2023 News

Fulcrum & ConstructReach Engage the Next Generation of Industry Professionals
Fulcrum Construction (Atlanta, GA) participated in ConstructReach’s signature community engagement event “I Built This!” (IBT), August 29-30 at Greenbriar Mall to provide a platform for construction companies, educators, students, household brand names, and the surrounding community to gather for a day filled with learning, fun, and promise. IBT Atlanta invited hundreds of high school students from neighboring school districts to learn more about the industry and participate in hands-on activities relating to construction design and development. Each day over 100 high school students, aged 16-18 years, from neighboring school districts learned more about the construction industry and participate in hands-on activities related to carpentry, fixturing, design and technology, mechanical, and plumbing. Students also were able to connect with general contractors and other industry professionals to discuss internships, career opportunities, and scholarships. Click here to read more.

Groom Construction Receives 2023 Construction Firm of the Year Award
Groom Construction (Salem, MA) was awarded the 2023 Construction Firm of the Year Award from the Boston Real Estate Times. The publication featured a profile of the firm on their website, describing its evolution over the past 40 years from a residential firm to a national general contracting business. The article included interview with founders David Groom, Dwight Groom, and Tom Groom, and principal Scott Faulkner. Click here to read more.

Harmon Breaks Ground on Clinic
Harmon Construction (North Vernon, IN) broke ground on Rush Memorial Hospital’s Milroy Clinic in Milroy, Ind. The 4,000-square-foot facility will house exam rooms, a nurses’ station, lobby and main entrance, lab rooms, and staff break room. The project team is slated for completion in early summer 2024. Click here to read more.

Immel Welcomes New Employees
Immel Construction (Green Bay, WI) has welcomed new employees to its team. Mike Arend joined the company as a superintendent. He has over 20 years of industry experience and will be responsible for all onsite day-to-day activities for retail projects. Steve Farrell joined as an assistant superintendent with over 25 years of industry experience. He works closely with Immel’s teams on site and assists the daily construction operations for a variety of projects. Jeff Benson joined Immel as a superintendent with over 40 years of experience. His primary responsibilities include managing the daily job site duties for a variety of Immel’s markets, ensuring budget, schedule and expectations are met and exceeded with clients. Adam Dukek joined Immel as a superintendent with nearly 15 years of retail and industry experience. He is Immel’s retail expert, managing the daily operations on site for its retail projects across the Midwest. Alex Martel joined Immel as an assistant project manager with nearly 10 years of industry experience. Martel will work directly with Immel’s team of project managers, superintendents and additional staff to manage the firm’s retail projects. Click here to read more.

Immel Part of Industrial Park Project
Immel Construction (Green Bay, WI), along with the Door County Economic Development Corporation, the City of Sturgeon Bay, and leasing agent NAI Pfefferle recently announced a new 50,000-square-foot development project that will create the largest industrial building in the business park. The building is divisible to 5,000 square foot spaces, which could fill the demand by businesses looking for manufacturing, warehouse/distribution, assembly, and other industrial uses. Click here to read more.

Kerricook Building Out Home Sense
Kerricook Construction (LaGrange, OH) has a permit to build out a Homesense in Riverplace Shopping Center in Mandarin, FL. The project cost is $2.14 million. Kerricook will be remodeling the 36,076-square-foot former Stein Mart store. Click here to read more.

Tom Rectenwald Construction Gets Permit for A&F
Tom Rectenwald Construction (Zelienople, PA) was recently issued a permit to remodel a 4,481-square-foot space for Abercrombie & Fitch in the St. Johns Town Center in Jacksonville, FL. Click here to read more.

Tri-North Builders Super Featured in Meet the Construction Workers Series
Tri-North Builders (Fitchburg, WI) superintendent Trisha Sund was featured in the Wisconsin State Journal’s series, “Meet some of the construction workers who are changing the face of Madison.” Trisha joined Tri-North in 1999, working her way up from apprentice to carpenter to foreman to her current position as a superintendent. “I love seeing clients happy with the space that we’ve built for them,” Sund said. “We’re all really proud of our jobs and we all take pride in our work.” Click here to read more.

Management Resource Systems & LuIulemon
Management Resource Systems, Inc. (High Point, NC) is the contractor for an almost $1,000,000 project that will more than double the size of the Lululemon at St. Johns Town Center in Jacksonville, FL. Click here to read more.

Rectenwald Brothers Starts Work on Ulta
Rectenwald Brothers Construction Inc. (Cranberry Township, PA) is working on Ulta Beauty’s ninth Jacksonville, FL location, The city issued a permit for a 8,844-square-foot build-out in Claire Lane Center in the Mandarin area. Click here to read more.

Taylor Brothers to Build InterOculus Installation
As part of Exhibit Columbus, Taylor Brothers Construction Company (Columbus, IN) is building the InterOculus installation, a canopy-like structure designed by Practice for Architecture and Urbanism, in downtown Columbus. Click here to read more.

Fortney & Weygandt Gives Back
The team at Fortney & Weygandt, Inc. (North Olmsted, Ohio) has been giving back this summer by participating in several local events ranging from the Cleveland Food bank to joining with Drink Local Drink Tap for a beach clean up on Lake Erie.

Fortney & Weygandt Update
Fortney & Weygandt, Inc. (North Olmsted, Ohio) has all meals covered: For breakfast, they are the contractor on a new First Watch location in Ohio. If you prefer a coffee fix, they are working on Starbucks locations in Ohio and Indiana. For lunch, Arby’s has them building in Ohio, Indiana, and Minnesota or if you quiero Taco Bell, there are two locations under construction in Ohio. For dinner, head to the new Longhorn in Chesapeake, VA. The company continues to build for Nordstrom Rack, and will soon finish a location in Overland Park, KS. They also have three Sgt. Clean Car Wash locations underway in Northeast Ohio. Fortney & Weygandt is working with CVS on several store resets throughout the country and continues to assist Charles Schwab with their office growth, including a new project in Pittsburgh.

Tri-North PM Participates in Construction Camp for Girls
This summer, the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County hosted a construction camp for middle school girls called “She Builds.” The camp focused on construction trades, engineering and architecture. Girls learned about the trades through hands on activities, lessons and site visits. Erika Cleaver, a Project Manager at Tri-North Builders (Fitchburg, WI), was part of the camp planning committee. She emphasized the importance of introducing girls to opportunities in construction: “We really want to make it an equality thing in construction,” Cleaver said. “The more diverse teams that we have the better ideas that we have and the better we can build our construction projects.” Click here to read more.

Wolverine Names New Director of Construction
Wolverine Building Group (Grand Rapids, MI) announced the promotion of Kurtis Fritz to Director of Construction, focused on the multi-unit residential market. Fritz began his project management career working in concrete, later working in residential remodeling and historic restoration. He has worked for retailer Meijer, Inc. in construction management, supervising multiple concurring projects. Since joining Wolverine in 2018, Fritz has led several projects, most notably Residence Inn by Marriott Grand Rapids Downtown, which won the 2022 Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) Design Award for Best Hotel.

ESI is a Major Player in the Data Center Market
Engineered Structures Inc. (ESI) (Meridian, ID) is listed on Coherent Market Insights’ list of major players in the data center market. ESI is included in the report “Data Center Construction – Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities and Analysis of Top Key Player Forecast to 2030“, a market research report that provides a comprehensive analysis of the current state and future potential of the Data Center Construction market. According to a recent study, data center construction market is expected to exhibit a compound annual growth rate of 7.4% over the forecast period from 2021 to 2028. Click here to read more.

Schimenti Hires New Director of Business Development
Schimenti Construction (Ridgefield, CT) has hired Jim Scarpone as its new director of business development. A former director of business development for Shawmut Design and Construction, Jim is a member of VMSD’S advisory board, Shop! Association board of directors, Innovating Commerce Serving Communities, and Retail Design Institute’s New York chapter. Jim has more than 20 years experience in both the New York metro and New England markets. Click here to read more.

Tri-North PM Named a Groundbreaking Woman in Construction
Katie Miller, a Project Manager at Tri-North Builders (Fitchburg, WI) has been named by the The Daily Reporter as one of 50 groundbreaking women in construction. The 50 honorees range from longtime business owners to laborers to forewomen and every discipline in between and will be recognized at an awards event in August. Click here to read more. 

Wolverine Adds New COO & Safety Director
Wolverine Building Group (Grand Rapids, MI) announced that Derek Hunderman will be the new Chief Operations Officer of the company. Derek has nearly 20 years of experience in commercial construction and real estate and has generated strategy, developed systems, and improved metrics for several of Michigan’s industry leaders. Adding a COO to the executive team is the planned next step to support the firm’s expansion of services under the ownership of Curt Mulder.

Wolverine also recently hired former Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOHSA) leader, Mike Walters as Safety Director. Mike began his career in construction as a journeyman electrician in the southwest region of Michigan. As his career grew, he found his inclination toward safety and safety education pulled him toward joining MIOSHA. He spent over a decade in regulation, then began work in safety education and training. Click here to read more. 

Westwood Contractors Adds New Project Manager
Westwood Contractors, Inc. (Fort Worth, TX) announced the addition of Ron Winchek as Project Manager. Ron has more than seven years of experience in the construction industry, including estimating, onsite construction management, and project management. Most recently, he served as the Director of Project Management & Preconstruction Services for Kuhns Group, a restaurant-focused general contractor. Over the course of his career, his clients have included Arby’s, Fazoli’s, H&M, Helzberg Diamonds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Tim Hortons, and Wendy’s.

Fortney & Weygandt Update
Fortney & Weygandt (North Olmsted, OH) is putting the final touches on a Nordstrom Rack in Wichita, KS, and getting ready to start on a new one in Overland Park, KS. They have three Sgt. Clean Car Wash locations underway in Northeast Ohio. They are starting a Discount Tire in Minnesota as well. The team is wrapping up a Taco Bell in Elyria, OH and will soon begin two new ones in Canton and Lorain. They are also working on two Arby’s locations in Toledo, OH and remodeling a Starbuck’s in Indianapolis, IN. Fortney & Weygandt is working with CVS on several store resets throughout the country. In the commercial realm, they have an office project for Charles Schwab in Charlottesville, VA and a new office remodel for Progressive Insurance in Highland Heights, OH.

Jessica Elliott joins Westwood Contractors as HR Generalist
Westwood Contractors, Inc. (Fort Worth, TX) has enhanced its team with the addition of Jessica Elliott as Human Resources (HR) Generalist. Mrs. Elliott will be working directly with Robert Benda, Chief Executive Officer, to manage in-house personnel activities including recruiting, onboarding, training, benefits administration, performance coaching, and compensation management. In addition, she will collaborate with the firm’s HR consultant Mark Mitford, Managing Director at HR Catalyst, and his team. Click here to read more.

Wesbuilt Showcases Sabyasashi
Wesbuilt (New York, NY) recently added a jewel to its luxury retail portfolio: the Sabyasashi home decor, fashion, and wedding sari store in Manhattan's West Village. The Indian luxury brand's store features expansive millwork, stunning lighting fixtures, and a labyrinth of showrooms reminiscent of traditional Indian stores. Click here to view the 3D scan of the project.

Fortney & Weygandt Update
Fortney & Weygandt (North Olmsted, OH) is working with Starbucks to close several locations in preparation for new ones that better meet their model. They remain active with refresh and remodel projects for CVS and Ubreakifix retail locations throughout the country. The company will be starting a new Taco Bell in Elyria, OH and continues to be busy with several projects in multiple states for Arby’s and Chipotle. They were recently awarded a new office location for Charles Schwab in Charlottesville, VA. They are also doing a new office remodel for Northwestern Mutual in OH. They will be working on a Nordstrom Rack in Wichita, KS. They are also keeping busy with Sgt. Clean Car Wash, in various stages of construction on multiple locations in Northeast OH. Wild Fork Foods is another new client that has us building refrigerated warehouse spaces/stores in several U.S. cities.

Lakeview Construction Update
Lakeview Construction (Pleasant Prairie, WI) completed a renovation on a new Harbor Freight store in Craig, CO. Construction on the 15,000-square-foot space began in November to build the new store on the west side of the Centennial Mall. Click here to read more.

The company also recently completed a 6,220-square-foot build out of PetSense in Jacksonville, FL. PetSense is a pet specialty retailer and subsidiary of Tractor Supply Co. Click here to read more.

Lakeview is the GC on a $1.3 million improvement project for a new Joann store in Columbia Center mall in Kennewick, WA. Improvements in the 29,400-square-foot store include interior partitions and finishes, lighting, power, heating, air conditioning and ventilation and plumbing. Click here to read more.

Thomas Grace Completes Sephora
All five Northeast Florida Kohl’s department stores are adding Sephora shops. Thomas Grace Construction, Inc. (Stillwater, MN) completed the first in Shoppes at Bartram Park in Jacksonville. The company remodeled 2,500 square feet to add a Sephora beauty products department. Click here to read more.

Tri-North Featured as Top Workplace
Tri-North Builders (Fitchburg, WI) was featured as a top workplace by the Wisconsin State Journal in the small-firm category. It was noted that Tri-North’s 83 local employees enjoy employee ownership, work-life balance, an in-house childcare center, onsite fitness center, and company-sponsored employee events. Tri-North is also active in supporting causes that benefit children with disabilities, fight breast cancer and promoting the construction industry as a career path for young people. Click here to read more.

Wolverine Update
Wolverine Building Group (Grand Rapids, MI) is  the architect and general contractor on a 200,000-square-foot industrial building in Gaines Township, MI. The structure, which could host multiple businesses, will provide space for distribution, warehousing and logistics, or light manufacturing. Overall, the early projected cost estimate for the facility is more than $9 million. The project could take about a year to complete. Click here to read more.

Trailer Equipment/Trailer X-press, known for supporting Hyundai, Dorsey, Manac, and Capacity yard trucks, is expanding with a new 108,000 sq.-ft., facility in Byron Center, MI. The dealer has partnered with Wolverine Building Group for the construction and design of the new facility, which sits on nearly 100 acres of land and will feature many new offerings, including a new truck and trailer wash operation built to be big and easy enough to get in and get out with a truck and trailer. Click here to read more.

A group of Wolverine construction professionals is taking on elevated roles. Jon Reimink, Chad Hall, Kaylee Dillard, John Lafrinere, Brandon Bienhoff, and Francis Pytlowany will assume new roles.

Reimink has been named senior project manager. He has nearly two decades of construction experience, handling high-profile projects such as the expansive and iconic Kent County Youth Fairgrounds and the new cocktail and tapas bar in downtown Grand Rapids, Gin-Gins.

Hall is now an assistant project manager, expanding his leadership in Wolverine’s mid-state office in Lansing. Hall’s efforts with construction projects at Sparrow Health Systems has kept work progressing, hitting targets for budgets and timelines.

Dillard is now an assistant project manager,; she began her career at Wolverine as a summer intern while attending Purdue University. Working in multiple disciplines, she has worked on several large-scale multi-family projects, industrial warehousing and manufacturing and a variety of traditional commercial construction project.

Lafrinere has been promoted to Project Manager II. In his new role, Lafrinere will be responsible for overseeing major multi-family projects in the Brighton area. His early success at Wolverine in supporting roles on notable projects, such as Residence Inn Downtown Grand Rapids.

Bienhoff has been promoted to Project Manager and will be continuing his fast-paced, complex work constructing QuikTrip Travel Centers across the Midwest, as well as building local restaurants and retail projects.

Pytlowany, who began his Wolverine career as an intern, has been promoted to Project Manager. In his new position, he will also be leading construction on several QuikTrip locations, mixing expertise in retail, infrastructure, and restaurant construction. While completing his degree in construction management, Wolverine enlisted his skills, subsequent to his internship, to continuing completing regional builds near his university.

RCA Members on Board of AGC of Wisconsin
Paul Martzke, president of Immel Construction (Green Bay, WI) has been elected president of the Associated General Contractors of Wisconsin 2023 board of directors. Anna Stern, vice president of Tri-North Builders (Madison, WI), is a past president of the chapter and will serve on the executive committee and board along with Martzke.

McDonald One of Indy’s Best and Brightest
Shannon McDonald, Accounting Manager at Taylor Bros. Construction Co., Inc. (Columbus, IN) was named as a recipient of the 2023 Indy’s Best and Brightest honors by Junior Achievement of Central Indiana. The award showcases up-and-coming professionals and the next generation of leaders in the region. Finalists in each category were judged on professional accomplishments, civic contributions, character and leadership qualities. Click here to read more.

Robert Benda Assumes Role as CEO of Westwood Contractors
Westwood Contractors, Inc. has announced that Robert Benda has assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer effective February 10th, 2023.  Mr. Benda has served the company in several roles since joining Westwood in 1987, most recently as Chairman of the Board, a title which he will continue to hold.  Upon assuming this role, Mr. Benda issued the following statement:  “I look forward to charting the path forward for the company as we continue to grow and to help position Westwood for its next 40 years of success.  I am excited to return to active leadership of the company and to working with our dedicated team of construction professionals to achieve the ambitious goals to which we all aspire.” Click here to read more.

ESI Receives Award of Merit
Engineered Structures, Inc. (ESI), Idaho Falls, ID, was recognized with the Award of Merit Residential/Hospitality for The Hearth on Broad. The award was part of the 2022 ENR Mountain States Best Projects. The eight-story, 222,000-sq-ft apartment community provides 161 homes and 5,000 sq ft of retail/restaurant space in the heart of downtown Boise. The podium-style construction includes post-tension concrete decks from the basement up to the fourth floor, with wood frame construction on remaining levels. Its Z-shaped design diverges from the typical block-style buildings of Boise and provides every unit with views of mountains, parks and downtown. Click here to read more. 

Tri-North Begins Breaks Ground on Library
Tri-North Builders, Fitchburg WI, recently broke ground on the new Oregon Public Library, in the Village of Oregon, WI. Construction of the building and its variety of features–including a storytime room, a community meeting room, study rooms, a quiet reading room, solar panels and a geothermal system–should be finished next winter. Click here to read more.

R.E. Crawford to Begin Work on Pet Supermarket
R.E. Crawford Construction, Sarasota, FL, has received a permit to build out at Pet Supermarket in Dames Pointe Plaza in Arlington, FL.
Click here to read more.

Fred Olivieri Installs Canton Signs
Canton, OH has added welcome signs to major entrances, proclaiming, "Canton: Hall of Fame City." Fred Olivieri Construction Co., of North Canton, is very involved in the local community, and began work on the project last spring. Four signs have been installed and the city is considering six additional locations. Click here to read more.

Wolverine to Build Distillery, Expand Country Club
Wolverine Building Group, Grand Rapids, MI, is the GC for the Eastern Kille Distillery, which is building a new headquarters, distillery operations, bar and restaurant in Plainfield Charter Township, WI. The custom-engineered building will double the size of the company’s existing distillery operations, and will include a 2,800-square-foot outdoor cocktail garden. Click here to read more.

Wolverine is also the GC for a $16 million expansion project at the Blythefield Country Club, which is building out its existing facilities with plans to be complete in time for the 2023 Meijer LPGA Classic. The renovations are of the entire facility, while construction also includes improvements to the aquatics and racquet sports facilities. Click here to read more.
 

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