KAI Design & Build awarded contract to design St. Louis Community College’s new Allied Health Center

St. Louis — KAI Design & Build was awarded a consulting contract with St. Louis Community College (STLCC) to design the new Allied Health Center on the college’s Forest Park campus. The project team will be comprised of 85 percent Minority Business and Woman Business Enterprises through KAI and its consultants.

The contract was approved at the STLCC Board of Trustees meeting on Feb. 23.

“KAI presents an experienced, diverse project team that has done considerable design work for the college,” said Jeff Pittman, Ph.D., STLCC chancellor. “They demonstrated a clear vision for the transformative nature of the new building, as well as a creative preliminary solution to the site development, acoustic concerns and future campus space requirements.”

The proposed site for the new Allied Health building is located along Oakland Avenue between the college’s library building and immediately north of its A, B and C Towers. It will house STLCC-Forest Park’s existing Allied Health programs, and add the district-wide Nursing program, plus the Physical Therapist Assistant and Occupational Therapist Assistant programs, which are currently offered at the college’s Meramec campus.

Preliminary data suggests the new facility will be approximately 65,000 square feet and is expected to open in 2019. The actual construction may take up to 15 months, which also includes demolition of the A and B Towers and construction of a new entrance off Oakland Avenue. The team will be seeking a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification for the building.

“The new Allied Health Center will be a significant addition and improvement to the Forest Park campus. Replacing a more than 50-year-old structure, the new building will metaphorically reintroduce the campus to the St. Louis community in a bold and vibrant way,” said Larry Johnson Jr., Ph.D., STLCC-Forest Park Provost.