Mortenson/Alberici/L. Keeley Selected for STL MLS Pre-Con; KWAME is program manager
Date Posted: December 17, 2019
Posted In: Projects,
The joint venture team of Mortenson | Alberici | L. Keeley has been selected to facilitate the planning of St. Louis’ new Major League Soccer stadium. The team is fully engaged in pre-construction efforts to finalize plans for the proposed stadium located in the city’s Downtown West area.
“Mortenson | Alberici | L. Keeley is proud to partner with the ownership group as they prepare to build a world-class stadium for the St. Louis community,” said Logan Gerken, vice president and general manager for Mortenson. “The Mortenson l Alberici | L. Keeley team brings a unique blend of best-in-class national sports expertise with a track record of delivering the best value, finishing strong with on-time and on-budget completions combined with local St. Louis building experience.”
In addition to extensive building experience, the tri-venture of Mortenson l Alberici | L. Keeley is recognized for its combined industry leadership experience and commitment to developing and implementing a successful workforce development and diversity inclusion plan.
A release stated that Mortenson has achieved, “unprecedented levels of local, minority workforce, and small business inclusion on high-profile sports projects such as Allianz Field (Minnesota United FC), Fiserv Forum (Milwaukee Bucks), and U.S. Bank Stadium (Minnesota Vikings).”
Alberici and L. Keeley have pioneered construction training programs and are active in various local industry organizations, including the AGC of Missouri, St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers, and the St. Louis Supplier Diversity Network.
“Our firms have longstanding and collaborative relationships with local trade partners and authorities which will prove critical for completing the work,” said Kevin Williams, Alberici executive vice president. “We are committed to working with the St. Louis community to create opportunity and tell the story of a stadium that will serve as a key part of the city’s downtown revitalization.”
Rusty Keeley, L. Keeley chief executive officer added, “A project of this significance requires a pre-construction team that provides the capabilities for complex projects as well as a vested interest in improving the lives of fellow St. Louisans. We are honored to be a part of the project, creating a positive legacy in St. Louis.”
Kwame Building Group (KWAME) has been selected as the MLS4THELOU Ownership Group’s representative and program manager. KWAME’s role in the pre-construction phase, includes project planning and scheduling; value engineering and budgeting; selecting project partners and maximizing MBE/WBE participation; coordinating with the city and utility companies; and other project management.
One of the nation’s top pure construction management firms, St. Louis-based KWAME has an extensive track record of large, complex projects in a range of industries including sports complexes, major airports, light-rail systems, hospitals, education facilities, community centers and government facilities.
KWAME previously partnered on the joint venture construction management team for the St. Louis Cardinals Busch Stadium, which opened in 2006. The KWAME project team will be led by Vice President Nonyameko Waddell and Program Manager John Lloyd of Unlimited Partners. Lloyd brings 30 years of experience, including work on the St. Louis Cardinals Busch Stadium and seven other major stadium projects.
The architects include a partnership of St. Louis-based architecture firms HOK and Snow Kreilich Architects.
Construction on the Downtown West MLS stadium project, located west of Union Station is expected to start in January and be completed in time for an event in March 2022. The project is anticipated to cost $461, with almost all of the funding to come from the MLS4TheLou ownership group. The group has pledged to own the entire 31-acre site, which will include team headquarters, underground parking and practice fields.
The project financing also includes funding from three site-specific local taxes and state tax credits. However, the Missouri tax credit piece was delayed and partially put in jeopardy this week. The Missouri Development Finance board cancelled a meeting at which the tax credits were to be voted on.
State officials were said to be reluctant to increasing a tax credit cap beyond its $10 million annual limit. It is expected that the State will fund the credits at a lower level, possibly in January.