the S. M. Wilson attitude to thewhole project. It’s the team approach.”

As with every construction project, budget is an integralfactor. Wilson said the building and design teams checkedcosts at each level of the drawings to determine a cost-valuelist. These drawing reviews helped the team to identify con-structability and cost issues. “If you don’t watch each step ofthe way, it can get away from you,” he said. For the Alton proj-ect, they applied a design-assist method and 3-D drawingsfor the mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protectionsystems. These methods not only helped maintain budget,they also reduced conflict.

Safety for the building team and for the hospital’s staff,patients and visitors is also top of mind for S. M. Wilson. “Weperformed a new risk assessment each time building condi-tions changed, and then developed a new plan to mitigatethat risk,” said Goodman.

Boone HospitalS. M. Wilson is the construction management agent on thenew seven-level patient tower and a four-story parkinggarage for Boone Hospital. An enclosed, heated and cooledpedestrian walkway will connect the two buildings.

John Hunter, S. M. Wilson Senior Project Manager for

Allied Petroleum EquipmentAllisonville NurseryAlt & Witzig Engineering, Inc.Applied CoatingsArchitectural Glass & MetalsB&E PaintingBlackmore & Buckner Roofing, Inc.Bowen Engineering CorporationBright Sheet Metal Company, Inc.BSA LifeStructuresCalumet Civil Contractors, Inc.Cardinal Cove Glass, Inc.Carpet DecoratorsCasey-Bertram Construction, Inc.Central Indiana HardwareChance Brothers Marble & Tile, Inc.Circle B Construction Systems, LLCDalmatian Fire, Inc.Dan Haines Construction Co., Inc.David A Ryker Painting CompanyDealers WholesaleDECO Associates, Inc.Division IX LTD.Engineered Flooring, Inc.ERMCO, Inc.Essex Drapery & Blind CompanyForester Electrical Services, Inc.

Hagerman, Inc.Horning Investments, LLCIndustrial Tool & Material Handling, Inc.Indy Steel Erectors, Inc.John Hall Construction, Inc.Jungclause Campbell Co., Inc.Leach & Russell Mechanical Contractors, Inc.Lighthouse Lawn & Landscape, Inc.Lyon Workspace ProductsMcCammack Tile, Inc.Mid-America Elevator Company, Inc.Milestone ContractorsMiller-Eads Co., Inc.Nu-Tec Roofing Contractors, LLCOverhead Door CorporationPeerless MidwestPerformance Contracting, Inc.Perry Acoustics, Inc.Professional Garage Door Systems, Inc.Reece Rebholz Co., Inc.Richeson CabinetsRyan Fire Protection, Inc.Santarossa Mosaic & Tile Co, Inc.SPS CorporationSuperior Carpet Installers, Inc.Swisslog Healthcare Solutions

Healthcare

Partnerships for Community Hospital South

“We spent a lot of time looking at routes through thebuilding for ductwork, pipe, electrical,” he said. The MEPeffort required a lot of after-hours survey work, he added,and it all needed to be completed under strict infectioncontrol measures. Two new generators were also providedto replace the hospital’s existing ones.

Because of the size of these projects, construction be-comes a significant presence on the hospital campusand usually interrupts hospital traffic flow. For the Com-munity Hospital project, the existing front entranceneeded to be rerouted to the other side of the building,ultimately allowing the two buildings to be connected

Acme Fireproofing & InsulationAffton Fabricating & Welding Co., Inc.Byrne & Jones ConstructionDiecker-Terry Masonry, Inc.Duneman DemolitionFirestoppers, LLCFull Circle FlooringGlen Alspaugh Co., L.L.P.Guarantee Electrical CompanyH & G Sales, Inc.Industrial Sheet Metal Erectors, Inc.Inpro CorporationJacobsmeyer-Mauldin Construction Co., Inc.Kamadulski Excavating & Grading Company, Inc.

Kane Fire ProtectionLancia Brothers Woodworking & Fixture Mfg. Co.Missouri Valley Glass Co., Inc.Murphy CompanyOtis Elevator CompanyPaintsmiths Of St. Louis, Inc.Pratt Design Studio, LTDTranslogic Corp DBA Swisslog Healthcare SolutionsVee-Jay Cement Contracting Co., Inc.Von Alst Operating, LLCWaterhout Construction Co., Inc.Wies Drywall & Construction Corp.

Partnerships for Alton Memorial Hospital

“I like to get thesubcontractors involved as well.The subcontractorshave valuable experience in theirareas of expertisethat I like to tapinto. That goeswith the S. M. Wilson attitude to the whole project. It’s theteam approach.”— Brett GoodmanSenior Project Managerfor S. M. Wilson & Co.


Partnerships for Boone Hospital Center

Architectural Systems of St. LouisBraun Plastering Co.Carter Glass CompanyChristensen Construction Co.Concrete StrategiesEnvironmental EngineeringETSFabri-Tech Sheet MetalFirestoppersFlooring SystemsHammerts Iron WorksHKSIMHOFF ConstructionJeff Schnieders Construction Co.Jones, Schneider & BartlettJoseph Ward Painting Co.Lindgren R.F. EnclosuresMeyer Electric Co.Missouri Terrazzo Co.NGG LTD.Ozark Fire ProtectionParsons Brinckerhoff PB, Inc.R.G. Ross Construction Co.Rost LandscapingSchindler Elevator Corp.Sircal ContractingSSC EngineeringTHH Consulting EngineersThornton TomasettiTwehous Excavating Co.Watkins RoofingWilliam J. ZickelWulff Brothers Masonry Corporation

the Boone Hospital project, said their “first considera-tion” is the hospital and what effect constructionprocedures will have on the hospital’s operations. “It’salways thought out and planned way in advance whenwe enter a project in the hospital.” An example of howS. M. Wilson and the hospital worked in cooperation,said Hunter, is when the team was working on the roofabove labor and delivery, there was a “direct link”between the head nurse and the constructionsuperintendent. The team also posts a noise alert ofanticipated activities each week for people who need tobe informed and aware of construction.

Another significant coordination issue for BooneHospital was that the building team needed to work onthe roof, around the hospital’s helipad. “They could getup to six helicopter trips a day,” said Hunter. When a hel-icopter was coming through, the construction staff neededto secure their materials and leave the roof immediately.

Infection control policies are vital when working within ahospital facility, “to make sure we don’t bring anything in andwe don’t bring anything out,” said Hunter. Multiple measuresare taken to ensure the safety of the construction personneland the hospital’s staff, patients and visitors. Partitions areused to separate construction areas from the rest of the hos-pital, negative pressure machines are used to push dust out-side and not into the hospital space, and surgical bootiesare worn over shoes when entering hospital spaces so con-struction dust and debris are not tracked in by workers.

Adding a patient tower to a hospital is no easy feat. It is atask that requires sensitivity to the hospital’s activities as wellas staff, patients and visitors. However, once completed, thesetowers allow the hospital to provide an invaluable service tothe community more efficiently and more effectively. No mat-ter how challenging these projects are, S. M. Wilson knows

that all challenges can be resolved through extensive planning and cooperation among all team members. BP

Healthcare

PHOTO — A patient room at Community Hospital South

PHOTO — Photovoltaic cells installationat Family Care Health Centers


From the design and

construction aspect, creating

a healthy working

environment is the best way to help

clients increaseprofitability.

What Can Green Do For You?Determining the Cost Impact of a Sustainable Building ProjectBy Tony Ruebsam, LEED AP

n the past few years, the terms “green” and “sus-tainable” have proliferated across every industry:green cleaning products, green car companies, green

business practices, etc. Each company redefines “green”to meet its needs and serve its specific market. With somany definitions floating around, it’s necessary for theconstruction industry to step back and look at what itmeans to build green.

What will it cost?This is the biggest question associated with green build-ing. Regardless of the environmental impacts of build-ing green, unless it is economically viable, it will not beaccepted in the industry. This article illustrates the eco-nomic impacts of building green.

Life-Cycle Cost AnalysisA building is not simply a two-year design and construc-tion process. As with any investment, it is a long-termcommitment. In order to evaluate the cost of any build-ing, we must analyze the building over the course of itslife, be it 30 years, 50 years, or more. This is known asLife-Cycle Cost Analysis.

In the mid-’90s, the Department of Energy and the En-vironmental Protection Agency sponsored a researchproject to evaluate the design, construction and opera-tion of buildings. The stated goal of the project was tocreate a building practices manual that “considers abuilding’s total economic and environmental impact andperformance, from material extraction and product man-ufacture to product transportation, building design andconstruction, operations and maintenance and buildingreuse or disposal.”

Through the analysis, they found that over the course ofa building’s 30-year life, the building design and construc-tion accounted for only two percent of the total cost, whileoperations and maintenance accounted for six percent, andbuilding personnel made up the remaining 92 percent.1

How does building green help save money?Let’s break the life-cycle cost down from largest impactto smallest. The personnel costs are made up of salariesand benefits: something that is hard to tackle from thebuilding design and construction aspect. But instead ofdecreasing salaries, what if we increase the productivityof the building occupants?

Studies show that poor indoor air quality (sometimes10 times as polluted as the outdoors) leads to pooroccupant health and more sick days.2 Indoor air pollutionhas led to Sick Building Syndrome and Building RelatedIllness which account for roughly $60 billion in annualmedical expenses.3 In order to minimize these occupanthealth impacts, green buildings include materials that donot produce harmful off-gassing (VOCs), mechanical sys-tems with increased ventilation and floor plans whichmake the best use of natural lighting. From the design andconstruction aspect, creating a healthy working environ-ment is the best way to help clients increase profitability.

The next portion of a building’s life-cycle cost isthe operations and maintenance costs. This includesmechanical equipment maintenance, building cleaningand utility costs. From the design and construction pointof view, the way to minimize these costs is to install high-efficiency, low-maintenance equipment and materials.Easy steps to achieve these lower operating costs in-clude: energy-efficient HVAC systems and equipment,

I


Depending onthe location ofthe buildingand local energy costs,some of thesesteps can seea return on investmentwithin five to 10 years.

low-emittance (low-e) glazing to reduce heat loss,energy efficient lighting and low-flow toilet fixtures. De-pending on the location of the building and local energycosts, some of these steps can see a return on invest-ment within five to 10 years.

One of the things often overlooked in designing withgreen products (and something that can lead to highmaintenance or replacement costs) is product durability.Installing a flooring product that has a 30-year life spanbut costs twice as much as a floor with a 15-year life spanmakes sense because of the replacement costs. Consider-ing the interruption of business required to replace the floor,the more durable floor becomes a much easier choice. If adesign team does not look at life-cycle costs, this choice isweighted much heavier in the other direction.

Another important financial benefit associated withgreen buildings is the increased value in comparison toother buildings. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors(RICS) released a report in March 2009 that found energyefficient buildings rented for three percent more thancomparable buildings and had resale values as high as16 percent more than comparable, non-green buildings.4

What is the construction cost premium as a percentage?This is another question often asked by clients. While thereare numerous studies that attempt to simplify green buildingto this level5, there are always variables that affect theprecise percentage. Certain sustainability practices are moreexpensive than others. For instance, it would be cheaper touse low-VOC paint than to install triple-pane glazing.

Another factor that makes assigning a percentage moredifficult is the widespread adoption of sustainable con-struction. As more and more products saturate the mar-ket, competition increases and prices fall. Constructionwaste management is an industry that is growing and isproving to be more profitable as landfill tipping fees in-crease and the demand for recycled materials grows.

Let’s look at a very conservative example using thelife-cycle percentages cited earlier to show how a smallpremium on the up-front cost results in long-term sav-ings. In our example, the cost premium of the design andconstruction process is five percent (pretty high) over anon-green building. If we say the construction cost is $15million, this would equate to a $750,000 premium.Within that $750,000, we install high-efficiency light fix-tures and HVAC equipment which reduce annual energyconsumption by 10 percent (very low estimate). We alsoinstall skylights and use low-VOC carpet, paints andcasework to improve the indoor environmental qualitywhich results in one percent productivity increases (tinycompared to the estimated 6-16 percent cited in theSustainable Building Technical Manual).

For a $15 million building, 30-year operations and main-tenance costs would be $45 million, and personnel costswould be $690 million (given the two percent, six percent,

92 percent breakdown). Of the $45 million, let’s assume 90percent is utility costs and 10 percent is maintenance. If wesave 10 percent of $40.5 million over 30 years in energycosts, there is a $4.05 million energy savings. Based onthe $690 million personnel cost, the one percent increasein productivity would result in a $6.9 million gain in cost vs.productivity. Even with the conservative estimates, the$750,000 up-front cost led to more than $10 million insavings over the course of 30 years and a return on invest-ment (ROI) of two to three years. With the federal and localtax incentives currently available for energy efficient build-ings, these savings can be realized more quickly.

The bottom line: building green saves money. If a de-sign team does a little more work on the front end to cre-ate a more efficient building and healthier environment,clients will reap the benefits long after the constructionteam has moved on to the next project. BP

Tony Ruebsam, LEED AP, BD+C, has helpedbring sustainability to the forefront atS. M. Wilson. He has taught three LEEDclasses to help fellow employees earntheir accreditation. He is a member ofthe Sustainability Committee at the AGC

where he helps shape AGC policy toward sustainablelegislation and defines the role of the contractor in greenbuilding. As a member of both the Green Schools (K-12)and Higher Education sub-committees of the local USGBCchapter, Tony promotes the benefits and implementation ofthe LEED rating system to regional educators.1Public Technology, Inc., Sustainable Building Technical Manual, 19962Barbara Lippiatt and Gregory Norris, “Selecting Environmentally and Economically BalancedBuilding Materials,” 19953Lippiatt and Norris4Piet Elchholtz, Nile Kok, and John Quigley “Doing Well By Doing Good? An Analysis of theFinancial Performance of Green Office Buildings in the USA,” 20095GSA LEED Cost Study, October 2004

S. M. Wilson & Co. LEED Projects

Boone Hospital Center - Pending Silver CertificationBJC Institute of Health at Washington University - Pending Gold CertificationBarnard Hall at Missouri Military Academy - PendingGold CertificationClayton High School - Pending Silver CertificationFort Leonard Wood Permanent Party Barracks PhaseIII - Pending Gold CertificationFort Leonard Wood Digital Training Facility - Pending Silver CertificationKohl’s Department Store Alton, IL - CertifiedMissouri Hall at Columbia College - Silver CertificationMonsanto F Building East & West Wing Renovation -Silver CertificationMonsanto Regulatory Building - Pending CertificationOlathe Medical Center Pavilion - Gold CertificationPatterson Technology Center – Pending CertificationSalvation Army Ray & Joan Kroc Center - PendingSilver Certification SMG Office Building - Pending Silver CertificationVitagraph Building - Pending Gold Certification

“The existingcity facilitiesdid not have

adequate spaceor capacityto provide

the level ofservice the

city desired.”— Drew Raasch

Director of Pre-Constructionfor S. M. Wilson & Co.

PHOTO —Upper: Frontenac’snew municipal building

Rendering courtesy of Arcturis


very project is full of challenges. However,keeping the city of Frontenac’s city hall,police, fire and public works departments

operational on a tight site while constructing a newbuilding was not only a construction challenge, but a

necessity. S. M. Wilson & Co. tackled the challengeof building a new municipal services building for thecity of Frontenac with a combination of thorough pre-construction planning and a collaborative attitude.

The city of Frontenac’s current municipal services—city

Commercial

Confronting ChallengesObstacles on City Municipal Project Solved Through Pre-Construction Planning and CollaborationBy Carrie Bui

E

The new building will enhance city operations, providing betterand updatedquarters for the firefightersand paramedics,and will elimi-nate existing limitations onequipment size.


PHOTO — The project site, as illustrated, is narrow, whichmakes for a congested jobsite

Commercial

hall, police, fire, and public works—were four separatebuildings situated on the same long, narrow lot. Fron-tenac discussed how their buildings could be updatedin order to better serve the community. “The existing cityfacilities did not have adequate space or capacity toprovide the level of service the city desired,” explainedDrew Raasch, Director of Pre-Construction for S. M. Wil-son & Co. “The buildings were outdated, and while stillable to function in their roles, were in need of updatesand maintenance, the cost of which could be used toward new facilities instead.”

The plan the building team reached for the city’s newmunicipal services building was to demolish the exist-ing city hall, police department and fire department fa-cilities, and combine them into one, new, state-of-the-artbuilding. “The single building solution worked best forcost reasons, less expensive building envelope and asingle vs. multiple MEP systems,” said Raasch. S. M. Wilson was selected for the project, said City Adminis-trator Bob Shelton, because of their “superior experi-ence” in construction management in the same marketarea and for projects of similar size and scope.

In order to create the ideal building for the city, saidPrincipal John Mueller, of the architectural firm Arcturis, theplanner, architect and interior designer for the project, theteam began with a needs assessment. The architects interviewed key members with the city, including City Administrator Shelton, Fire Chief Jack Trout, Police ChiefTom Becker and others, in order to understand how big thenew building needed to be and what resources, such asbreak rooms and conference rooms, could be sharedamong all three entities. The new building will enhance cityoperations, providing better and updated quarters for the

firefighters and paramedics, and will eliminate existing limitations on equipment size as well as provide additionalspaces and updates for technology for police patrol officers and detectives. Construction of the new municipalservices building is currently underway and is scheduledfor completion in spring 2011.

Partnerships for the City of Frontenac

Aalco Wrecking Co.ArcturisBates ElectricBen Hur Construction Co.Boyer Fire ProtectionBric Partnership, LLCBudget Glass & DoorC. Rallo Contracting Co.Castle ContractingCole & AssociatesCollins & HermannDannix PaintingDemien Construction CompanyFerguson SurveyingFlooring Systems, Inc.Haberberger, Inc.Heitkamp MasonryInterior Construction ServicesLandesignLarson EngineeringMissouri Terrazzo Co.Rhodey & Son ConstructionSCI EngineeringT. J. Wies ContractingThe Peterson GroupTrojahn Plumbing ServicesWilson Concrete

“The most critical part

of design andpre-construction

were logistical issues, physically

designing thebuilding within

its current footprint.”

— Rob WarnerProject Manager

for S. M. Wilson & Co.

PHOTO — Frontenac’smunicipal building in progress


Commercial

Pre-ConstructionRaasch said pre-construction lasted 33 months, longerthan normal, because of a delay in bidding. The city wasconcerned about the impact of nearby highway con-struction, the economy and how those two factors wouldinfluence tax revenue and city finances. However, the ad-ditional pre-construction time allowed the team to pre-pare a comprehensive and cost-effective plan to keepcity hall, the fire department and the police departmentfunctioning during construction.

“The most critical part of design and pre-constructionwere logistical issues, physically designing the buildingwithin its current footprint,” said Rob Warner, Project Man-ager with S. M. Wilson. In order to accommodate city op-erations, construction needed to be completed inphases. “The final building, which replaces three existingbuildings, could not even be completed in whole withinthe space available for construction and keep the de-partments operational,” said Raasch.

Mueller called the project an “architectural challenge”and a “logistics challenge.” In the front of the narrow lotstands the fire department, then city hall, then the policestation, and in the very back, the public works building.The narrow lot made for a congested jobsite. Thereneeded to be space for construction to happen, room forcity operations to continue, and for police and fire per-sonnel and equipment to move in and out of the site.

“For several months, we held weekly meetings with ad-ministrators, architects, engineers, fire and police chiefsin order to create a good game plan,” said Warner. Theyalso coordinated with the subcontractors through weeklymeetings and pre-activity meetings for every phase “tomake sure logistical issues could be worked out prior tomaterials arriving to the jobsite,” stated Warner.

ConstructionDuring the first phase of construction, city hall employeeswere moved to temporary trailers so that the buildingcould be demolished. “It was a very difficult process,”said Shelton, “but S. M. Wilson was very helpful, goingabove and beyond probably what a typical constructionmanager would do.”

After the city hall employees moved out of the building,phase two began by demolishing city hall and initiating

construction of the new structure. Construction of thenew building is constrained to about eight feet from theback of the police station and four feet from the back ofthe fire department, explained Warner. “So during the en-tire construction duration, we don’t have any access be-tween the police department and the new building, andthe fire department and the new building,” he added.

The construction team solved the access problem bycreating a temporary road through the adjoining churchproperty. This road provides access for the police sta-tion and the public works building. The temporary trail-ers for city hall were placed on the church property, andconstruction trailers were placed on the property of aneighboring school.

Another significant challenge to the project was therelocation of the underground utility lines, including linesfrom two major cell towers on the property, a tower forthe police and fire departments to use for radio service,and power supplies for the police department and theschool. To accomplish this task, S. M. Wilson worked withthe electric company, Ameren UE, the police department,the phone carriers for the cell towers and the school todiscuss the goals and the process for the relocation.

For the underground utilities relocation, the mainpower source came from an overhead line that wentacross the jobsite and connected to a transformer on apower pole. From the transformer, the underground powerlines went in approximately eight different directions, ex-plained Warner. The area around the power pole andtransformer needed to be cut to grade to provide accessaround the site. The power poles needed to be removedfor access and safety. This intensive relocation processneeded to be completed with minimal disruptions to thecity’s operations. The entire process, from constructionto utility relocation, took about five months.

Working together is the key to successfully completingchallenging projects. “These issues were resolved by de-sign, compromise and some long, hard planning ses-sions on everyone’s part,” said Police Chief Becker aboutsome of the major project challenges.

Through extensive pre-construction efforts and thor-ough planning, Frontenac’s new municipal services build-ing will allow city administrators, the police, and the firedepartment to better serve its community. BP


PHOTOS — Upper: Normandy SchoolDistrict Elementary SchoolLower: Scott Wilson receives St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers Diversity Champion Award

Scott Wilson received the 2009 ‘DiversityChampion Award’by the St. LouisCouncil of Construction Consumers inrecognition of his extensive efforts to promotediversity in thelocal constructionindustry.

The Pursuit of a More Diverse IndustryS. M. Wilson Takes the LeadBy Craig Workman

chieving meaningful diversity has risen to thetop of the construction industry’s agenda,both locally and nationally, over the past two

decades. Trade associations, contractors, govern-ments, politicians, educators and activists all agreethat a diverse industry is a powerful goal that bringsmore economic opportunities to women and minori-ties and creates a broader, more competitive base ofcontractors and subcontractors. But despite the gen-eral desire to achieve diversity, getting there hasproven to be a more difficult road to travel.

“Promoting diversity is the right thing to do, butwe still have a long way to go,” said Scott Wilson,President of S. M. Wilson & Co. “When I walk into aroom full of contractors and subcontractors today, Isee very few women and minority faces in the crowd.That says a lot to me, and I want to be a catalyst tochange that.”

The difficulties in remedying the situation are nu-merous, he says, primarily because there are perva-sive underlying problems that cannot be addressedsimply by providing work to women and minorities.Some women and minority entrepreneurs have little

business experience to support their companies.“Finding qualified companies to handle work

means finding sustainable businesses that are runby people with experience in construction businessmanagement,” Wilson said. “Too often we find sub-contractors that are trying to run before they canwalk. Their focus on daily jobsite operations takesaway from learning proper fiscal management andrisk management. This usually leads to a prematuredemise of these businesses and lingering feelings offrustration and mistrust.”

A

“The key to developing successful

subcontractingfirms is for

entrepreneursto learn thetrade skills

necessary toperform thework while

also learningthe fiscal

managementpart of the business.”

— Scott WilsonPresident, S. M. Wilson & Co.

PHOTOS — Work crews build the new elementary school

for Normandy School District


The key, Wilson said, to developing successful sub-contracting firms is for entrepreneurs to learn the tradeskills necessary to perform the work while also learningthe fiscal management part of the business. This is noteasy to do.

“It is important for newcomers to the industry to learntheir trade and then work for someone else first,” Wilsonsaid. “This is why workforce diversity is just as importantas subcontractor diversity. On-the-job training coupledwith mentoring on construction business managementis the most successful model to develop qualified sub-contractors going forward.

“There are several industry-sponsored programs nowin place that follow this model, but so far the industryhas made little headway,” Wilson added. “The downturnin the economy, both locally and nationally, has also hurtefforts to develop a more diverse industry. I want to helpchange all that.”

A Catalyst for ChangeBeing a catalyst for change is a leadership role ScottWilson has embraced over the past decade. He is well-known in the local construction industry for success-fully convening diverse interests to develop diversitygoals and programming.

For the past several years, Wilson has been leadingthe local construction industry toward meaningfulachievement of greater diversity. He leverages his positionas President of S. M. Wilson to build numerous partner-

ships among all key business organizations with a stakein achieving industry-wide diversity goals.

As 2009 Chairman of the Board of Directors for theAssociated General Contractors of St. Louis, he led theorganization and its Diversity Committee earlier thisyear to fund and staff a new Vice President, DiversityInitiatives position.

According to AGC President Leonard Toenjes, “The pri-mary benefits have been to help ensure solid recruitmentfor the Construction Careers Center charter high school, ac-tively recruit MBE/WBE/DBE participants who can take ad-vantage of the full range of AGC services, and to facilitatemore diverse and inclusive participation at all AGC events.”

The Minority Contractors Association of St. Louis hasrecruited Wilson to serve on its first Executive Committee.He serves as chairman of the Regional Business CouncilDiversity Committee where he was instrumental in secur-ing funding for the Career Coaching Program. In addition,the Missouri Department of Transportation has consultedwith him on diversity issues in the St. Louis region.

Three Types of ProgramsThere are three types of programs that the industryhas developed to create new opportunities for diversity and inclusion:

Workforce Inclusion - Workforce inclusion programsseek to have a certain amount of women and minoritiesemployed on the jobsite as a percentage of all employees.

On-the-jobtraining coupledwith mentoringon constructionbusiness management is the most successfulmodel to develop qualified subcontractorsgoing forward.


PHOTOS — Upper Right: Roof renovation at Fontbonne University’s Anheuser-Busch HallLower Left:Construction at Normandy School District's new elementary school

Most inclusion programs are site specific, and usually in-volve the establishment of voluntary goals to be achievedby the construction team.

S. M. Wilson has met the workforce inclusion goals ofthe renovation and expansion of Anheuser-Busch Hall, athree-story building on Fontbonne University’s main cam-pus in Clayton, head on. The University established a vol-untary goal of 15 percent minorities and five percentwomen in the total workforce inclusion for the project,which has been met and maintained since the beginningof the project.

Another S. M. Wilson project underway with a suc-cessful inclusion program is the Alton Community UnitSchool District Health and Life Safety project. S. M. Wil-son has achieved a voluntary average of 25 percentworkforce inclusion rate for women and minority-ownedfirms since the project’s inception in 2008, with in-creases of up to 31 percent achieved in January 2010.

Diversity Contracting Inclusion - Contracting inclusionprograms seek to have a certain percentage of sub-contracts (or total subcontracted work) handled bywomen- and minority-owned firms. In addition to work-force inclusion, the Fontbonne project is also exceed-ing its contract inclusion goals of 15 percent minoritiesand five percent women. S. M. Wilson is also exceedinga contractual mandate of 25 percent minority contractsfor Normandy School District on a new 65,000-square-foot elementary school in St. Louis. Mentoring of Owners - Mentoring programs connect

managers of established contracting businesses withowners of start-up contracting firms in an effort to lookat the total business picture: operations, financial,bonding capacity and other things not taught in tradeschools. Wilson mentors the owners of minority-ownedcontractors and women business entrepreneursthrough the St. Louis Development Corporation and aspart of the AGC Stemple Plan. Both programs workone-on-one with CEOs to evaluate supplier diversityprograms and help broaden the minority and women-owned supplier base. The St. Louis Development Corporation offers a variety of programs to support thedevelopment of minority-owned companies.

Building on MomentumMost construction projects in the St. Louis area todaynow feature a voluntary set of goals designed to promoteinclusiveness and diversity. According to Wilson, this isa good start, but there is still a long way to go.

“We have to ask the trades and the subcontractors tomeet these goals, and we must monitor this on a weeklybasis to ensure compliance,” Wilson said. “Diligence isone of the keys to the long-term success of achievingmeaningful diversity. This is a day-in, day-out effortthat plays out in every aspect of a project. We lit a fireunder this, and we will keep it burning in order to makea difference.” BP

The $9.7 millionproject scope

consists of gutting the

interior of the Anheuser-BuschHall, renovating

the buildingand adding an elevator

and stair tower,and a new

second floorgreenhouse.

Education

PHOTO — Fontbonne University Anheuser-Busch Hall

Rendering courtesy of Hastings & Chivetta


olding off a little bit longer often results in asmarter, better buy. Fontbonne Universitydiscovered the truth of this statement when

they decided to put their Anheuser-Busch Hall sciencerenovation plans on hold. The project was originallyscheduled to begin work in 2008, but the downturn inthe economy and uncertain enrollment numbers post-poned construction. When the university and S. M. Wilsonreturned to the renovation project, S. M. Wilson was ableto create an estimated $2 million in cost savings throughcompetitive buying.

The $9.7 million project scope consists of gutting theinterior of the Anheuser-Busch Hall, renovating thebuilding and adding an elevator and stair tower, and anew second floor greenhouse. The science center, oneof the campus’ signature buildings, houses science andbiology labs, classrooms, business administrationoffices, the dietetics program and the fashion designprogram. The building was still primarily in its originalcondition from when it was first built in the 1920s,said Elmer Schneider, Fontbonne University’s AssociateVice President of Facilities. “It wasn’t up to what weneeded,” he added.

By taking advantage of market conditions andbuying smart, S. M. Wilson was able to open up the

project to value-added solutions. The most notice-able of the value-adds are the new windows. Theuniversity allocated some of the estimated $2million in savings toward replacing the sciencecenter’s worn-out windows.

The goal for the university’s renovation and addi-tion is to create “high quality, academic space tomeet their curriculum needs and upgrade the build-ing to a standard that would be competitive with theirpeer institutions,” said Stephen DeHekker, Senior VicePresident with Hastings & Chivetta. The building isdesigned to make the most use of its interior space,and to be both functional and architecturally ap-pealing. The addition was designed to be compati-ble with the existing building and complementarywith the other buildings on campus.

Before demolition and renovation could begin onthe building, the construction team, including S. M.Wilson and the architects/engineers from Hastings& Chivetta, needed to prepare a phasing plan and asafety plan in order to accommodate ongoing classesin the building. “The complexity of the project is reallythe big thing. It really takes a lot of advance planningto make sure things come off as they need to,” ex-plained Schneider.

Building LessonsS. M. Wilson Renovates Fontbonne University Science CenterBy Carrie Bui

H

“We collaboratedwith S. M. Wilsonand the subcontractorsto analyze the systems and develop solutions that allowed the project to be implemented efficiently and safely.”— Stephen DeHekker, SeniorVice President with Hastings& Chivetta

EducationS. M. Wilson & Co. 21 BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS

Construction already happened upon undergroundsurprises, he said, but S. M. Wilson “took each chal-lenge as it came and were able to work through it.”One planning strategy employed by S. M. Wilson in-cluded using “hydro-excavation” for utility locationbefore any actual digging began. Using high pressurewater to liquefy the soil and a vacuum to suck up themud, utilities were located with very small holes with-out damaging conduits and pipes. Precision locatingof utilities allowed the team to continue constructionwithout disturbing campus operations.

The project was divided into phases, with demoli-tion and renovation taking place on the second andthird floors during the first phase, then renovating thefirst floor in the second phase. The project is currentlyin the first phase, and classes are continuing throughthe entire duration of the project. In order to keep thefirst floor operational, the contractors had to determinehow to isolate the electrical, mechanical and plumbingof the first floor from the rest of the building. S. M.Wilson ran steam loops around the building andplaced temporary ductwork in order to maintain heaton the first floor and keep the science labs running.They had to “shake out every circuit and ductwork tounderstand where it all went and connected,” saidDavid O’Brien, Project Executive with S. M. Wilson.

The construction manager and the architects/engineers worked closely together to coordinate and im-plement the phasing of the mechanical systems as wellas architectural and life safety systems, explained DeHekker. Implementing new systems while maintain-ing old systems is one of the project challenges, he said.The project team needed to work around the studentsand faculty, and ensure the safety of everyone in andaround the building. He added, “We collaborated withS. M. Wilson and the subcontractors to analyze the sys-tems and develop solutions that allowed the project tobe implemented efficiently and safely.”

As a risk aversion tactic, the construction team keepscareful tabs on the university’s schedule and whenclasses were taking place in the building. Tony Ruebsam,Project Manager for S. M. Wilson stated, intrusive work isperformed during the two-week breaks between sem-esters, and the construction team makes a concerted effort to keep out of the university-occupied spaces. Mostof the construction operations, such as staging and workarea, is isolated to one side of the building, leaving theother side for students and faculty. Ruebsam said theneed to stick within the university’s schedule createsmilestones for the construction team, keeping them onday-by-day, item-by-item schedules. “It really keeps asense of urgency among the contractors.”

Detailed up-front planning leads to savings in timeand money. “You don’t have the down time becauseof the surprises,” said O’Brien “You’ve thought welldown the road. As a result, you’re not going to have

Partnerships for Fontbonne University

Appliance SolutionsBenson Electric CompanyCommercial BathwaresConcrete Coring Company of St. LouisConstruction Appliance Supply Co.Dannix PaintingDavid J. Hyde & AssociatesEngineered Fire ProtectionFire Safety Inc.Flooring Systems, Inc.Frontenac Engineering Geissler Roofing Co.Glen Alspaugh Co., Inc.Golterman & SaboGravois Planning Mill Co.H & G Sales, Inc.Harsco InfrastructureHastings + ChivettaHeritage ConcreteHummert InternationalImperial Ornamental MetalJames Staat TuckpointingJB Hutch ConstructionJohn J. Smith MasonryKJWW Engineering Consultants Manhattan Glass Co.Mays Maune McWardMcFry ExcavatingMiller Contracting ServicesParkway Construction ServicesQuality Heating & Air ConditioningScally WaterproofingSpirtas WreckingSunshine Drapery & Interior FashionsT.J. Wies ContractingThyssenkrupp ElevatorVee-Jay Cement ContractingWaterhout Construction

to make up this time. You’ve picked up probably 90percent of the surprises you’re going to have.” Careful planning also adds what Ruebsam called an“unquantifiable value” by providing an owner withmore peace of mind. The client understands andknows what to expect with the project, ultimatelymaking it run smoother for everyone involved.

S. M. Wilson has also mandated minority businessenterprise (MBE) participation and workforce inclusionand women business enterprise (WBE) participationand inclusion for the project. Minority business andwomen in business participation and inclusion is im-portant to the city of St. Louis, and is important to theuniversity. Every contractor on the project is required tohave 15 percent MBE, and 5 percent WBE.

Because of S. M. Wilson’s thorough planning, smartbuying and teamwork, Fontbonne University will havestate-of-the-art science labs and classrooms in amodern building designed to meet the needs of a 21st

century student. The Fontbonne University ScienceCenter is scheduled for completion in January 2011. BP



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Alper Audi, Inc. .............................................................................................. 23

Armstrong Teasdale, LLP .................................................................... Back Cover

The Business Bank of St. Louis....................................................................... 23

Castle Contracting760 South 2nd StreetSt. Louis, MO 63102www.digcastle.com

Charles E. Jarrell Mechanical Contractors ....................................................... 22

Frontenac Painting ............................................................................................2

Guarantee Electrical Company ............................................................back cover

Harris Dowell Fisher & Harris, L.C. .................................................................... 2

O.J. Laughlin Plumbing Co. Inc. ....................................................................... 22

PayneCrest Electric and Communications ........................................... back cover

Rock Hill Mechanical Corporation .................................................................. 23

RubinBrown, LLP ............................................................................................. 2

Spirtas Wrecking Company............................................................................. 22

Torrisi Plumbing Services, Inc. ........................................................................ 23

Wies Drywall and Construction Corp................................................................. 2

Wishes to thank the following advertisers withoutwhom this publication would not be possible.

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