Construction is complete on phase one of the new $20 million headquarters for The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, with Kwame Building Group (KWAME) serving as the project manager and construction manager at risk (CMAR).

Located in the old Sears department store building on North Kingshighway Blvd, the new facility consolidates the Urban League operations, which were separated in three buildings into a central location that they own. The architect is Grice Group Architects. TD4 Electrical is the electrical contractor. Sleet Design and Fast Signs designed and installed the signage.

Renovation of the third floor of the three-story, 205,000-square-foot building included new finishes and layout. Urban League will occupy the third floor while the first and second floors are renovated. Phase two, which will begin soon, will include a hydroponic farm and retail spaces.

KWAME’s role was to select the design and construction teams, manage the design to keep the project on schedule and within budget and offer continuous value engineering counsel. KWAME worked to achieve the maximum possible minority workforce participation.

The short, four-month schedule, from design concept to completion, was the largest project challenge. KWAME’s CMAR role allowed the team to begin construction immediately once the design plans were in place.

Previously KWAME managed construction on the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Inc.’s Community Empowerment Center of Ferguson, a job-training center located on the site of the burned-down QuikTrip convenience store in Ferguson.