Case Studies November 2020

Always plan for disaster. So emphasizes David Thibodeaux, who’s been proactive on that front in his two decades overseeing facilities and security operations at multiple national companies that operate internationally. But until this year, the preemptive concerns were mostly about fires, wiring, floods, burst pipes, malfunctioning elevators, internal and external theft, asset management, project management, […]

On entering the state-of-the-art academic building, students will encounter an expansive and bright Welcome Center, STEM Outreach Center, café and collaborative commons. From there, they’ll have access to multi-use classrooms, research areas, teaching labs, conference rooms and offices—all part of the three-story, 107,000-square-foot brick and glass structure. The focal point of the facility, though, will […]

This grocery chain’s latest opening had some curve balls thrown its way. COVID-19 has had such effects on construction projects everywhere, but it wouldn’t unduly delay MOM’s Organic Market from expanding to Abington, Pennsylvania, this past Sept. 4. Oh, it took some pivoting, acknowledges Caitlin Summers, the new director of construction and facilities who oversaw […]

Kevin Costner once heard a whispering voice telling him to build a baseball diamond in his Iowa cornfield. One state west, in Nebraska, Lee McQueen has not heard mysterious voices. Still, as the University of Nebraska at Kearney expands into acreage once used to farm corn and alfalfa, the expansion carries a “The Field of […]

It’s a standing joke that marks the end of an academic year at Milford School District SAU-40 in bucolic southern New Hampshire. An ordinary academic year, that is. “Don’t worry,” Bill Cooper is typically told after the students are dismissed in mid-June. “It’ll be a light summer. Just the usual projects on your to-do list.” […]

Simply put, people are what drive the success of Pacific Living Properties and its communities. That not only includes the teams that build and manage the properties, but also the residents who make their homes there. For more than 20 years, the company has demonstrated a commitment to multifamily investments and has extensive construction and […]

McKinley Avenue once wove its way through Ball State University’s North End on a gentle curve approaching and crossing the bridge over Duck Pond. Now that curve has become a traffic circle fronting new residence and dining halls, buildings that are just part of the growth at Ball State, notes Kelly Knable, the university’s director […]

Experience counts, and Keith Watkins has tons of it when it comes to managing school facilities. For 30 years in towns and cities throughout upstate New York, Watkins has been on facilities management teams. He’s also led national and state associations of school facilities managers, all in the spirit of protecting and maintaining buildings, students […]

There’s something about an on-site visit from a corporate boss that can be unsettling. Especially in these uncertain economic times. Though Curtis Furtaw doesn’t want that to be the case when he makes regular stops at the eight rental properties he oversees for City Club Apartments. Sure, his letterhead identifies him as senior regional facilities […]

Said to be a week or two late in its COVID-19 response, the United Kingdom tried to make up for lost time this past spring and summer, its precautionary measures including strict oversight of construction sites. Among them was a contact center being built in Leeds and much needed by a leading global automaker intent […]