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Affordable housing continues to be a challenge for communities across the country. Construction costs continue to rise and developers are facing complicated funding and zoning restrictions, among other challenges. Access to housing is crucial for a healthy community, and the City of Duluth, Minnesota, is working to support people experiencing homelessness through several affordable housing projects.

Center City Housing Corporation, based in Duluth, develops affordable housing and offers a wide range of services for those looking to get back on their feet, such as help with finding a job, transportation, taking care of taxes and other paperwork, and support for alcoholism and other addiction. Its latest development in Duluth, Birchwood Apartments, provides permanent supportive housing for 30 adults struggling with homelessness and behavioral health issues.

To discuss how the City of Duluth and St. Louis County are working to develop more affordable and supportive housing, we are talking to Duluth Mayor Emily Larson, St. Louis County Commissioner Patrick Boyle, Center City Housing’s Executive Director Nancy Cashman, and Board President Pete Johnson.

According to CREW Network’s 2020 Benchmark Study Report, women make up just under 37 percent of the commercial real estate industry. This number has not changed much over the past 15 years. While the number of young women joining the industry is growing, commercial real estate still has a ways to go in terms of inclusion and diversity.

CREW, or Commercial Real Estate Women, is a network of professionals dedicated to transforming the commercial real estate industry by advancing women globally. With over 12,000 members worldwide, CREW Network connects through business networking, leadership development, industry research and career outreach.

Mary Jo Kelly, Vice President of Kraus-Anderson’s Financial Services Group, has built her career in commercial real estate at KA since 1976. She worked her way up from an administration role and has become a leader in the industry, serving as the 2016 president of CREW’s Minnesota chapter.

Claire Roberts, Vice President at Colliers International, is also heavily involved with MNCREW, serving as the 2014 president, a former CREW Network global board member, and will serve as the 2022 chair of the CREW Network Foundation.

Mary Jo and Claire discuss how they have paved such successful careers in a male-dominated industry, how CREW has been a resource, and the future of commercial real estate.

The construction industry continues to face a labor shortage, and in cities like Duluth, Minnesota, located along Lake Superior’s North Shore, ambitious construction and development projects are clouded by the shortage of skilled workers in the trades.

218Trades was designed to provide education and resources for young people in the Duluth area considering a career in the trades. They work directly with local construction companies and union representatives to provide apprenticeships, scholarships, and jobsite exposure to those who are considering a career in the industry.

Kraus-Anderson Office Manager Becca Bohlman, 218Trades Team Lead Dave Cook, and North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters Representative Adam Johnson discuss efforts to expand the construction industry workforce in Northeast Minnesota.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a halt in 2020. Every industry was affected, and retail real estate was hit particularly hard. As e-commerce continues to rise and brick and mortar stores are closing their doors, realty properties need to adapt and evolve. Essential businesses like grocery stores are busier than ever, but ongoing staffing shortages are impacting everyone. KA’s Senior Vice President of Development Matt Alexander, Director of Development Tim Marco, and Leasing Agent Dan Mossey discuss retail trends in real estate.

When Minneapolis Firefighter Jake LaFerriere survived career-ending burn injuries in 2010, he felt little hope for his future. But he soon discovered that his mission in life had changed from firefighting to helping burn survivors find hope and healing, and the non-profit Firefighters For Healing was born.

Over the past decade, Firefighters For Healing has helped countless burn survivors and families of first responders by bringing joy, hope and relief as they endure the treatment and healing process. When tragedy strikes, families rush to the hospital, often times from out of town, with little thought about what to bring, how long they will be away from home, and where they will stay. Firefighters For Healing steps in to provide free housing, resources and support for patients and families.

The non-profit’s new Transitional Healing Center, part of the Moment development in downtown Minneapolis near Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC), is currently under construction. As the first of its kind in the Midwest, the space will include fully furnished suites and community spaces for burn survivor families, rental offices for nonprofits and other providers, and a much-needed space for families and survivors to cope and heal before heading home.

On the latest episode of KA's Build Me Up podcast, Firefighters for Healing Founder Jake LaFerriere and Director of Social Media Paula Wilhelm discuss the non-profit, how it came to be, and what they have planned for the future.

As the construction industry continues to evolve, self-performing work is becoming a popular topic of conversation. The ongoing labor shortage makes it difficult to build up future field leaders, and new technology is needed to make work safer. The flexibility of self-performance for general contractors can create longterm solutions and ultimately benefit the client.

Kraus-Anderson’s Director of Self-Performance Joe Baumann, Executive Vice President Rich Jacobson, and Senior Project Manager Bob Janssen discuss self-perform work and how it is impacting the construction industry.

The City of Rochester, Minnesota is home to the world-renowned Mayo Clinic, and the city is booming with economic growth. At the heart of it all is the Destination Medical Center, or DMC, initiative. This $5.6 billion dollar economic development plan is the largest in Minnesota’s history and is positioning Rochester as a global destination for health and wellness.

The City of Rochester welcomes over 3 million visitors annually, and DMC’s Heart of the City project is revamping downtown Rochester to create a unique and engaging gathering space for residents and visitors alike. As the “front door” to the Mayo Clinic, Heart of the City includes enhanced safety measures, greater accessibility, more trees, interactive art displays and water features, and a family-friendly space to gather in the downtown area.

DMC’s Community Engagement and Experience Director Jamie Rothe, the City of Rochester’s Development Director Josh Johnsen, and Kraus-Anderson Project Superintendent Troy Dale discuss the Heart of the City project and the future of the City of Rochester.

There is no doubt that people are the most valuable asset to any organization. A company’s commitment to identifying and developing talented leaders is critical to its longterm success. Kraus-Anderson partnered with the University of St. Thomas to create its Executive Development Program, or EDP, designed to provide in-depth and hands-on training in team development, empowerment and delegation, and operational decision-making; through coursework, individual and group projects, comprehensive self-assessment and individual coaching.

Director of Professional Development Mike Smoczyk, Realty President Peter Diessner, Director of Operations Tom Roepke, and Executive Development Consultant Peter Krembs discuss the program and some of the core leadership competencies.

For over 25 years, the ACE Mentor Program has been living the mission to engage, excite, and enlighten high school students to pursue careers in architecture, engineering, and construction through mentoring and continued support for their advancement into the industry.  Join us this month on ilume to listen to a few stories of success from students, mentors, and business leaders.  Our guests are Monica Worheide, Khalil Berryhill, and Saura Jost.  Monica is the National Director of Affiliates for ACE.  Khalil is currently Director, Regional Programs (Central); and has experiences as both a former mentor and student in the ACE program.  Saura is a Structural Engineer with Meyer Borgman Johnson, a current a board member of the Twin Cities affiliate, and long-time mentor in the program.

According to the National Association for Women in Construction, women still only make up about 10% of the construction industry workforce. Outreach and opportunity are critical in building a more diverse workforce and addressing the industry’s ongoing labor shortage.

The Association for Women Contractors (AWC) works to empower women business owners and service providers in construction. With a network of over 200 members - 120 of those being women-owned construction companies in Minnesota – AWC is driven to create opportunities, collaborate, and help women succeed in the industry.

Eva Sharot, a Construction Management student at Minnesota State University - Mankato and a summer intern at Kraus-Anderson, received an AWC scholarship to support her studies. In the latest episode of KA's Build Me Up podcast, Eva Sharot, along with AWC Executive Director Barb Lau and KA Project Manager Mark Oelrich, discuss AWC and how they are creating opportunities for young women in construction.

As the retail landscape continues to shift and big box stores are permanently closing their doors, these abandoned, large-scale retail facilities are left empty. Adaptive reuse has become a popular solution. Rather than demolishing the building, they are being repurposed to fit community needs.

Gundersen Health System’s new clinic in Winona, Minnesota, was converted from an old Kmart building that had been sitting abandoned for years. Designed by HSR Associates, the 86,000-square-foot clinic includes primary care, urgent care, infusion services, retail pharmacy, lab, imaging services, and an outpatient surgery center. The repurposed facility is bringing much-needed healthcare access to the Winona community.

But converting a retail space into a healthcare clinic came with its own unique set of challenges. Gundersen Health System’s Bridgett Sanford and Chuck Johnson, along with HSR Associates Director Kyle Schauf and KA Project Manager Eric Pedersen, discuss the Gundersen Winona project and the pros and cons of adaptive reuse.

The construction industry is fast-paced and always evolving – but it has traditionally lacked the technology to streamline the complicated processes, from scheduling, to time tracking, to payroll.

Brent Ramsey and Harry Beckwith saw the need for a tool that worked specifically for the challenges of construction, so they invented Diggsly, a cloud-based tool that is designed to be flexible to meet the needs of both field and office workers. They worked closely with Kraus-Anderson’s Director of Lean and Process Improvement Karen Norman to troubleshoot and develop the tool to meet specific company needs. Employee input was an important part of the process, and KA General Superintendent Dan Braaten was an important voice in ensuring Diggsly worked to make field workers jobs easier.

Brent, Harry, Karen, and Dan discuss the process of implementing new construction technology.

The US Green Building Council Council’s LEED certification has been a sustainability standard in the design and construction industry for decades, providing performance-based measurements on the design, construction, maintenance and operation of commercial buildings. The more newly established WELL standard from the International Well Building Institute (IWBI) focuses solely on the building’s end-user and which factors affect people’s health and comfort. Together, they provide an inclusive framework for a more sustainable future.

When Madison-based Strang Architects planned their move to a new office environment, they approached the tenant buildout guided by the principles of both WELL Building and LEED certification. Kraus-Anderson served as the construction manager for the 8,730-square-foot tenant improvement project, which achieved LEED Gold certification, also became the first WELL Gold Certified project in the state of Wisconsin.

Strang Architects Director of Integrated Control Systems Katie Lowery, Senior Interior Designer Connie Nankee, and Kraus-Anderson Senior Project Manager Nate Yahn discuss the principles of sustainable design and the challenges that come with implementing them.

In past episodes of Build Me Up, we have focused on some of the challenges in the construction industry, including the general lack of diversity in the male-dominated field. We’ve discussed how we can create more opportunities for women, people of color, and other underrepresented groups.

The LGBT+ community has its own unique set of challenges in the workforce. Today we will be shedding light on the T: The transgender community. According to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, there are more than 2 million people in the U.S. who identify as Transgender. They are an extremely diverse community, and are family members, public officials, business owners, colleagues, and friends.

In the latest episode of Build Me Up, Maertens-Brenny Construction Company Project Manager/Estimator Jennifer Richmond discusses her experience as a transgender woman in the construction field. Kraus-Anderson Project Coordinator Krystal Burton also joins the conversation on how we can all be better allies to the Transgender community.

As cities evolve and grow, it’s important to preserve and remember their history. The construction industry is responsible for shaping skylines, and Kraus-Anderson’s 122-year history in the Twin Cities has involved many landmark buildings. KA has a full-time archivist, Matt Goff, to organize the company’s historical archives and artifacts, and to tell the story of many culturally significant buildings throughout the Twin Cities. To discuss construction’s history and the ever-evolving Twin Cities skyline, we are talking to Matt Goff and KA Director of Business Development John Campobasso.

The North Park School for Innovation, part of the Columbia Heights Public School District in Minnesota, is changing the way students prepare for a 21st-century world. The PreK through 5^th Grade building has a focus on STEM, creativity, and sustainability with flexible learning studios that facilitate hands-on learning programs for students.

North Park was designated as a Green Ribbon School, one of less than 50 schools nationwide honored by the Department of Education for leading the way in reducing environmental impact, promoting health, and ensuring high-quality environmental education programming that prepares students with sustainability skills and concepts.

North Park Principal Jeff Cacek and Director of Teaching and Learning Tara Thukral discuss the North Park School for Innovation.

When we talk about construction, it’s easy to jump right to the multi-million dollar projects like skyscrapers, multifamily housing, stadiums and event spaces. These multi-phased projects can be complicated and take years to complete. But a lot of the behind-the-scenes in construction involves smaller scale projects, like tenant improvements, renovations, buildouts, maintenance, and more.

While they may be labeled as Small Projects, they are vastly important to the client, and require attention to detail, flexibility, and diligent planning. Kraus-Anderson’s Special Projects team performs over 300 projects a year that are under $500,000. These projects range from installing plexiglass in office spaces for social distancing to emergency response projects that require tight turnarounds. No matter the project, no job is too small or unique.

KA Vice President Doug Jaeger and Senior Project Manager Bob Janssen discuss the smaller projects in construction and the unique challenges and opportunities they bring.

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, a time to raise awareness and empower people to play a role in making great childhoods happen. CornerHouse, an accredited Child Advocacy Center based in Minneapolis, has worked over the past 30 years to address the traumatic effects of child abuse – supporting children and families throughout the disclosure, investigation, and legal processes. Most recently, CornerHouse expanded its services to provide therapeutic healing through mental health and advocacy services.

CornerHouse Executive Director Mitzi Hobot and Kraus-Anderson President and Chief Operating Officer Al Gerhardt, who has been involved with CornerHouse for over 20 years, discuss its innovative approach to reducing trauma in child abuse investigations and how the physical environment impacts the process.

The past year has brought countless changes and challenges across nearly every sector of the economy. But perhaps no industry has been as deeply uprooted as the hospitality industry. As the COVID-19 pandemic swept through the U.S., hotels and event centers were forced to close their doors. But construction of the Omni Viking Lakes Hotel, a 14-story, 320-room hotel loaded with amenities, part of the Viking Lakes mixed-use development in Eagan, Minnesota, persevered throughout the pandemic.

The luxury hotel opened its doors in October with a full-service spa, two dining spaces, an outdoor terrace and bar, 35,000 square feet of event space, and more. Kraus-Anderson Senior Project Manager Mark Miller, ESG Principal Architect Terry Gruenhagen, and Omni Hotel General Manager Brent Glashan discuss the innovative Omni Viking Lakes Hotel and how it came to be amidst a pandemic.

After the tragic death of George Floyd sparked nationwide protests and civil unrest, almost every industry has had to look in the mirror – reflecting on overt, covert and systemic racism that exists, and which creates barriers for people of color and other underrepresented groups. The construction industry is no different.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 88% of construction workers are White, compared to 78% in the overall workforce. In Minnesota, only 4.8% of the construction workforce is comprised of people of color. How can we create more opportunities for people of color in this industry?

The North Central Regional Council of Carpenters, which represents union members across the Midwest, is taking steps toward equity. They launched the Carpenters in Action program, which aims to pipeline local, diverse community members into the carpenters union. The first cohort was directly involved in rebuilding the Lake Street corridor, which was hit hard over the summer following the Minneapolis riots. The long-term goal is to provide well-paying careers that build wealth and equity in the industry.

We discuss the Carpenters in Action program and how we can create more diversity in the construction industry with KA’s Director of Inclusion and Diversity Laurie Trousil; Barb Pecks, who is the Union business representative of the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters; and Kennoshia Fullilove, who graduated from the Carpenters in Action program this past summer.