FERGUSON, Mo.—KAI Enterprises, a minority-owned designer and builder, along with general contractor PARIC Corp., has broken ground on the $62 million Center for Nursing and Health Sciences at St. Louis Community College’s (STLCC) Florissant Valley campus in Ferguson. KAI is also serving as MEP engineer on the buildout, which is anticipated to be finished for the fall of 2024. The Center for Nursing and Health Sciences will be the first program at STLCC’s Florissant Valley campus to offer a bachelor’s degree.

A dearth of healthcare professionals is projected to continue in the next decade, requiring more new workers than ever before. And perhaps Ferguson, which has endured much hardship, is the perfect location for such a new chapter to commence.

The four-story, 100,000-square-foot building will train healthcare professionals for the jobs of tomorrow in classrooms dedicated to such specialties as radiology, nursing, deaf communications and dental hygiene. Students will also participate in simulated practical scenarios in emergency medicine as well as practice holistic medicine and patient engagement.

“This state-of-the-art building will enable us to provide an even richer environment for the next generation of front-line healthcare heroes in the St. Louis region,” Florissant Valley Campus President and Chief Academic Officer Elizabeth Gassel Perkins said at the groundbreaking ceremony. “Students who study and learn in this facility will be well prepared to excel as they enter the workforce.

“Of course, we are most excited that this new building will provide an opportunity for the expansion of programs to the North St. Louis County area.”

KAI and its partners are aiming for LEED v4 Silver certification; the architects are placing particular emphasis on accessibility and inclusivity in their design. The architects worked with campus administrators and educators to fashion a new learning environment that will be both engaging and challenging for healthcare students.

“This new building is historic for the Florissant Valley campus because it will not only serve to fill the dire need for healthcare professionals, but it will also establish the entry point of this campus and serve as a landmark for many generations to come,” KAI Chairman Michael E. Kennedy Sr. said at the groundbreaking.

“The biggest challenge will be to have the facility substantially complete several months before the fall 2025 semester so the college can move all of the furnishings and equipment into the facility,” Mike Pratl, Principal and Market Leader at KAI, said in a subsequent statement to School Construction News.

KAI Enterprises, which was founded in 1980, has since grown to become one of the largest minority-owned firms within the AEC industry. Under its umbrella, the company operates four distinct units: KAI Design, KAI Engineering, KAI Build and KAI 360 Construction Services.

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DALLAS—Architectural design firm KAI Enterprises has worked with general contractor Ratcliff Constructors on a replacement elementary school at the site of the former H.S. Thompson Learning Center. The new school, dubbed H.S. Thompson Elementary School, adds a contemporary environment to the Dallas Independent School District.

The $30 million school’s focus will be on the so-called STEAM subjects and will employ challenged-based educational techniques aimed at preparing students for practical experiences both in and beyond the classroom. The new H.S. Thompson facility encompasses 73,000 square feet of educational space for grades K-5. Seven science classrooms are included, as are various special educational rooms, outside play areas, arts classrooms and a new library and media center.

A multipurpose room and storage areas were also part of the architectural plan laid out by KAI. H.S. Thompson’s “active” spaces were designed such that they can be utilized during the day for educational purposes and are accessible for community use in the afterschool hours. A key part of this design aesthetic was the “cafetorium,” a combination dining commons and performance space.

KAI’s initial site work entailed master planning of the site as well as envisioning where a future middle school expansion can later be added. Then came the design of H.S. Thompson itself, which called for situating the library directly above the secured primary entry of the school. The double-height entryway allows for stunning views of Dallas’s downtown and the nearby Fair Park—and from the outside, the community can look back at H.S. Thompson as a paragon of a modern educational setting.

H.S. Thompson Elementary School is located at 5700 Bexar St., the exact same site as the demolished earlier school. The primary facade faces out onto Bexar Street, and the main ingress along that thoroughfare is a secured entryway situated prior to the administrative reception area.

“Our team sought to develop an environment for academic excellence by providing the students, staff and community with a 21st Century learning environment with innovative learning spaces that inspire the students and surrounding community,” Darren L. James, president of KAI Enterprises, said in a recent statement about the project. “We designed collaborative learning spaces distributed throughout the building, allowing the entire facility to become an active learning laboratory.”

KAI Enterprises, which was founded in 1980, works around the country in the design-build sector and is a certified minority-owned business. Under its corporate umbrella, the company entails subdivisions including KAI Design, KAI Engineering, KAI Build and KAI 360 Construction Services. Among the firm’s other school-related construction projects in the Dallas area are the Billy Earl Dade Middle School, also for the Dallas Independent School District.

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