Case Studies Region: Midwest

Once completed in the fall of 2020, the 275,000-square-foot Catalyst Development building—located in the heart of downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan—will stand as a towering testament to the city’s recent resurgence. Known as CD-12, the seven-story multi-use structure of concrete, brick and glass, will strike a deft balance between modernity and the region’s industrial past. The building’s […]

You sound like a football coach, Rick Fechter is told during a midsummer interview with Blueprint. The approachable but demanding facilities director of the Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, school district takes it as a compliment. He concedes there’s no room for subpar performers on his NFL-sized team of around 45. Especially with the start of the […]

Mark Dudgeon might be an oftentimes overlooked but vital cog at Columbus State Community College, overseeing nearly 1.5 million square feet of facilities space that so many folks would take for granted—unless something’s on the blink or out of place. Thankfully, that’s rarely been the case since the 42-year-old Dudgeon became director of operations within […]

It might just be the best part of Dominic Petruzzelli’s job, walking past an art exhibit on his way to a planning meeting or hearing classical music wafting through the hallways of Chicago’s Cultural Center, a gorgeous 150-year-old neoclassical building located in the heart of the city’s downtown Loop. As director of facilities management for […]

His company noted for powering infrastructure at Chicago’s two international airports, John Hartmann recently turned down a request to send a crew well outside the Windy City. Thanks, but no thanks, the 33-year-old vice president of third-generation Hartmann Electric Co. Inc. politely told a would-be customer who sought expertise on a baggage handling project at […]

If you’re in Minnesota and you want an alternative energy source—but don’t have the means or interest to invest in solar panels for your home or small business—you have the novel option to buy into a “community solar garden.” Here’s how it works: Groups of customers purchase subscriptions at a central solar facility and receive […]

Uprooting a brick house that is a campus landmark was not in his plans when Steven Pecic arrived at Detroit’s Wayne State University in 2006. Then again, neither was overseeing the entire facility’s operational portfolio and maintenance of the campus, or participating in the construction of the $65 million project that takes the place of […]

It might’ve been the chancellor’s house at one point, but don’t quote him on that. All Keith Stewart knows for sure is it was built sometime in the 1950s—not surprising, given the modified ranch’s dated look and spartan features—and that it became the University of Illinois Springfield’s on-campus childcare center purely by default. Over time, […]

Word of mouth goes a long way for Rieber Contracting, but social media may go even further in keeping the Council Bluffs, Iowa, siding company ahead of its competition. Working jobs throughout the Midwest, Southwest, and Pacific Northwest, CEO Jalon Rieber and Regional Sales Manager Bill Heydenreich say the company relies on its completed jobs […]

To a first-time customer, it probably felt more like a doctor’s office than a community bank: giant pearl white reception desk, white wood paneled walls awash in harsh fluorescent lighting, old brown carpeting and outdated curtains—the list goes on. So when Home Savings Bank (HSB) launched an organization-wide rebrand in 2017, redesigning the bank’s third-busiest […]