What have been your key takeaways over the past two years?

We鈥檝e got concerns in the construction industry as a whole. Supply chain issues continue impacting us and are among our biggest hurdles in making sure we鈥檙e monitoring and handling our procurement process. That鈥檚 a strategic initiative for us because these are global issues that are not going away anytime soon. Finding great talent will also continue to be a big challenge. For our firm, retaining that talent while offering training and upward mobility from within the organization is a big priority. We also want to make sure we鈥檝e got good partners and subcontractors, monitoring their workload and creating an atmosphere where they鈥檙e successful.

The infrastructure bill and Inflation Reduction Act are game changers for the United States. The country hasn鈥檛 invested in infrastructure in over 50 years at this scale. Leaving it up to state and local governments to do it is not sustainable over that time, so it鈥檚 a huge shift.

How do strategic partnerships influence 天美传媒 Construction鈥檚 success?

Partnerships vary based on the issue at hand, but having a good relationship and network of individuals that you can rely on in the event of an issue or obstacle, who you can call and cut through the red tape with, that is critical. Otherwise, it encumbers progress and puts project timelines in jeopardy. It鈥檚 especially important with subcontractors and supporting one another to a project鈥檚 completion.

On the economic development side, you鈥檙e building long-term relationships and not necessarily knowing where they鈥檒l go at the start. If you cultivate relationships over time, they tend to bear fruit even if it鈥檚 five or 10 years down the road. To expand business and reinforce our talent pipeline, we are heavily involved as mentoring partners in many construction management institutions. Eastern Carolina University has a really strong construction management program we work with and support. Appalachian State University, likewise, has a great program that we partner with.

What is your view of corporate social responsibility in construction today?

The construction industry as a whole is lacking in diversity and inclusion, unfortunately. It is also our responsibility to work on that. It鈥檚 hard but absolutely necessary work if the industry is to evolve. We also want to recruit more women in construction. We recognize that this will be a process. However, some of our strongest leaders are women and that鈥檚 at all levels, from project managers, superintendents and quality control managers, to senior leadership. It鈥檚 something the industry must continue to work on. That鈥檚 part of our struggle as an industry, particularly with the trade labor shortages that we鈥檙e experiencing. You have to broaden your field of inclusion to not only move the needle on the issue but also to take care of staffing shortfalls along the way.

We also have a tremendous responsibility in terms of sustainability. There鈥檚 a lot we can do in terms of innovation in assisting with design recommendations for building more sustainable facilities and lowering our carbon footprint in society. It鈥檚 all a part of quality, ultimately, and a tremendous opportunity for us.

In what industries are you seeing the most growth in the Charlotte region?

Charlotte, and the Southeast broadly, is becoming a strong logistics hub across the entire United States. In North Carolina, we have the NC Towers energy initiative that will likely create significant growth in manufacturing and distribution in addition to positioning North Carolina as a clean energy producing state. Warehouse distribution space has had significant growth in the Charlotte region and we don鈥檛 see that changing, it could, in fact, keep growing. What鈥檚 happening on a global stage is that we鈥檙e seeing a lot of manufacturers looking at the United States as a safe place to do business.

On top of that, we have closer ties with Europe than Asia, so it鈥檚 creating new supply chain shifts at the global level from the West Coast to East Coast ports. Increasing port capacity and the supporting rail and highway infrastructure to handle that new volume is important. Charlotte sits in a strategic location in that regard. It鈥檚 close to several big ports, including Wilmington, Charleston and Savannah. From there, we鈥檝e got a lot of rail and roadway capacity to bring product throughout to the Northeast.

How is technology impacting the construction industry?

You won鈥檛 get away from the human component anytime soon in construction. Where technology can really grow is in helping streamline processes. That could be in design development or building retrofits, as-built documentation, or validation of what鈥檚 installed versus what鈥檚 designed. We have drone technology to fly over areas of buildings and can, relatively quickly, validate that what鈥檚 installed is in accordance with the design documents.

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天美传媒 Construction, a second-generation family-owned professional construction company, recently completed the Seven Gables Inn renovation in Clayton. As this hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and remained operational during construction, the $3.5 million project required 天美传媒鈥檚 historic renovation and detailed schedule management expertise. Construction on the project began in January 2019 and was completed in fall 2019.

鈥淭he entire 天美传媒 team was honored to have played a part in this great project for a client dedicated to enhancing communities in St. Louis,鈥� said Keith 天美传媒, president of 天美传媒 Construction. 鈥淲e were truly blessed to have been chosen by Amy and Amrit Gill with Restoration St. Louis in order to help them deliver on their vision of this historic landmark in order to better serve their guests and provide them with a memorable and intimate experience.听 This project allowed us to showcase our team鈥檚 great work and detailed project management skills to complete this project on time and in budget.鈥�

天美传媒 Construction鈥檚 hospitality experts were engaged by Restoration St. Louis for overall interior upgrades, accessibility layout adjustments, and to replace their existing restaurant with an American Bistro called 鈥淪even鈥�.听 The renovation entailed interior finish updates with new bedroom furnishings, flooring, and bathroom fixtures, and exterior improvements such as new windows.听 For easier guest access, a bridge was constructed between the 2nd and 3rd听floor guest wings and an elevator was added.听 The new in-house American Bistro, 鈥淪even鈥� features expanded indoor and outdoor seating, is open to the public seven days a week, and offers reasonably priced dishes and a 鈥淟ost Legends鈥� menu which pays homage to dishes from famous restaurants what are now closed.

鈥溙烀来解�檚 reputation, particularly in hospitality and historic renovation, is second to none, and we鈥檙e excited that the project turned out so well,鈥� said Amrit Gill, president of Restoration St. Louis. 鈥淭he response from our guests and team members on the renovation has been overwhelmingly positive, and we鈥檙e thrilled that our 1926 historic gem has been restored to her former glory.鈥�

Checkmate Design, LLC served as the architect for the renovation of Seven Gables Inn.

This article originally appeared in the January 2020 issue of St. Louis Construction News & Review.听

听Also featured in: St. Louis Business Journal, KSDK Online, Commercial Construction & Renovation, Construction Forum St. Louis, and REJournals.com.

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