Heavy lifting has begun on the Edward Jones North Campus in St. Louis, as construction of the 9-story office building, 4-story training center and multi-purpose room, which began in early January 2008, shifts into high gear.
Site work is completed and crews are drilling piers and starting foundation work. This past weekend, McCarthy erected a 200-foot-tall tower crane, which will provide the necessary muscle to erect structural steel, hoist mechanical and electrical equipment, and serve as the workhorse for the project.
The 372,000-square-foot office building is the first of three new office buildings and corresponding parking garages, all designed by St. Louis-based Arcturis, to be built by McCarthy at North Campus over the next three years. Some of the new buildings will replace smaller structures dating back to the 1960s and will give the financial services firm 650,000 square feet of new office space.
“After months of planning and design coordination, we’re excited to see the building come up out of the ground,” remarked Jodi Gay, director, facilities for Edward Jones. Distinctive design and the incorporation of sustainable features, such as day lighting controls and sun shelves for light harvesting, will create an inviting, comfortable work space for both employees and visitors. Terrazzo floors along with the use of stone, zinc and terra cotta on the building’s interior create harmonious visual appeal.
The multi-purpose room can accommodate up to 600 people and will feature a retractable seating system optimizing flexible use of the space. The training facility will enable more than 500 Financial Advisors at a time to hone their skills.
Although most of the Edward Jones campus expansion will occur in Northwest St. Louis County just east of I-270 and south of Dorsett Road, McCarthy is also constructing a 225,000-square-foot office building addition and 960-car parking garage adjacent to the firm’s headquarters location at Manchester and Ballas Roads, known as the South Campus. McCarthy is also constructing a parking garage at Edward Jones’ Tempe, Ariz., location. Both the South Campus and Tempe projects are designed by Arcturis.
Paul Hartwig, McCarthy senior vice president-operations, calls the project an outstanding development for the St. Louis community. “Along with adding new jobs at Edward Jones, this project will keep 300 to 400 construction workers very busy over the next two years.”
Hartwig said the Edward Jones, Arcturis, and McCarthy teams have been working very closely together over the last year and a half. “We’ve met or exceeded our commitments. Each project in the campus expansion plan is tracking according to schedule and budget and will be ready to meet the growing needs of the company.”
Both North and South Campus projects are expected to be completed by September and November, 2009 respectively; the Tempe project will be finished in the spring of 2010.
About McCarthy
Founded in 1864, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest privately held construction firms. The company provides general contracting, construction management, program management and design/build services for healthcare, education, parking, entertainment, retail, laboratory, biotechnical, microelectronic, and industrial facilities; office buildings; tenant interiors; mixed-use; and bridges and highways. McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned. More information about the company is available online at www.mccarthy.com.
