ST. LOUIS, MO – Columbia Public Schools and the Joint Venture team of Reinhardt Construction, LLC and S. M. Wilson & Co. celebrated the completion of the 27,000-square-foot addition and 35,000-square-foot renovation to the Columbia Area Career Center (CACC) with a dedication ceremony held on November 4. The extensive expansion creates a future-ready learning environment that allows CACC to expand its offerings to meet ever-changing workforce needs. The Reinhardt/Wilson JV team serves as the Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) for the voter-approved bond program, which also includes an addition to Battle Elementary School and construction of a new elementary school.
“The Reinhardt/Wilson JV is proud to partner with Columbia Public Schools on this transformative project. The new Career Center represents the future of career and technical education—providing students with cutting-edge spaces to explore their passions, develop real-world skills, and prepare for meaningful careers. It has been an honor to help bring this vision to life for the community,” stated Susan Hart, President, Reinhardt Construction.
The re-imagined facility creates a variety of flexible learning and collaboration spaces, including an innovation hub with specialized labs, a working cafe for the culinary program to sell goods, a student enterprise area and a community center that also serves as a storm shelter. Since portions of work occurred on occupied campuses, a primary focus of the project team was to ensure safety and minimize disruptions to student learning and campus operations. A complete renovation to the existing school elevated the space and created new shops where students can learn about construction, automotive or obtain a welding certification. Also included in the project were design remodeling and new finishes to the classrooms, restrooms, staffing areas and corridors.
“The renovations and addition to the Career Center expand opportunities and enhance the workforce development efforts in Columbia Public Schools. Workforce development is a key component to a thriving community and to retain talent in Columbia while helping to build the strong, skilled workforce of tomorrow,” said Columbia Public Schools Superintendent, Jeff Klein. “Investing in a facility that supports our students graduating college-, career-, and life-ready was an important part of the district’s long-range plan.”
The professional design of the interior finishes and contemporary, new exterior reflect a modern-day workplace to prepare students for real-world settings. Exterior renovations included a new main entry plaza, outdoor seating, additional parking and a new exterior facade that innovatively integrates metal panel and glass with the original brick. The architect team was DLR Group and SOA Architecture.
“We are proud to again partner with Reinhardt Construction to transform the Columbia Area Career Center into a vibrant learning environment that blurs the line between education and business and prepares learners to meet the area’s workforce needs in innovative and exciting new ways,” said Rebecca Reifel, S. M. Wilson Project Manager.
S. M. Wilson led SKILLED construction career education programming during the construction process to create learning experiences for the students. S. M. Wilson founded the trademarked SKILLED program in 2019 to “inspire the future of construction” and address the industry-wide concern of young people not pursuing careers in construction. SKILLED programming has reached thousands of students across many school districts and educational organizations in the region.
Serving nearly 2,400 students, CACC’s programs are available to students in Columbia Public Schools, as well as other Boone County public schools, private, parochial and homeschooled students. The school’s curriculum is organized into six major career areas, including health services, industrial and engineering technology and business management and technology. CACC is registered with the Department of Labor as a youth apprenticeship sponsor for students aged 16 through 24.
ABOUT THE REIHNARDT/WILSON JOINT VENTURE
Reinhardt Construction and S. M. Wilson formed a Joint Venture in 1992 to pursue building opportunities in Mid-Missouri. Over the past 20 years, Reinhardt/Wilson has completed more than $300 million in projects for clients such as Boone Hospital Center, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia College and Special Olympics.
ABOUT REINHARDT CONSTRUCTION
Reinhardt Construction is headquartered in Columbia and has been providing quality construction services in Mid Missouri since 1957. For more information, visit https://reinhardtconstructionllc.com.
ABOUT S. M. WILSON & CO.
As the leader in public school construction, S. M. Wilson’s Pre-K to 12th grade education project expertise includes $2 billion in local work for over 65 schools in more than 40 school districts, including construction of more than 8,000 classrooms. The firm has managed $3.6 billion in CMAR projects with 80% of the firm’s education work utilizing this delivery method. S. M. Wilson is currently working on school build programs for numerous school districts in Missouri and Illinois, including Northwest R-I School District, Jefferson City School District and Pattonville School District.
S. M. Wilson is a full-service construction management, design/build, and general contracting firm with offices in St. Louis, MO, and Edwardsville, IL. Founded in 1921, S. M. Wilson is a team of dedicated professionals committed to exceeding client expectations. As a 100% employee-owned company, we take pride in our people-first approach and our position as one of the leading construction management firms in the Midwest. For more information, visit www.smwilson.com.