Building Clayton Brick by Brick
ST. LOUIS, Sep. 21, 2000 - It has been more than a decade since any brick or stone was laid on a speculative office development in Clayton, Mo. But today, Leonard Masonry Inc. is nearing completion on laying the last of 1,100,000 bricks and stones to the faades of Forsyth Centre and Shaw Park Plaza, Clayton's latest office tower additions.
The two buildings encompass more than 500,000 square feet of office space and over 3,300 tons of masonry. The buildings also represent the finest of old world craftsmanship in the warm brick and stone selected for the exteriors and the latest in today's technological advancement in office interior development. The buildings bring new meaning to "bricks and clicks," a new real estate industry buzzword. Both have fiber and copper to the buildings, and security and HVAC systems to handle the most demanding and sophisticated technological and system needs.
"Each of the buildings had a unique set of parameters for the exterior masonry work," said Jeff Leonard, president of Leonard Masonry Inc. "At Forsyth Centre, the brick had to correlate to the existing Jefferson Smurfit Centre and garage adjacent to the new project, and at Shaw Park Plaza, the masonry work had to make four levels of garage look like part of the office structure. With the assistance of our suppliers, Missouri Brick, St. Louis Stone and Supply and Architectural Art Stone, we were successful in achieving both looks."
Besides both being in Clayton, the two towers are rising almost side-by-side, giving a complete new look to the western edge of the Clayton office market. Shaw Park Plaza, a Trammell Crow development, is located at the corner of Forsyth & Brentwood Boulevards; Forsyth Centre, developed by Forsyth Centre Associates, LLC., is at the corner of Forsyth Boulevard and Maryland Avenue.
Forsyth Centre has occupancy scheduled for the first tenants in late December 2000, according to Tom Erman of Desco Commercial Group, exclusive leasing agent for Forsyth Centre. In addition to the fiber and copper, two floors of the building will also be a switch site for tenant MCI. Erman estimates the building is approximately 42% pre-leased. Jay Holland of Trammell Crow, exclusive leasing agent for Shaw Park Plaza, says that CIBC Oppenheimer Corp. will be Shaw Park Plaza's lead tenant with 20,000 square feet of space when it opens. According to Holland, Shaw Park Plaza will offer a complete amenity package, including two building conference rooms, completely set up for audio-visual presentations and available for tenant use.
General contractor for the $53 million Shaw Park Plaza is Clayco Construction Co. Project architect is Cannon Architects and Engineers. Joining these companies on the project are Consulting Engineers Inc., consulting engineer; Stockard Associates, civil engineer; Alper Ladd, Inc., structural engineer; Aschinger Electric Co.; and Eagle Plumbing Co.
General contractor for the $35 million Forsyth Centre is R.G. Brinkmann Construction Co. Project architect is ACI Boland, Inc., and Tennill & Associates, Inc., is the consulting engineer. Joining these companies on the project are EQE-Theiss Inc., structural engineer; Volz Inc., civil engineer, and Spaid Associates, landscape architect, as well as Guarantee Electric and Trojahn Plumbing.
Founded in 1959, Leonard Masonry Inc., has grown to be the largest masonry contractor in St. Louis, recognized for its fine craftsmanship and on-time work delivery within budget. Ranked as the eighth largest masonry contractor in the United States by ENR, Leonard Masonry is a four-generation, family-owned business. It has been the masonry contractor on many of St. Louis' landmark structures, including the recently opened Thomas F. Eagleton Federal Courthouse and Anheuser-Busch Hall at the Washington University School of Law as well as the corporate headquarters for such companies as Unity Health, A.G. Edwards, Maritz, Ralston Purina and the newest Southwest Bank location.