August 17, 2026

Dear Members and Friends of SLC3,

As many families across our region settle back into classroom routines, we know this time of year brings a shift in schedules, priorities, and pace. Whether you're coordinating projects, preparing for fall work, or simply adjusting to a new routine at home, we hope you're finding your rhythm and making the most of the opportunities that come with a fresh season.

We have an exciting lineup of events ahead and look forward to connecting with many of you in the coming weeks.

Join us on August 27 for our Constructing Communication Confidence event featuring Dallas Amsden, where we'll explore practical strategies to strengthen communication and collaboration across our industry. Then, on September 11, we'll gather for our 2nd Friday Coffee hosted at Jema's Headquarters—a great opportunity to network, reconnect, and start your morning with fellow Council members and guests.

To ensure we provide the best experience possible, we've made a small adjustment to our leadership programming. Emerging Leader Series 2 has been moved to October 14 as we finalize an outstanding group of mentors for the program. We appreciate your patience and know the extra preparation will be well worth it.

And one of our favorite annual traditions is just around the corner! Our Clay Shoot returns on October 23, and we're excited to announce that registration opens this week. Be sure to mark your calendars—we're looking forward to another fantastic event filled with networking, friendly competition, and fun.

We hope you enjoy this week's newsletter and find the content valuable. As always, we'd love your input. If you have a story to share, a project to feature, a blog idea, company news, or industry updates, please send them our way. Don't miss the opportunity to be visible. Our newsletter continues to reach an engaged audience with an impressive open rate, and it's exciting to see how many of you make time to read it each week.

And we had an amazing program learning strategies to organize and thus improve our time management and perhaps our patience too. I know I could use tips for my email, which she delivered! Dawn Baumgartner definitely delivered. More about her in this issue.

Thank you for your continued support and engagement. Together, we're building a stronger Council and delivering meaningful value throughout our region.

Have a wonderful week!

Warmly,

Kelly

Kelly Jackson

Executive Director

St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers (SLC3)

AT A GLANCE...

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

News & Updates

STL Growth Report

City Centre Complex (C3) Project Update

St. Charles Food Hall and Farmer’s Market Design Approved

Training & Education

Back to School Tips for Parents

"What Should I Do?" and Start Thinking Like a Leader

Beyond Cost Savings: Why Construction Is Redefining the Value of Prefabrication

AI: Did You Know?

PRINT CALENDAR

OUR EVENTS

ARE YOU WANTING TO BE AN ANNUAL SPONSOR?

Want to sponsor our newsletters? Contact us! 65% Open Rates! Great opportunity for visibility and showing support!

PLATINUM SPONSOR

UPCOMING PROGRAMS & EVENTS

SLC3'S MOST REQUESTED SPEAKER RETURNS! DON'T MISS DALLAS!

JOIN US: Winning projects requires more than technical expertise—it takes the confidence to communicate your ideas, influence decisions and build lasting trust.

Join SLC3 for Constructing Communication Confidence: Win the Room Before You Win the Work, a high-impact, interactive session featuring executive communication coach Dallas Amsden, SLC3’s most requested speaker.

Dallas will share proven strategies to help you present with clarity, manage nerves under pressure and make your message memorable in every room you enter.

You’ll leave ready to:

Speak confidently in high-stakes meetings and presentations
Present your ideas with clarity and impact
Build trust through authentic communication
Stand out during interviews and project pursuits
Communicate in ways people remember—and act on

Event Details:

Thursday, August 27, 2026

Greenbriar Hills Country Club

12665 Big Bend Blvd.

Kirkwood, MO 63122

Schedule:

7:30 a.m. — Registration

8:00 a.m. — Plated breakfast

8:00–10:00 a.m. — Program

Registration:

SLC3 Members: $65

Non-Members: $80

Whether you’re presenting to a client, leading a meeting or pursuing your next project, stronger communication can help you become a stronger leader—and win the work.

Join us for 2nd Friday Coffee & Networking at JEMA—a relaxed morning designed to help you make new connections, exchange ideas and build opportunities with fellow industry professionals.

📅 Friday, September 11

⏰ 7:30–9:00 AM

📍 JEMA | 2823 Olive St., St. Louis, MO 63103

🎟️ Free event—registration required

Start your morning with great coffee and even better conversation.

Join SLC3’s Emerging Leaders for a Night at the Ballpark on Tuesday, September 15!

Connect with fellow members while enjoying St. Louis Cardinals baseball from the Hoffmann Brothers Rooftop, located on the third floor of Cardinals Nation in Ballpark Village and overlooking Busch Stadium.

The rooftop opens at 5:15 p.m., with the game beginning at 6:45 p.m. Tickets are $105 per person and include food and an open bar. Space is limited, so register early for an evening of baseball, networking and fun!

Location: Hoffmann Brothers Rooftop at Cardinals Nation, 601 Clark Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63102

Ticket Price: $105 per person

Rooftop Opens: 5:15 p.m.

Game Begins: 6:45 p.m.

MEMBER HIGHLIGHTS

SLC3 congratulates Keri Crawford on joining SCI Engineering, Inc. as Senior Business Development Leader!

Keri brings a passion for people, relationship-building, and connecting professionals across the AEC community. In her new role, she’ll bring her experience, energy, and industry relationships to SCI Engineering while helping create new opportunities, strengthen partnerships, and support the firm’s continued growth.

SCI Engineering provides multidisciplinary consulting services throughout the project lifecycle, including geotechnical, environmental, natural and cultural resources, and construction materials testing services.

Congratulations, Keri, on this exciting new chapter! We look forward to seeing the connections and opportunities you’ll create at SCI Engineering.

Thank You, Rhonda: Celebrating 15+ Years of Leadership & Impact

SLC3 joins the St. Louis community in recognizing Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge as she concludes an extraordinary tenure as Airport Director at St. Louis Lambert International Airport.

For more than 15 years, Rhonda has helped shape STL into the airport it is today. Under her leadership, Lambert modernized, expanded and strengthened its connections to the region and the world. New routes were added, major projects moved forward, and millions of travelers passed through its doors—all while Rhonda provided the steady, thoughtful leadership that has defined her career.

Her legacy, however, extends far beyond projects and passenger numbers. It can be seen in the confidence she placed in her team, the relationships she built throughout the region and the lasting impact of her leadership on the people and organizations that have had the opportunity to work alongside her.

St. Louis Lambert International Airport is one of our region's most important economic and infrastructure assets, and its continued growth creates opportunities throughout the architecture, engineering, construction and development community. Strong leadership and long-term investment at STL have helped move transformational projects forward while strengthening St. Louis' ability to compete, connect and grow.

Rhonda, thank you for your many years of leadership, vision and service to the St. Louis region. Congratulations on an extraordinary career, and all our best for whatever comes next!

NEWS & UPDATES

STL GROWTH REPORT

Tracking the projects, businesses, and investments shaping the St. Louis metro region.

The St. Louis metro region continues to build momentum with major redevelopment projects, commercial investment, and business expansion. From transformative downtown construction to new business openings and neighborhood revitalization, here’s what is shaping the region this week.

Development Spotlight

City Commons Redevelopment Reaches Major Milestone

Construction is officially underway on Rollick, a six-story mixed-use development that marks the first major phase of the ambitious $400 million City Commons redevelopment in Downtown West.

The $24 million project will feature 74 apartments and approximately 3,000 square feet of street-level commercial space, creating new housing and retail opportunities just west of Energizer Park. City Commons is expected to ultimately deliver more than 1,000 residential units and hundreds of thousands of square feet of commercial space, helping transform Downtown West into a vibrant live-work-play neighborhood.

Business Expansion

Royal Banks Continues Regional Growth

Royal Banks is expanding its footprint with a new full-service branch under construction in Glen Carbon, Illinois. The investment reflects continued confidence in the Metro East market while strengthening banking services for residents and businesses throughout the region.

City Centre Complex (C3) Project Update

The City of St. Charles continues to make significant progress on the City Centre Complex (C3), one of the most transformative redevelopment initiatives in the community’s history. Located on the former American Car & Foundry (ACF) site, the project is reshaping a long-underutilized property into a vibrant civic destination designed to serve residents for generations.

A New Civic Hub for the Community

The C3 development will become the new heart of city government and community activity, bringing together essential public services and recreational amenities in a single, accessible location. Key features of the project include:

A modern City Hall designed to improve access to municipal services.
A new Recreation and Senior Center offering expanded fitness, wellness, and community programming.
A year-round Farmers Market providing a permanent home for local vendors and community events.
New public plazas, green spaces, and walking trails that encourage outdoor recreation and community gathering.
Improved streets, parking, and infrastructure to support future growth and enhance accessibility.

Connecting St. Charles’ Historic Districts

Beyond the new facilities, one of the project’s most impactful goals is reconnecting areas of the city that have historically been separated. New transportation corridors, pedestrian pathways, and public spaces will create stronger connections between Historic Main Street, Frenchtown, and the Missouri River waterfront.

St. Charles Food Hall and Farmer’s Market Design Approved

A major redevelopment project in St. Charles is moving one step closer to reality. JEMA’s new design for the St. Charles Food Hall and Farmer’s Market, located within the redeveloped historic American Car Foundry district, has officially been approved and is moving forward.

The project will transform a piece of St. Charles’ industrial history into a vibrant destination for food, shopping and community gathering. Construction is currently slated to begin in the first quarter of 2027.

Projects like this demonstrate the impact thoughtful redevelopment and adaptive reuse can have across the St. Louis region. By bringing new life and economic activity to historic properties, the project represents opportunities for the architecture, engineering and construction community while strengthening the places where we live, work and gather.

Congratulations to SLC3 member JEMA on another exciting project moving forward!

Making the Most of Every Minute: SLC3’s “On the Go, Organization & Life Hacks”

Last week, SLC3 members gathered at Bristol Seafood Grill for an engaging and practical program focused on a challenge nearly every busy professional can relate to: how to stay organized, productive and focused when life and work are constantly moving.

Guest speaker Dawn Baumgartner of Cornerstone Coaching and Consulting led On the Go, Organization & Life Hacks, sharing practical strategies attendees can put to work both professionally and personally. From simplifying everyday routines to making better use of our time and creating systems that help keep priorities on track, Dawn offered plenty of useful takeaways—and sparked great conversation around the room.

Paired with a wonderful lunch at Bristol Seafood Grill, the program provided a valuable opportunity for SLC3 members to step away from their busy schedules, connect with one another and leave with ideas they could begin using right away.

Thank you to Dawn for sharing her expertise and to everyone who joined us! Programs like this are an important part of SLC3’s mission to bring our community together for meaningful professional development, connection and continued growth.

"What Should I Do?" and Start Thinking Like a Leader

One of the biggest differences between emerging leaders and everyone else isn’t intelligence or experience—it’s how they approach problems.

When faced with a challenge, many people immediately ask:

“What should I do?”
“Can someone tell me how to handle this?”
“What’s the right answer?”

Leaders ask different questions:

“What outcome are we trying to achieve?”
“What information am I missing?”
“What options do I have?”
“What are the consequences of each choice?”
“If I were responsible for the success of this project or business, what decision would I make?”

Strategic thinking isn’t about always having the answer. It’s about learning to think through a problem before asking someone else to solve it. In construction, where every decision can affect safety, schedules, budgets, quality, and client relationships, this mindset is essential—whether you’re in the office or on the jobsite.

Beyond Cost Savings: Why Construction Is Redefining the Value of Prefabrication

The industry is moving beyond one simple question.

For years, every new construction innovation has had to answer one thing:

Will it save money?

Today, owners, contractors, and procurement teams are asking a much different question.

Will it reduce project risk?

That’s an important distinction because many innovations—including prefabrication—don’t always generate dramatic reductions in project cost. What they often deliver instead is greater predictability.

That may be even more valuable.

AI: Did You Know?

Most people use AI like Google.

The real power comes from treating it like an employee.

Instead of asking:

"Marketing ideas"

Try:

"You're my marketing director. Give me 10 inexpensive ways to increase member referrals this month for a co-working space."

The better the role you assign AI, the better the answers become.

CALL FOR COMMITTEE MEMBERS? TIME TO HELP...

Much of the work we do is driven by member volunteers, and right now our committees could use a few more voices and helping hands. Committee service offers an opportunity to influence priorities, collaborate with peers, and support initiatives that impact the industry and our region. If you’re willing to get involved—even in a small way—we invite you to sign up.

Committee Info

HELP US KEEP THE PICTURE CURRENT

The construction and development landscape across the region continues to move quickly—and keeping our information accurate and relevant matters.

We’ve recently updated our construction and development listings to reflect new projects, changes in scope, and activity across the greater St. Louis area. These updates help ensure that our members have access to timely, useful insight into what’s being built, redeveloped, and planned throughout the region.

That said, no one has a better pulse on what’s happening than the people working in it every day. If you’re aware of a project that’s underway, planned, or evolving—or if you notice something that needs to be updated—we invite you to share it with us. Your input helps strengthen the resource for everyone.

Keeping this information current is a collaborative effort, and we appreciate your help in making it as accurate and valuable as possible.

CLICK FOR LATEST UPDATES

Have something to share? Reach out anytime—we’re always glad to hear from you.

ST. CHARLES COUNTY BIDS

ST. LOUIS COUNTY BIDS

CITY OF ST. LOUIS BIDS

JEFFERSON COUNTY BIDS

SIBA BIDS

GOLD SPONSORS

SEND US YOUR COMPANY UPDATES!

SILVER SPONSORS

If you are considering joining us, contact Morgan McDevitt about Membership. Don't miss our member-only activities and perks!

Let's be sure to welcome our newest members! We look forward to partnering with you!

PLEASE WELCOME

Highstreet Insurance & Financial Services

Highstreet Insurance Partners delivers business insurance, employee benefits, financial services, personal insurance, and specialty risk solutions through a nationwide network of community-focused agencies. By combining local relationships with national resources, Highstreet helps businesses and individuals protect what matters most while providing responsive service and expert guidance.