Gateway to Inclusion Workshop 2024: Building Connections and Driving Change

What an incredible experience at the 2024 Gateway to Inclusion Workshop! Over 187 registered this year!

This year’s event was a true celebration of diversity, collaboration, and community in the STL AEC industry. With owners, primes, and M/W/DBE firms all gathered under one roof, the energy in the room was nothing short of electric.

There’s something uniquely energizing about networking events where passionate people gather, share ideas, and create genuine connections—it feels like being part of a welcoming community.

A huge thank you to all the table hosts and attendees who made this event possible. Your presence and engagement helped create countless opportunities and connections that will undoubtedly strengthen our industry.

Special recognition goes to Jane Megown (Elastizell) and the subcommittee for their hard work in planning this knockout event—your dedication truly paid off!

We also want to extend our gratitude to our sponsors who made this event a reality. Thank you to Kozeny-Wagner (Michael Kozeny) and ADL Communications (Lonnie D. Somers) for your event sponsorship and to Horner & Shifrin, Inc. (Renee La Bruyere) for sponsoring food and beverages. Your support means everything to us.

Events like these remind us of the importance of leading by example in creating inclusive opportunities that drive our industry forward. If you missed out, don’t worry—there’s always the next one. Here’s to fostering deeper connections and building a more inclusive community, step by step!

Missouri Botanical Garden’s First Woman President Brings Focus On Climate Change

Lúcia Lohmann will become the first woman to be president of the Missouri Botanical Garden in January. Lohmann grew up in Brazil and first came to St. Louis to complete her master’s and Ph.D. at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She also was a postdoctoral fellow at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Since then, Lohmann has become an internationally recognized botanist. She is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley and an adjunct professor at the University of São Paulo. She is executive director of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation and president of the International Association for Plant Taxonomy.

St. Louis Public Radio’s Kate Grumke sat down with Lohmann to learn why she wanted to come back to St. Louis and the Garden. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Kate Grumke: I read that you lived just a few hundred feet from the Missouri Botanical Garden when you were here. What impression did it make on you back then?

Lúcia Lohmann: It was lovely. I used to stay really late doing my graduate work, so I have these memories of crossing the garden late at night and going back to my apartment. It was really wonderful that the garden provided such incredible structure for students. I lived in an apartment that was owned by the garden, and it was so welcoming and I just loved it.

Grumke: Many St. Louisans don't realize how key this city is in plant science, and the Missouri Botanical Garden is a big part of that. How do you think the garden could further strengthen St. Louis' influence in botany?

Lohmann: The Missouri Botanical Garden really is this amazing, world-class institution in botany. It is one of the largest botanical gardens in the world. So imagine, as a 17-year-old back in Brazil, I knew about the Missouri Botanical Garden and this is where I wanted to come. So in some ways, the Missouri Botanical Garden might even be better known globally than it is locally.

Edwardsville District 7 Approves $46.3M Lincoln Middle School Bid Package

A $46.3 million bid package to continue the renovation of Lincoln Middle School was approved during the Oc

The bid package includes the demolition of the existing Joe Lucco Gymnasium, kitchen, cafeteria, courtyard and other auxiliary spaces. It also includes work on new additions, such as a new softball field, a new parent pick-up and drop-off area, all retaining walls required for auxiliary spaces, resurfacing to the existing track, new tennis courts and the replacement and addition of site lighting.t. 28 meeting of the Edwardsville District 7 school board.

SM Wilson, a St. Louis-based construction company, presented the bid package with a guaranteed maximum price of $46.3 million.

The $46.3 million bid package is all part of Lincoln’s Phase 2, which is a 90,000-square-foot renovation of the original 1925 building.

Phase 1, the 60,000-square-foot construction, is scheduled to wrap up in August 2025 with a guaranteed max price of roughly $43.8 million. The first phase of the two-phase project at Lincoln Middle School included the construction of a competition gym, a storm shelter and annex gym, a library and media center, a commons area, eight classrooms and a multi-purpose room.

August 2025 will also mark the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln building’s existence. When the original building was built in 1925, it cost an estimated $250,000. In 2024 money, that would be almost $4.5 million.

The upcoming winter basketball season will be the last for the current Joe Lucco Gymnasium, which was used for Edwardsville basketball games from 1966-1997.

The Phase 2 renovation will also include the renovation of classrooms, event space and corridors. The corridors were a main point of emphasis in an effort to give the middle school a more natural flow. Many corridors had windows and school colors added to liven up the space.

The parent drop-off area will be at an entry point into the south side of the school. The drop-off area will also flow into the new courtyard. Work on Phase 2 at Lincoln Middle School begins this summer.

Demolition work was awarded to Hayden Demolition; concrete work to RCS Construction; masonry to Diecker-Terry Masonry; structural steel to Tri-County Welding and Fabrication; rough carpentry, general trade, millwork, doors and frames to Titan Carpentry; painting, air and moisture barrier, and fluid-applied flooring to All American Painting; membrane roofing to D.E. Martin Roofing; metal panels to Missouri Builders Service; glass and glazing to St. Jacob Glass; drywall and acoustical ceilings to T.J. Wies Contracting; tile and resilient flooring to Flooring Systems; signage to Dynagraphics Incorporated; lockers to Warehouse Design; theater and stage equipment to Technical Productions; fixed audience seating to Irwin Seating; elevators to TK Elevator Corporation; plumbing to Litteken Plumbing; HVAC to Langhauser Sheet Metal; electrical to Camp Electric and Engineering; earthwork and site utilities to Gelly Excavating; asphalt to Gleeson Asphalt; athletic surfaces to Byrne and Jones Construction; landscaping to Mayer Landscaping.

Construction Risk Partners, a Baldwin Risk Partner, Unifies with Parent Firm’s Brand to Reflect Continued Growth and Expanded Capabilities

Construction Risk Partners (CRP), a Baldwin Risk Partner, announced today that it will rebrand to The Baldwin Group.

“Since becoming a Baldwin Risk Partner in 2021, CRP has been able to enhance our existing client relationships, attract new colleagues and clients, and extend our impact beyond our regional office locations by leveraging innovative solutions and capabilities from recognized risk management and insurance experts that comprise The Baldwin Group,” said Joe Charczenko, Regional President of CRP.

Now, as the Construction Practice within The Baldwin Group, CRP will continue to provide innovative solutions, specialized expertise, and excellent service to clients while leveraging the full suite of risk management, insurance, employee benefits, and wealth management services from the network of nearly 40 regional brands across the country that will also be transitioning to The Baldwin Group in the coming year.

The Benefits of Adaptive Reuse: Giving New Life to Old Buildings

An old hotel turned into trendy apartments. A restaurant in a former bank. A warehouse divided into cool office spaces. In today’s climate of sustainability, the benefits of adaptive reuse are attracting new attention from property owners and developers.

Repurposing an existing, underutilized structure to give it a new lease on life benefits owners, the environment, and communities.

What is Adaptive Reuse?

Adaptive reuse is the practice of refurbishing an existing building for a new purpose. The term became popular in the early 1970s, when Boston’s Old City Hall was converted into an office and retail complex.

In the decades since, adaptive reuse has enabled some famous transformations – from the conversion of a decommissioned cheese factory into one of Arkansas’ premiere art centers to an historic aircraft hangar becoming the home of Google.

The practice, however, goes back centuries. There’s evidence that ancient Romans saw the benefits of adapting structures rather than tearing them down. In Roman times, a voting center was transformed into an entertainment venue; after the fall of the Empire, Roman buildings were often used as churches, fortresses, and more.

Adaptive Reuse vs. Restoration

Adaptive reuse is sometimes confused with other definitions for architectural renovation projects on old buildings. It’s important to note that restoration and preservation are not the same as reuse.

Restoration returns a renovated or dilapidated site to its original glory. For example, Notre Dame Cathedral has been undergoing restoration work since a devastating fire in 2019. The goal is to restore the landmark to its pre-fire condition.

Preservation seeks to freeze a structure at a moment in time. For example, sites of historic significance are often preserved to protect their heritage. Modern means of weather protection and climate control are introduced strategically only to maintain the building’s original features.

Both restoration and preservation seek to bring a structure back to its original state, at least aesthetically.

Adaptive reuse reimagines buildings that have outlived their original purpose.

Instead of restoring an abandoned shopping mall as a retail center, adaptive reuse might transform it to become an event venue.

Communities tend to see the greatest benefit from adaptive reuse projects that turn single-use spaces into multi-use environments, like Boston’s Old City Hall.

UB Greensfelder Attorneys Named to the 2024 Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers List

Congratulations to the UB Greensfelder attorneys named to the 2024 Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers list: Beth Conran, Jennifer Davis, Jackson Glisson, Andrew Manuel, and Erv Switzer; and to the following who were named 2024 Missouri and Kansas Rising Stars: Laura Beckering, Joel Birch, Jessica Courtway, Lauren Abbott Daming, Katie Fechte, Celine George, Molly Grewe, J. Cira Luo, Sanja Ord, Lauren Surdyke, Jennifer Therrien, and David Wasserman. Super Lawyers recognizes attorneys who have distinguished themselves in their legal practice.