New Construction Archives - Bush Construction

Kairos Academy High School

Posted on December 10, 2024

Kairos Academies is a high performing public charter school in St. Louis, serving grades 6 to 12. Founded in 2019, Kairos Academies has a unique teaching method involving a high degree of self-directed work that will enable students for the contemporary work environment they will face as adults. This educational method informs the design of the school’s teaching spaces, which include a higher mix of common and breakout spaces than conventional schools.

Kairos has operated in a leased warehouse space since its start. When it became clear that their ambitious model was delivering great results and they would need a permanent home, they reached out to Bush (formerly UIC in St. Louis) to assist in identifying and developing a new home. Having successfully completed the development of two high-performing charter schools in St. Louis previously, Bush had the experience to help Kairos realize their goals.

Bush’s engagement started with programming and sizing of the project, along with site identification and acquisition. In the spring of 2024, Kairos acquired a 4.5 acre site in the Bevo Mills neighborhood. Bush has created designs to rehabilitate the 100,000 sf existing building on the site into a school that will enable Kairos’ teaching method and allow them to continue to grow.

Bush’s development team is working with Kairos and has helped source New Market Tax Credits along with investments and financing for the projects and will start construction on the project in early 2025.

Green House Venture

Posted on December 10, 2024

The Green House Venture (GHV) is an educational and community resource that synergizes the interests of multiple institutions in South St. Louis city in their search for more robust STEM/STEAM education. The Venture brings Saint Louis University together with four elementary schools, each with its own distinctive mission and character –public, charter, parochial, Christian-in a single Urban Education Alliance District. It will offer hands-on learning opportunities for schools in a building that is itself a model for sustainability and urban agriculture. In conjunction with the SLU Salus Center, it will offer outreach and food distribution programs to benefit the community. In addition, the Venture will be a new, iconic building for the neighborhood, demonstrating that green architecture and urban agriculture are not simply trendy or ad-hoc solutions, but vibrant and lasting visions for the future of living in cities.

The 10,000sf facility includes indoor and outdoor classrooms, bio-lab space, a gallery, growing spaces, and office and support areas. The growing spaces include indoor and outdoor areas to demonstrate the potential for year-round food production, and encompass 5 distinct areas: SMOS Dragon’s Garden, a lesson in the remediation of urban land; the main greenhouse and aquaponics gallery for understanding growing in small ecosystems; the hydroponic roof garden, demonstrating the ease of adapting lightweight roof gardens for home use; the courtyard, a series of trellised fruit trees and growing towers; and the embankment garden, a 2-block reclaiming of unused land adjacent to the highway for urban agriculture and native plants.

Clementine’s Creamery

Posted on December 10, 2024

After completing a small permitting set for an interior renovation at another location, the owner of Clementine’s Creamery asked us to help her design and build her first “ground-up” location in South City. Initially, we tried to preserve a small building on the site, but after determining it was not structurally adequate, we were forced to remove it, keeping only part of the rubble foundation.

The result was a one-story brick building that was reflective of the Clementine’s “not your typical ice cream parlor” brand. Vintage parlor characteristics like tiny, square black and white tiles, delicate cafe tables inside and out, and a symmetrical, classic turn-of-the-century building shape are part of the design, but known for its boozy, (naughty) flavors, we put a twist on the typical St. Louis red brick. Two sheens of black brick in a clad the front facade, creating frames around the doors and windows and a diamond pattern that can be seen as the light shifts throughout the day.

We worked with the owner to get all of the details right on the aesthetics and the functionality of the space. The serving, kitchen, storage and queuing areas were meticulously thought out for the best customer experience.

DeTonty Street Apartments (DSA 2)

Posted on December 10, 2024

Located in the Historic Shaw Neighborhood, near the Missouri Botanical Gardens, DeTonty Street Apartments or DSA2, was the 2nd phase of a master plan that spanned three quarters of a block along DeTonty Street. The building is a three-story, new-construction walk-up building, with 20 studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units.

Similar to its sibling to the west (DSA 1), DSA 2 was inspired by other brick multi-family buildings in the area. The new walk-up building has high floor-to-ceiling heights, large windows, and Juliette balconies that follow neighboring precedents in both shape and size. The buildings have light, bright and open-concept units that renters love. The interior finishes are simple and modern with exposed concrete floors, industrial-style lighting, cabinets, and countertops. In this iteration of the building, the design team added some unique studio units to the third floor with vaulted ceilings and unique layouts that were leased in record time.

Our development, design and construction teams worked with the Shaw Neighborhood, The City, and CDA (Community Development Authority), and St. Louis Development Corporation on the design and incentives including tax abatement. DSA 1 was the first step toward satisfying the goal to fill a large gap in the urban fabric that was previously an eyesore and the completion of DSA 2 continued the execution of the master plan. Several for-sale townhomes and single-family homes included in the master plan were sold and built within the next few years as well.

DeTonty Street Apartments (DSA 1)

Posted on December 10, 2024

Located in the Historic Shaw Neighborhood, near the Missouri Botanical Gardens, DeTonty Street Apartments or DSA1, was the first phase of a master plan that spanned three quarters of a block along DeTonty Street. The two buildings in the first phase included a three-story, new-construction walk-up building, with 36 one and two-bedroom units, and smaller four-unit historic building renovation.

Inspired by other brick multi-family buildings in the area, the new walk-up building has high floor to ceiling heights, large windows, and Juliette balconies that follow neighboring precedents in both shape and size. The buildings have light, bright and open concept units that renters love. The interior finishes are simple and modern with exposed concrete floors, industrial-style lighting, cabinets, and countertops.

Our development, design and construction teams worked with the Shaw Neighborhood, The City, and CDA (Community Development Authority), and St. Louis Development Corporation on the design and incentives including tax abatement. DSA 1 was the first step toward satisfying the goal to fill a large gap in the urban fabric that was previously an eyesore. The successful completion of Phase 1 lead to Phase 2 (DSA2), next door, as well as several for-sale units included in the master plan.

YWCA Rock Island

Posted on September 10, 2024

From across the street, YWCA Rock Island’s rich history watches as the brand new, 3 story building towers over the old one and pledges a bright future of serving children, youth, families and the community.

The YWCA needed more space to accommodate their growing service offerings for the Rock Island community. This massive project was entrusted to our Bush Construction team. One of the most important features of this multi-use building is the increase in the number of day care slots offering high-quality, affordable services. Additionally, the whole building includes state-of-the-art security features.

Not only does this building house childcare, it also includes:

Weight training, cardio rooms, workout areas
Administrative offices and conference rooms
Modern, well-equipped classrooms
In room restrooms and lockers
Full-service kitchen with community access
Triple the old freezer/refrigerator space
Large gym/basketball court
“Outdoor” playground area in the middle of the building.
Murals by East Moline’s Atlanta Dawn.
Indoor Waterpark
Water slide, Lap pool, Splash pad.
And more!

The building’s usable space currently sits at about 64,000 sq ft. A proposed rooftop patio space expansion for event rentals and more would grow the building to 72,000 square feet – triple the old YWCA location’s 24,000 square feet. 

With so much space and a wide variety of services provided, this project came with sizeable costs. But the community rallied behind the mission of the YWCA, and a group of generous donors came together to help finance the endeavor.

“This project represents more than a building – it’s a place where dreams will be nurtured, skills will be developed, and lives will be uplifted. The YWCA will serve as a safe haven, a learning center, and a beacon of hope in the community for many years to come.”

– YWCA President and CEO Julie Larson

Iowa American Water

Posted on January 12, 2024

Iowa American Water employees needed room to breathe. The former location was coming up on a 20 year building anniversary, and the growing number of staff were cramped.

The design-build team at Bush Construction developed a solution that fit their needs: DOUBLE IT. The new warehouse is 41,000 total square feet, whereas the old building was only 19,400.

Nestled on 30 acres, this newly constructed operations facility features designated spaces for both office and warehouse material handling. Management, administrative staff, and service staff can now work together under one roof in multi-functional spaces. The modern facility also includes a multi-use training room, expanded parking, and a convenient wash bay within the truck bay area. The design has been carefully thought out by our design experts, with the intent of advancing current operations and supporting future growth on this property.

We were thankful to strengthen the existing relationship with Iowa American Water and look forward to our work together in the future.

Rock Island-Milan School District 41 | New District Office and Production Kitchen

Posted on September 29, 2023

It’s out with the old, and in with the new! The Rock Island – Milan School District #41 came to us with three main goals for their brand-new administrative center: unify staff, accelerate food production, and create more storage space.

After years of operating in an old, cramped, and energy inefficient space, Bush Construction delivered a 35,000 new-build administrative center comprised of a district office (18,000 SF), a warehouse (11,000 SF), and a food production area (6,000 SF).

The one-level layout improves accessibility and ease of use for the multi-purpose building. To increase security and privacy for staff, a brand-new secure entryway was installed.

After previously working out of multiple small kitchens in different locations, a centrally located production kitchen was essential to the district. The new top-of-the-line, high-performance kitchen will allow the nutrition services team to prepare more than 4,000 meals per day with increased quality and efficiency.

The new space will serve as a gathering space for students, staff and community alike.

Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council (MARC) Quad Cities Campus

Posted on May 19, 2023

We love it when we get to build from the ground up! That’s exactly what we were able to do for Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council (MACRC). The new two-facility complex in East Moline, IL consists of a state-of-the-art training center and a new union hall office building.

The 65,000-square-foot training center will serve its 2,000 union members and apprentices in the Quad Cities and the State of Illinois. The training building features functional classrooms and shop areas which were designed with a special attention to detail between the carpenters and millwright training areas. The carpentry space features beautiful wood finishes and textures, while the millwright side has more of an industrial machinery feel.

The two-story administrative facility includes offices, conference rooms, a cafeteria, and a 250-seat meeting room which will be used for union and public events.

Marion Public Library

Posted on May 19, 2023

After the 2020 derecho tore through Marion, Iowa, the already aging Marion Library took on damage. We were thrilled to partner with the Marion Public Library to build a new library across the street from the original location. The design of the new space was not just a warehouse for books, but an active place and community hub for the city of Marion where people of all ages can congregate and learn.

The two-story, 50,000-square-foot library features modern, open spaces with floor-to-ceiling windows, giving a bright and welcoming feel. The first floor includes a large community room with a demonstration kitchen for meetings, classes, and other programming, as well as a cozy reading area with a double-sided fireplace.

With special attention to cater to families with young children, the second story features various spaces that function for the entire family unit including adult workstations with conjoining playpens, an indoor playground area, and a children’s programming room.

Other notable spaces include a second-floor terrace, various tech spaces, study rooms, and conference rooms. “I think this library will be a model for all libraries in the future,” said Marion Mayor Nick AbouAssaly. We sure think so, too!