Inside the Pursuit

Every construction project takes shape long before the first shovel hits the ground. McCarthy's path to building the new Children's Mercy employee parking garage began at least six years before we broke ground.

The project pursuit involved much more than a polished proposal or compelling presentation. Instead, it was the culmination of building relationships and earning the trust of the Children’s Mercy team long before the project was even on the table.

Of course, trust isn't built in a single meeting. It develops through repeated touchpoints: getting to know the people behind the projects, listening carefully, and demonstrating that we'll be a reliable partner.

We recognized Children’s Mercy needed to learn more about our healthcare and parking garage expertise. So we arranged for facilities leadership team members to tour other relevant projects McCarthy has completed. In retrospect, these opportunities proved to be a turning point where the relationship progressed into what it is today.

Enlisting the Parking Dream Team

When the Children's Mercy executive leadership team identified a new employee parking garage as a top priority, our team was well positioned to compete for the project.  

Because staff members were parking in a surface lot north of campus and taking a shuttle to work every day, leadership wanted to solve that issue—and quickly. 

We tapped into the expertise of our McCarthy parking garage specialists, along with two long-standing design partners: International Parking Design (IPD) for architecture and Ficcadenti Waggoner and Castle for structural engineering. And the project’s civil designer, McClure, was instrumental in navigating the Authorities Having Jurisdiction in Kansas City, Mo., and in assisting Children’s with the titling of the property on a single project site.

Together, this team has successfully delivered dozens of innovative projects across the region—bringing a depth of specialized experience that's difficult to replicate.

Our team proposed a design-build delivery method and presented multiple design options, each delivering more parking stalls than called for in the RFP.

We also evaluated different structural systems, ultimately deciding that a cast-in-place system made the most sense for Children’s Mercy. Some of the specific benefits it offered included lower future structural maintenance costs, improved sight lines and enhanced overall safety for employees.

All of these recommendations helped elevate the project from a functional garage to a true campus asset.

By introducing Project Manager Brian Mueller early in the process, Children’s Mercy began building a relationship with the person who would serve as their primary onsite partner throughout design and construction. And we would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge the ongoing role Project Senior Director Colin Halsey has had in building our relationship with the Children’s Mercy team. 

Throughout the pursuit process, our primary goal was simple: to make it easy for Children’s Mercy. The less they had to worry about the construction process, the more they could focus on their mission of caring for kids and families across the region.

In our next update, we'll outline some of the project challenges and dive into our day-to-day construction activities.

Jeff Bennett is Director of Business Development with McCarthy Building Companies, leading those efforts in Kansas City. Loghan Schroer is a Sr. Marketing Coordinator who leads proposal efforts across McCarthy's Central Region.