Join us for the St. Mary’s of Marne, New Parish Hall Dedication

When: Tuesday, April 27, 7:00pm

Where: 15164 Juniper Dr., Marne, MI 49435

“There are different ways to measure success. We can analyze client feedback. We can research our competitor’s achievements. We can crunch the numbers. But when a client tells us that we will be the first place he’ll call next time, we know success was achieved.”

Well stated Bill.

Because many of us will be seeing Terry on a much more regular basis, we should all get to know him a little better…

Terry grew up in the Muskegon area and attended Grand Haven High School. He currently lives on a small farm in Fruitport with his wife Lori and their 7 horses and many llamas. When asked if the animals on the farm serve as an extra form of income, Terry replied, “No, they are just an expensive hobby!”

In addition to Terry’s love of horseback riding, he enjoys golfing, bowling and hockey. In fact, he bowled in the U.S. Open in Oklahoma twice! Terry still bowls a few times aweek and golfs whenever he’s able.

After working for our subsidiary, Muskegon Construction Company, for 29 years, Terry was very excited to join the OAK team in the field in 2005. He describes his co-workers as “awesome,” and has thoroughly enjoyed getting to know our staff.

Terry’s upbeat attitude and pleasant demeanor make him a joy to be around. Thank you for your years of hard work!

OAK is proud to announce that the new 10,200 SF Counseling Center at Wedgwood Christian Services in Kentwood is in its final stages of completion. With a six month winter schedule, the project required close coordination with the owner and subcontractors alike as the sitework, landscaping and mechanical/plumbing trades were contracted directly through the owner.

The prominent new single-story facility houses Wedgwood’s specialized prevention, counseling and educational services. Built adjacent to Wedgwood’s Huizenga Center, the facility also provides corridor access between two existing buildings. The floor plan is comprised of discrete counseling spaces for individual interaction, common support areas for group counsel, spacious open offices and conference rooms for support staff and common spaces where staff can comfortably unwind.

Entering the facility, patients are welcomed by a twenty-seven foot, custom curved wood veneer reception desk, complimented by a lighting trellis and decorative resin panels. The warm and inviting décor not only creates an immediate level of comfort, it truly represents the agreeable nature of the Wedgwood staff.

The Wedgwood staff expressed their gratitude by naming the café-style kitchen the Owen-Ames-Kimball Staff Lounge, and labeled the lounge with a plaque. However, this is not the only mark OAK left at Wedgwood. The new relationships we established with the entire staff will surely be remembered in the future.

Congratulations to Richelle Krueger, Kelly Bublitz, Frank Stanek, Kris Ford and Randy Marklevitz for all of their hard work!

We enjoyed working with Dwayne Masselink from InterActive Studio on the project!

How does the proposed LEED Legislation affect the construction industry and our clients?

Here is the nitty gritty:

The 3 Bills being considered,  Senate Bill 1111, 1112 and 1113 are proposing 12 year tax abatements for LEED Certified projects.  The higher the level of certification you achieve, the higher your abatement will be.

LEED Certification = 20%
Silver Certification = 30%
Gold Certification = 40%
Platinum Certification = 50%

So how would our clients benefit? Typically clients ask us, “Is there a cost to pursuing LEED certification.”  That answer has changed over time.  Originally there were more upfront costs, but since LEED has become more mainstream most of the costs – especially for basic certification are all in the administrative costs and are very minimal.  In my opinion, should these bills pass, you will see many more owner’s pursuing LEED because it will be looked at as more of an incentive to get their project off the ground, rather than a savings over the life of a building.

It seems that legislatures have embraced this and the bills will probably pass.

Stay tuned for updates as they become available!

Owen-Ames-Kimball Co. has been selected as the general contractor to build the new Wedgwood Christian Services Counseling Center on Wedgwood’s campus in Kentwood. This facility is the final step in Wedgwood’s $8.5 million Building Hope for Children capital campaign. OAK broke ground Oct. 22 on the new 10,200-square-foot, one-story counseling center. The Center will connect to Wedgwood’s existing Huizenga building via an enclosed walkway. Interactive Studio designed the project, which is expected to be complete by the end of next year.

How fitting is it that Owen-Ames-Kimball constructs David Lubbers’ ArtPrize sculpture, The Grand Dance, right next to the Van Andel Museum that they built on the banks of the Grand River fifteen years ago?  The sculpture is located between the Fulton and Pearl Street Bridges in the Grand River.

The Owen-Ames-Kimball Co. team on the project is Bill Ogden (General Superintendent),  Randy Marklevitz and Ken Hardy.  Marklevitz and Hardy who are pictured in the attached picture, are installing the structure that is a staggering 30 feet tall and 35 feet wide.  The team overcame the challenge of constructing a large sculpture in the middle of the river without having crane access by designing and fabricating it in components small enough to be installed manually.

Owen-Ames-Kimball, Williams & Works and Courturier Iron Craft came up with a telescoping mast so the upper arms could be erected at a lower elevation. The top section of the telescoping mast was lifted using a boat winch, connected to a tube section and bolted to the lowest section of the mast.  Another challenge was getting all of the sculpture components out to the middle of the river.

Additional project collaborators include American Epic, Dennen Steel Corp, Advanced Caster and Magnum Powder Coating.

Ed Hoover, LEED AP, Engineering Services Manager at Owen-Ames-Kimball Co. has been appointed as President of the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre and School of Theatre Arts.  Ed has been a board member of the Civic Theatre since 2001.  Congratulations Ed!