KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Construction has reached a key milestone on the Northland Workforce Development Center, as JE Dunn Construction and project partners recently celebrated the topping out of the new facility. The event marked the placement of the final structural steel beam for the project, signaling��significant progress��on the 145,000-square-foot, two-story building designed to expand access to career and technical education across the Northland region.��

Prior to the��beam’s��installation, attendees��participated��in a traditional beam-signing ceremony, adding their names and messages to a steel beam bearing project and partner logos. The moment underscored the collaboration among the Platte County R-3 School District, partner school districts, project��stakeholders��and the broader community in advancing a shared workforce development vision.��

“This project is about creating opportunities and pathways for the next generation of skilled professionals in our region,” said Brad Hokanson, Project Executive at JE Dunn Construction. “Reaching the topping out milestone is a testament to the collaboration between the district, design team, and trade partners who are bringing this innovative learning environment to life.”��

The Northland Workforce Development Center is designed to support programs in skilled trades, manufacturing, health��sciences��and human services. Once complete, the facility will expand the capacity of Northland Career Center and its partners, serving both high school students and adult learners seeking industry-aligned training and credentials.��

Planned program spaces include flexible labs and classrooms, hands-on training��environments��and technology-rich areas that reflect real-world workplace conditions. Located in the Northland region of Kansas City, the project is progressing on schedule, with substantial completion targeted in 2027 and a summer opening��anticipated��following the structural milestone.��

“With support from the State of Missouri, local municipalities, businesses and industries, individual investors, and community foundations, we are making a long-term investment in the success of our students and the future of our region,” said Brian Noller, Executive Director of Business Services and NWDC Campaign Lead at Platte County School District. “The Northland Workforce Development Center will open doors to high-demand career opportunities, strengthen employers across the Kansas City area, and help ensure our community remains competitive for years to come.”��

JE Dunn is serving as construction manager for the project, working in partnership with the school district and design firm Clark & Enersen. The project team has emphasized safety, schedule��adherence��and coordination throughout construction, while��maintaining��communication with stakeholders and minimizing disruption to nearby facilities.��

The Northland Workforce Development Center��represents��a regional investment in workforce readiness, aligning educational infrastructure with evolving industry needs and supporting long-term economic development in the Kansas City area.��

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By Lindsey Coulter

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Construction of the new American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University recently marked a major construction milestone with the ceremonial topping out of the new David E. and Stacey L. Goel Center for Creativity & Performance. The A.R.T. plans to welcome audiences in early 2027.

Located in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, the new home for the A.R.T. was designed to foster groundbreaking performance, public gathering, teaching and international research. The Goel Center for Creativity & Performance is designed by Haworth Tompkins (architect and design lead) and ARC/Architectural Resources Cambridge (architect of record), in collaboration with theater and acoustic consultant Charcoalblue. Shawmut Design and Construction serves as the project’s construction manager.

“Reaching the topping off milestone on the new home of the American Repertory Theater is an incredible moment for everyone involved in bringing this visionary project to life,” said Kevin Sullivan, Executive Vice President of Shawmut Design and Construction’s New England Region. “This structure represents both a remarkable technical achievement and a new benchmark for sustainable, low-carbon construction. Raising the final piece of the mass timber structure not only marks the next chapter in the A.R.T.’s story, but also stands as a symbol of innovation, collaboration, and community impact that will define this building for decades to come.”

Conceived through core principles of openness, artistic flexibility, collaboration, sustainability, and regenerative design, the Goel Center will provide interconnected, adaptable, multi-use spaces that support creativity and embrace future change. It will include two flexible performance venues — one seating 700 guests and capable of hosting large-scale productions as well as a versatile and intimate 300-seat black box theater. Additional spaces will include light-filled rehearsal studios and teaching spaces, a spacious public lobby, a café, and an outdoor performance yard. The building will also include dressing rooms, technical shops and administrative offices

A blend of peer review and scientific contributions from across Harvard University informed a rigorous design process. Members of The Harvard Healthy Buildings Academy, the Harvard Office for Sustainability, the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Health, the Arnold Arboretum, and the Harvard Graduate School of Design each contributed to the project.

The center advances Harvard’s ambitious sustainability priorities and is designed with a blend of environmental and social strategies to minimize embodied and operational carbon, maximize wellbeing, boost biodiversity and enhance resiliency. This holistic approach to sustainable and regenerative design sets up the Goel Center to achieve Living Building Challenge Core accreditation from the International Living Future Institute, recognizing that it gives more to its environment than it takes.

A key driver of this commitment is the use of low-carbon, responsibly sourced materials. The building is constructed with laminate mass timber, reclaimed brick and cedar cladding to minimize its lifetime carbon budget. More than 2,000 individual mass timber components have been installed, including columns, beams, floors, walls, stairways and elevator shafts.

“We’re celebrating not just the placement of the final piece of mass timber but also the 50% point of construction.” said Susan Malaab, Senior Project Manager with Harvard Capital Projects. “The planning for the A.R.T. performance center began in 2018 with workshops that prioritized the goals of the project. Flexibility, public gathering, accessibility and a model of sustainability would shape the design. The design and construction team formed a partnership to reach those goals while maintaining the scope and budgetary requirements. The construction of the building will support the incremental expansion of the innovation ecosystem for the arts in Allston.”

The building’s chilled water, hot water and electric utilities will be supplied by Harvard’s new lower-carbon District Energy Facility. Additional clean energy will be generated by rooftop solar panels, while natural ventilation will reduce energy use and enhance occupant comfort. A green roof and extensive plantings will aid stormwater attenuation, increase biodiversity, and promote occupant wellbeing.

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HOUSTON—Stafford Municipal School District (MSD) has just celebrated the topping out ceremony of its new middle School. The event took place on the project site with a beam signing ceremony to commemorate the special occasion

The middle school, which can accommodate 950 students in grades 6-8, is being constructed as part of Stafford MSD’s $62 million bond program that passed in November 2017. Designed by AutoArch Architects and constructed by Drymalla Construction, it will offer instructional spaces and programs designed to attract a diverse student population throughout the school district.

The three-story building, spanning 127,262 square feet, includes cutting-edge science laboratories, library, two gymnasiums and a cafetorium. The new middle school will replace the existing middle school, which was built in 1983 during the district’s inception. The construction of the new middle school will be completed in June 2020 in time for occupancy by staff and enrollment in August 2020.

“The new middle school is aesthetically appealing and offers unique instructional opportunities for Stafford MSD students,” said JP Grom, vice president at Lockwood Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN), the firm serving as the program manager for the bond program.

Other elements of the bond program include a new grades 3-12 magnet school for Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) – the only one of its kind in Fort Bend County, a new administration building with a visitor’s center, and a repurposed community center in place of the current administration building. The bond program also includes an educational plaza and an early childhood center.

LAN is a full-service consulting firm offering planning, engineering and program management services for the nation’s heavy civil infrastructure needs.

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