PROUD PARTNER OF ADELPHOI

PROUD PARTNER OF ADELPHOI

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Proud-Partner-Of-AdelphoiFor years, CAVCON has been involved with Adelphoi in providing construction services for a variety of projects. On May 17, 2018, CAVCON and Adelphoi broke ground on a 3.5 million dollar project that included construction of both a Welcome Center and Youth and Family Center. CAVCON will serve as the Construction Manager of the project.

The Welcome Center will be situated at the gateway to campus, the center will be provide a structured spot for providing admissions for youth entering residential care or returning to campus from a home visit. This building will allow Adelphoi staff to be on-hand to provide a smooth transition for youth who are often frightened or uneasy about entering placement.

adelphoi-kidsFamily involvement is key to a youth’s success during and after treatment. Visits from families currently take place inside each individual’s group home; however, the group home setting is simply not conducive to the private, quiet space needed to make the family visits and counseling sessions beneficial to all parties. The 7,000 square foot Youth and Family Center, which includes a coffee bar, small kitchen, lounge areas, casual meeting space, conference rooms, and an outdoor patio, will provide families with the opportunity to interact with their child in a quiet and comfortable place, away from the activity of the group home.

Adelphoi also recognizes the importance of providing therapeutic recreational opportunities and interactive learning experiences to youth in placement. According to Mark Mortimer, Adelphoi COO, “Recreation and leisure activities strengthen and reinforce family bonds, increase self-confidence, and positively impact physical and mental health.” As a result, the Youth and Family Center will feature indoor recreation areas and gaming options, such as pool tables and a video game area, which will provide expanded nontraditional recreational opportunities for youth. In addition, the facility will feature a stage and multi-purpose auditorium for events and student-driven artistic performances, as well as dedicated rooms to provide art and music therapy as part of a growing curriculum for at-risk youth.

Ground-Breaking-AdelphoiCAVCON has served as a long-term partner with Adelphoi in meeting its treatment needs. Most recently, CAVCON renovated a former detention facility in Cambria County to serve as an enhanced supervision model and secure program for youth who require a more secure placement setting. A 15-bed residential facility on Adelphoi’s campus was built.

Expansion of the campus represents an emerging trend in providing facilities that meet a therapeutic need among its target population. Currently, more than 70% of youth in placement had a diagnosable mental health issue. In 2016, Adelphoi worked with CAVCON Construction to renovate an existing building into an outpatient mental health facility. This on-site facility has allowed Adelphoi to reduce transportation time for doctor’s appointments and provide for better continuity of care.

Together CAVCON and Adelphoi are building a place for kids and families to connect.

REBIRTH IN THE NORTHERN PANHANDLE by Patrick Ford

REBIRTH IN THE NORTHERN PANHANDLE by Patrick Ford

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Northern Panhandle Petro chemicalsThere is a paradigm shift happening to the energy hub in the Northern Panhandle within the Ohio River Valley with the announcement of the Shell Petrochemical Plant and subsequent announcement of second plant in Ohio.  While petrochemical manufacturing began in Appalachia in the 1920’s, the Gulf Coast region has been the center of the U.S. petrochemical industry since the mid20th century. With its abundant supplies of hydrocarbon raw materials and vast network of pipelines and natural gas liquids storage structures, it has been the center of chemicals production for the last six decades. Much of the industry’s recent wave of shale-related investment was destined for Texas and Louisiana, with numerous projects completed, planned, or underway.

However…. this is changing.  Announcements of significant petrochemical industry investments in our region have been made, with several projects already in process. The Appalachian region in general, and the Ohio River Valley in particular, is the ideal location for the second major petrochemical manufacturing hub in the United States, offering:

  • Proximity to abundant NGL resources from the shale formations.
  • Proximity to manufacturing markets in the Midwest and along much of the East Coast.
  • Opportunity to strengthen the U.S. economy by providing employment and supply diversity.

The Weirton-Steubenville Metropolitan Area consists of Brooke and Hancock counties in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia and Jefferson County in Ohio.  Brook and Hancock counties have experienced millions of investment dollars over the past eight years reaching outward from Weirton to Chester in the north and Beech Bottom in the south.  The investment dollars have spanned across manufacturing, transportation, health care and retail business sectors.  These types of businesses will support the growth of the energy hub in the region.

20170325_112809The industry clusters of energy/shale, value-added metals, chemicals, transportation logistics, and health care have grown organically and continue to attract investments. These industry clusters are employing over 8,000 people.

The investment in the Panhandle region goes beyond brick and mortar, but also to support workforce development through nationally acclaimed training programs in job search training, retaining and retooling a workforce to support and supply the necessary pipeline of labor needed for expansion.  Weirton-Steubenville area is 3rd in nation in construction growth.   For consecutive years the tri-county area has ranked among highest in nation in increase in construction jobs.  The result – West Virginia has the nation’s second lowest overall employee turnover rate.

We are excited about the business growth and employment opportunities in Weirton-Steubenville Metropolitan Area and stand ready to meet future demands through investment in our infrastructure, training and the people that live, play and work in the Northern Panhandle.

Experience the Power of a Community and find out more about opportunities within the Northern Panhandle. 

The Rebirth of the Northern Panhandle article provided by Patrick Ford, Executive Director BDC of the Northern Panhandle.

About CAVCON: CAVCON brings together three generations of Building Owners/Managers and General Contractors with Design/Build expertise focusing on Medical, Commercial, Retail, Manufacturing and Light Industrial projects. As a full-service merit shop general construction company CAVCON provides design-build services incorporating value engineering, collaborative modeling and turn-key general construction services to deliver the best outcomes for our clients.

FROM STEEL TO PLASTICS - LAUNCHING A NEW ERA IN MANUFACTURING

FROM STEEL TO PLASTICS – LAUNCHING A NEW ERA IN MANUFACTURING

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Steel to PlasticThe Shell Petrochemical Plant, known to many as the “Cracker Plant” continues to be the catalyst for growth, job creation and job training in the region. As the Pittsburgh economy has grown and expanded beyond steel industry, will the cracker plant and the plastics manufacturers that use those byproducts become the next revolution of manufacturing in the region?

How will the region continue to position itself to meet the demands of the trades? Workforce development is a key component of that success. Exploration of the trades must be discussed and explored with students as early as middle school. We may begin to see a shift toward the trades when students explore computerized hands-on processes, jobs such as electricians and machinists and the higher salaries that come with those jobs without the debt of a 4-year college education. Colleges and technical training centers are responding to the need as well in the development of certificate programs that enable students to learn the skills needed for these types of manufacturing jobs in a shorter amount of time.

What does it take for a manufacturing company to make a decision to relocate to the region? They are looking for pad ready sites and the ability to work with a builder and local government to get up and running as quickly as possible. That’s one of the benefits of working with a design build firm such as CAVCON. Beyond the government permitting process, the time to completion and the ability to adjust projects to a budget allow projects to be completed quickly and efficiently.

The building design is only one component of what a manufacturing plant will require. Although designs can be put together quickly, navigating through the permitting process within government and local municipalities can lead to delays. The topic of ease of doing business within the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia was discussed at the Northeast Petrochemical Conference. Those governments and states that make it difficult to do business will lose out on the petrochemical boom in the northeast corridor. Jobs and growth will be left behind as manufacturing leaders make decisions on which state to relocate or build manufacturing plants.

We are sitting in the middle of a regional petrochemical powerhouse.

The infrastructure projects that will support this growth are already being realized in the construction of housing and other ancillary services. CAVON is currently in the middle of construction of one of the first ancillary projects, Bridgewater Crossing, a 3-building apartment complex featuring over 255,000 square feet located in Beaver County.

Business leaders and plastics manufacturers are positioning themselves to capitalize on the North East’s Petrochemical Boom. They are developing, building, investing in, advising, supplying or facilitating new petrochemical projects in the Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio regions. Additional ethane cracker plants are in the planning stages along the rivers that span the region.

The small mill towns of Homestead, Aliquippa, Braddock, Clairton, Duquesne and Rankin have struggled to survive the loss of the steel industry. Will the ethane cracker projects that emerge take the place of steel – providing jobs, ancillary spending and opportunity for growth giving new life and breath to these areas?

Land development, road infrastructure, pad ready sites, workforce training and east of working with local and state government will be key factors in the region’s growth. As the Shell Petrochemical Cracker Plant gets underway, we will see plastics and other ancillary manufacturing plants explore opportunities to relocate. Plastics may very well become the new steel revolution for the region and beyond.

About CAVCON: CAVCON brings together three generations of Building Owners/Managers and General Contractors with Design/Build expertise focusing on Medical, Commercial, Retail, Manufacturing and Light Industrial projects. As a full-service merit shop general construction company CAVCON provides design-build services incorporating value engineering, collaborative modeling and turn-key general construction services to deliver the best outcomes for our clients.

STATE OF THE MON VALLEY - by Christopher Whitlatch

STATE OF THE MON VALLEY – by Christopher Whitlatch

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Mon Valley, CAVCONThe “Mon” is the “river that built the world.”

I have heard that statement many times, since I took on the role of Chief Executive Officer of the Mon Valley Alliance, a community development nonprofit organization, in September of 2016.

The statement is true. Steel, glass and other materials and products manufactured in the Mon Valley were shipped around the world and are in everything from the Golden Gate Bridge to Chrysler cars to your kitchen. With the closing of the steel mills and the subsequent population collapse, the story of decline has also been well documented.

Today, what we call the Mid Mon Valley, roughly Brownsville to Elizabeth and West Newton to Bentleyville faces challenges, but also is home to many opportunities as well. As a region, the population is approximately 110,000 with the Monongahela River still as its chief asset both for industry and increasingly these days for recreation as well.

Mon ValleyThe Valley has a strong shipping infrastructure with river, road and rail. Manufacturing companies continue to recognize this advantage with easy access to suppliers and customers. Within the last few months, three new companies have chosen the Donora Industrial Park for their operations, citing infrastructure as a key advantage.

Throughout the Valley, there are buildings or pad ready sites available for manufacturers that are looking to join these businesses. The former Allenport steel manufacturing site has undergone significant renovation and Alta Vista, and industrial park located off the Bentleyville exit off Interstate 70 is a Keystone Opportunity Zone, offering significant tax incentives with ready to build sites.

The Valley is also well positioned for Western Pennsylvania’s oil and gas industry. With close proximity to both natural gas feedstock and new pipeline infrastructure as well as central to two Cracker facility projects in Beaver County and Ohio, the Mon Valley can remake itself as an advancing manufacturing hub for new industries.

Mon ValleyAs the Mon Valley looks to remake itself, it must deal with the blight evident in its communities. Many communities saw a steep decline in tax revenue and as such were not able to keep up with buildings that were erected many years ago and have since fallen into decline.

Reclamation projects are underway in every community. In Charleroi, the old high school football stadium will be demolished this year and a riverfront park will arise in its place. Donora is removing several buildings to create a new green space along its main street. If you drive through the historic district in Brownsville, you will see several projects underway, including a new park.

Many properties that have been lumped into blight, should actually be classified as underutilized space that is full of possibilities. Entrepreneurs have recognized these opportunities and several buildings have been renovated into thriving local businesses along the main streets.

Mon ValleyCalifornia University of Pennsylvania anchors the Valley both in its location as well as the resources it provides to the surrounding communities. This year will see the creation of several business incubation programs as well as workforce programs with the university as a partner with other organizations and programs.

Though much work remains to fully recover, the potential of the Mon Valley is still very evident in the passion of its residents, the cooperation of its communities and the power of its region. This is still a place where things are made and the Mon Valley is making itself again as a great place to work and play.

Find out more about the Mon Valley Alliance at MonValleyAlliance.org.

State of the Mon Valley article provided by Christopher Whitlatch, Chief Executive Officer of the Mon Valley Alliance.

About CAVCON: CAVCON brings together three generations of Building Owners/Managers and General Contractors with Design/Build expertise focusing on Medical, Commercial, Retail, Manufacturing and Light Industrial projects. As a full-service merit shop general construction company CAVCON provides design-build services incorporating value engineering, collaborative modeling and turn-key general construction services to deliver the best outcomes for our clients.