KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Demolition is underway at the former Congregation Beth Shalom temple, but workers are taking time to salvage marble, a giant menorah and other historically significant pieces for those who used to worship there.
Work is ahead of schedule on an expansion project, which will double the size of Burns and McDonnell’s world headquarters.
Contractors are recycling and preserving parts of a synagogue that have meaning for many in the metro area.
Steel and copper have been sorted from the debris as the engineering company is using sustainable practices to help keep costs down on the $130 million project.
CEO Greg Graves says it’s important to the company that Burns and McDonnell recognize and honor Beth Shalom’s contributions to the community.
More than 60 pieces of marble have been removed from the temple to be reused as part of the corporate headquarters expansion.
And a huge steel and stained glass menorah, that may weigh several tons, also is being removed to give to the Jewish congregation in Johnson County.
Graves say Burns and McDonnell needs the added space as soon as possible. The design-build firm hired 250 new employees in June alone, and expects to have more than 5,000 workers by the end of the year.
“Ten years ago we were about 1,500 employee owners,” Graves said. “It comes down to a few simple things; being a really great place to work, so you can pick great people and making your clients extremely happy. When those things happen there’s always a good market.”
Crews currently are safely removing asbestos from the temple before the building is demolished. That work is being done by a woman-owned contractor and is expected to be finished next week. Burns and McDonnell has pledged to provide 17 percent of the project work to minority-owned businesses, and seven percent to woman-owned firms.
The first phase of the expansion is expected to be completed by April 2016.
The addition of nearly 500,000 square feet will provide jobs for about 150 construction workers next spring.