Owen‑Ames‑Kimball Company (O‑A‑K), a preeminent general contractor with a longstanding presence in Southwest Florida, hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Lehigh Acres Elementary School on Wednesday, April 20. Amanecer (meaning sunrise in Spanish) Elementary School will be located on Sunrise Boulevard next to the Lehigh Acres Middle School. Construction began in April, and the school will be open for the first day of school in August 2023. O‑A‑K is the construction manager for the project.

Attendees included Lee County School Board members, Lee County Schools administration, elected officials and representatives from the construction team, architects, and engineers.

“Amanecer Elementary School will help us serve the rapidly-expanding population here in the East zone and prepare our children to reach their highest potential,” said Lee County School Board Member Gwynetta S. Gittens. “This is an exciting time for our community.”

“We are pleased to be a part of this project that will accommodate the rapid growth of students in Lee County,” said Matthew Zwack, president of O‑A‑K Florida. “We are proud to partner with The School District of Lee County again.”

The two-story building is a 127,745 square foot facility on 36 acres shared with Lehigh Acres Middle School. The schools will have a common access road, bus loop, and central energy plant. The campus will have 984 student stations and serve pre-k through fifth grade. The one-story building area is also designed to serve as a community hurricane shelter. The campus includes a covered play area and sports courts. In addition, it will have updated security measures, including a single point of entry access control and upgraded hardware on all classroom doors.

The O‑A‑K project manager is Alesha Watchowski, and the site superintendent is Tim Harkins. Ryan Propp is the director of field operations. Abel Natali is the director of preconstruction. The project architect is ADG Architecture, LLC. Johnson Engineering is the civil engineer, and TLC Engineering Solutions is the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineer. The structural engineer is TRC Worldwide Engineering.

An employee-owned company, O‑A‑K Florida, Inc.’s Board of Directors comprises members from the company’s Florida operations. Owen‑Ames‑Kimball Company has provided premier general contracting, design-build, and construction management services in Southwest Florida since 1982.

O‑A‑K’s Florida operation is an affiliate of its parent company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Florida operation has offices in Collier and Lee counties. Its Lee County office is located at 11941 Fairway Lakes Drive in Fort Myers. Learn more about O‑A‑K at www.owen‑ames‑kimball.com.

Owen‑Ames‑Kimball Company (O‑A‑K), a preeminent general contractor with a longstanding presence in Southwest Florida, has been named a Southwest Florida Best Places to Work, a survey competition managed by Best Companies Group (BCG) and published by Gulfshore Business. O‑A‑K was one of 16 companies selected this year to join the ranks of the Best Places to Work in Southwest Florida.

“O‑A‑K Florida Is 100% employee-owned,” said Matthew Zwack, president of O‑A‑K Florida. “We work hard to give our 48 team members a great work-life balance and provide a family atmosphere. Being employee-owned contributes to our exceptionally low turnover rate and our ability to attract top talent. That translates to a great team dynamic, transparency in communication, and accountability for our actions. We’re a people company providing construction project management to our partners and clients.”

The company allows pets to accompany their owners to the office to help relieve workday stress. In addition, to build teamwork and morale, the company regularly holds employee lunches, years-of-service award ceremonies, and outside work events. O‑A‑K also offers robust benefits, flexible hours, generous parental leave benefits, mentoring opportunities, tuition reimbursement for business education workshops and conferences, and a profit-sharing program.

To be chosen among the cream of the crop, Southwest Florida companies apply to the Best Companies Group, an independent research firm specializing in identifying and recognizing great places to work. BCG administers the program in which local companies pay an application fee and complete a two-part survey – one for the employer that details company policies, practices, benefits, and demographics, and another for employees that include an in-depth set of 77 statements they are asked to respond to on a scale of 1 through 5. Then, BCG analyzes the results and creates a list of the Best Places to Work in Southwest Florida from the information collected.

An employee-owned company, O‑A‑K Florida, Inc.’s Board of Directors comprises members from the company’s Florida operations. Owen‑Ames‑Kimball Company has provided premier general contracting, design-build, and construction management services in Southwest Florida since 1982.

O‑A‑K’s Florida operation is an affiliate of its parent company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Florida operation has offices in Collier and Lee counties. Its Lee County office is located at 11941 Fairway Lakes Drive in Fort Myers. Learn more about O‑A‑K at www.owen‑ames‑kimball.com.

Owen‑Ames‑Kimball Company (O‑A‑K), a preeminent general contractor with a longstanding presence in Southwest Florida, recently built and donated 22 garden boxes, two tables, benches, and soil to Harns Marsh Elementary in Lehigh Acres for their school garden. The garden will produce a variety of herbs, vegetables, and flowers and provide students with a hands-on learning experience.

Harns Marsh assistant manager of Food and Nutrition Services Teresa Shedlock is planning to complete the garden by August. "School gardens have so many benefits," Shedlock said. "Children's attitudes and behaviors about food can be changed for the better. They are more likely to eat vegetables they have grown and share their preferences with others. This is a place for children to get outside, learn about the natural world, and experience new concepts through experiential learning.”

The cedar boxes, tables, and benches were built by O‑A‑K's assistant superintendent, Bill Lisiewski. Jordan Fike, O‑A‑K's superintendent, helped deliver and install the boxes.

"O‑A‑K's generosity is greatly appreciated," Shedlock said. Our entire garden was rebuilt after an initial request for some potting soil."

“Our philosophy is based on choosing what is right, a can-do attitude, a personal sense of responsibility, and valuing others,” says Matthew Zwack, president of O‑A‑K Florida. “Bill and Jordan exemplified these tenets in giving back to the community."

An employee-owned company, O‑A‑K Florida, Inc.’s Board of Directors comprises members from the company’s Florida operations. Owen‑Ames‑Kimball Company has provided premier general contracting, design-build, and construction management services in Southwest Florida since 1982.

O‑A‑K’s Florida operation is an affiliate of its parent company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Florida operation has offices in Collier and Lee counties. The Lee County office is at 11941 Fairway Lakes Drive in Fort Myers. Learn more about O‑A‑K at www.owen‑ames‑kimball.com.