Category Archives: Project Updates

Midlothian Fire Station Wins Outstanding Architecture and Design Award

We are proud to have partnered with the City of Midlothian, and Brinkley Sargent Wiginton Architects on their stunning Fire Station No. 1 project which won the Bronze Award in the 2021 Station Design Awards program for outstanding architecture and design. Read below to learn more information about the award. Congratulations to BSW, Midlothian Fire Department and everyone involved in the project!

SFI Wins TEXO Distinguished Building Award for CHROMA Modern Eyewear Eyecare

We are honored to announce that our CHROMA Modern Eyewear Eyecare project won the TEXO Distinguished Building Award for the Building 1 ($0-2M) category! This is a great accomplishment for our dedicated team including Ibanez Shaw Architecture and all of our subcontractors. Congratulations to everyone who was involved in this award-winning project!

Photos by Chad Davis Photography.

SFI Wins NAWIC Builds Excellence Award

We are delighted to announce that we have been awarded the NAWIC Builds Excellence Award for our Roanoke City Hall Project! This is a national award and is based on innovation, safety, sustainability, value and project team connections to the NAWIC organization. NAWIC is the National Association of Women in Construction. Our Controller Dena is a longtime member of NAWIC and is a past president of the regional chapter.

Project Update: Ennis Public Safety Facility

At our City of Ennis Public Safety Facility we achieved a project landmark, substantial completion in late June – two and a half months ahead of the contractual completion date! The Fire Department has moved in and is already operating out of it’s new quarters. We are wrapping up finishing touches on the building and the Police Department will be moving in soon! We are extremely proud of our work to build this combined police and fire facility designed by RBDR Architects of Waco. Stay tuned for our professional photos of the building!

Project Update: Argyle High School Phase II

Our $61M Argyle High School Phase II project has been going strong and Assistant Project Manager Bradley reports that foundations for all five additions are now in place. Structural steel work is wrapping up in the classroom addition, field house and gymnasium. The new football field and track are nearly ready for the surface to be applied. Site paving is 75% complete. The administration addition is now enclosed and being prepared for interior finishes. The new auditorium and band hall roof is approximately 50% complete and windows are being installed in this area. Great job to our entire field team for their leadership on the project!

Project Update: Ennis Public Safety Facility

We are wrapping up our work constructing the City of Ennis new public safety facility! Finishing touches are being completed inside the building and the exterior will be complete in a couple of weeks. With combined police and fire components, this 38,000 SF building will be a hub of service to the Ennis community. We are proud of our work in collaboration with the City of Ennis, RBDR Architects and the entire project team.

Project Update: FWISD Northside High School

We are well underway at our Fort Worth ISD North Side High School project. Project Manager Chace reports that demolition and earthwork for the automotive shop addition have begun. Abatement and demolition are ongoing in the cafeteria and classrooms. Demolition and renovation are ongoing in the chemistry and life skills areas. The physical science labs are nearing completion. We are proud to work with WRA Architects. on this 119,000 SF renovation which has a budget of $25.2 M. This is our second project at the school. We built the culinary program addition a few years ago.

Project Update: Crowley ISD CTE Center

Our crew at the Crowley ISD Bill R. Johnson Career and Technology Education Center reached a key milestone that we have all been buzzing about (no pun intended). Our CTE Team placed this brightly colored airplane in a grand double-height space above the lecture stair area. This real plane serves as a focal point and also represents the aviation technology program offered at the school. Design by our frequent collaborator, VLK Architects.

Project Update: Tarrant County Juvenile Detention Center

There is a lot of action happening at our Tarrant County Juvenile Detention Center project. Superintendent Mauricio reports that electrical service from the existing building has been relocated. An existing power transformer has been replaced. We are prepping for concrete piers to be poured in the courtroom areas and soil is being treated for the court, housing and parking lot areas.

SFI Team Shows Meaningful Appreciation

One thing we like to do here at Steele & Freeman is show meaningful appreciation. Recently, Senior Project Manager Glenn Nowell expressed meaningful appreciation for Superintendent Gene’s work on our Community Crossroads project where we are creating classrooms and a playground as well as expanding restrooms and a meeting area. Glenn said Gene “gives the project VIGOR!” We’d like to give some kudos to Glenn for doing a great job on the project as well and for living out out Fundamentals by showing meaningful appreciation to his teammate. #TeamTeamTeam

This Is Why We Build.

As an essential business, we are pressing on with our work to build several schools among other projects. One of the sayings you hear in our office is “The kids are coming,” because we know – the kids are coming and the schools must be ready. This year when schools re-open, the kids will be more excited than ever to get into their new school spaces and see their friends. We are proud to help make that happen. Special thanks to Superintendent Sam for this beautiful photo of a concrete pour for 600 SF of paving at our Argyle High School phase II project. #ThisIsWhyWeBuild

Crowley ISD High School Athletics Bids Tomorrow

SUBCONTRACTORS: As an “essential business” we are pressing on with our projects employing every safety measure to protect our staff, subs, clients and partners. We have an opportunity this Thursday for subcontractors to bid on our $14.4M Crowley ISD High School Athletics project – deadline 2PM.

Use www.buildingconnected.com to submit your bid from a safe distance. As always, plans and specs are available on our online plan room: https://steelefreeman.com/plan-room-2/

Design by VLK Architects, Inc.

Fort Worth ISD South Hills High School Project Bids Thursday!

We are electronically bidding our $40M Fort Worth ISD South Hills High School project this Thursday, April 9th! Use www.buildingconnected.com to bid electronically and keep a safe distance. As always, plans, specs and a video of the pre-bid meeting are all available on our online plan room: https://steelefreeman.com/plan-room-2/ Design by Jacobs & Associates Architects.

This project includes 80,000 SF of added square feet and 44,000 SF of renovations.

Staff Spotlight!

Meet Trenton (left) and Seri (right). Please note this photo was taken before the global virus outbreak and social distancing measures were enacted. Trenton and Seri recently received high praise from Superintendent Sam for their excellent work and dedication to safety on our $60M Argyle High School Phase II project. We wanted to give them a moment in the spotlight. Help us recognize these two hardworking team members!

Iowa Park CISD Bids April 2nd!

Subcontractors: We are electronically bidding IOWA PARK ISD Bond Projects on Thursday APRIL 2nd through www.buildingconnected.com. As always, to view plans, specs and VIDEO of the pre-bid meeting, go to our virtual plan room: https://steelefreeman.com/plan-room-2/

Remember – we already have this project under contract! Best wishes everyone!

Lake Dallas ISD Bids this Thursday!

Subcontractors: We are electronically bidding Lake Dallas ISD Bond Projects on Thursday through www.buildingconnected.com. As always, to view plans, specs and video of the pre-bid meeting, go to our virtual plan room: https://steelefreeman.com/plan-room-2/

Remember – because we already have this project under contract, it is not a moving target! Best wishes everyone!

Client Testimonial

Our pre-construction team is responsible for setting up each project for success with meticulous analysis and ideas for creative and strategic solutions. They are also the key contact for our subcontractor community, responsible for our extensive sub outreach. Our team makes it easy for our subs to understand project plans so they can provide comprehensive bids that we can compare – apples-to-apples.

Our complete and organized plans encourage more subcontractors to bid our projects which results in the best pricing options for our clients. This benefits our subcontractor network by making the process efficient so they have time to bid on more projects giving them an opportunity to grow their business.

Here is a wonderful testimonial we received from one of our subs: “Whoever organizes your plans deserves some recognition. 50% of the plan sets we encounter are single-volume PDFs with no page naming. 49% have the pages labeled in the file name. Then there’s the 1% (Steele & Freeman) who not only break them out, keep the file naming consistent, but you break it out into separate folders.

Because they’re so well organized, I can get to work right away without wasting a lot of valuable time renaming pages and breaking them into separate files. I’m sure your other trades really appreciate it. We certainly do!”
– Jeremy

Pre-Bid Meeting for Iowa Park CISD

CALLING ALL SUBS: Steele & Freeman is bidding exciting K-12 multi-site bond projects for Iowa Park CISD!

Join us for the Pre-Bid Conference at 10AM Tuesday at Iowa Park High School (1 Bob Dawson Dr, Iowa Park, TX) to learn more about these projects in advance of the sub bidding.

Design by VLK Architects, Inc.

Type: Additions & renovations to Iowa Park High School, Bradford Elementary School, Kidwell Elementary School
Budget: $16.4M

Email: bids@steelefreeman.com
Plan room: https://steelefreeman.com/plan-room-2/

Pre-Bid Meeting for Lake Dallas ISD

CALLING ALL SUBS: Steele & Freeman is bidding exciting K-12 multi-site bond projects for Lake Dallas Independent School District!

Join us for the Pre-Bid Conference at 10AM Monday at Lake Dallas High School (3016 Parkridge Dr, Corinth, TX) to learn more about these projects in advance of the sub bidding.

Design by VLK Architects, Inc.

Type: Additions & renovations to Lake Dallas High School, Lake Dallas Middle School, Corinth Elementary, & Lake Dallas ISD Multi-Purpose Indoor Practice Facility
Budget: $48.3M

Email: bids@steelefreeman.com
Plans available in our plan room: https://steelefreeman.com/plan-room-2/

Project Update: Ennis Public Safety Facility

Things are progressing well at our Ennis Public Safety Facility! Project Manager Nathan reports that exterior masonry is wrapping up now and we have begun conditioning the building. Floors are being polished and overhead doors will be installed next week. This new 38,000 SF combined fire and police facility has a budget of $10M and was designed by RBDR Architects.

New Project Announcement: Arlington Fire Station No. 1

Steele & Freeman is delighted to announce that we have been awarded a new project to reconstruct the City of Arlington’s Fire Station No. 1. This $8.9M facility will be located on West Main Street in Arlington across the street from Theater Arlington. Design by PGAL. This will be our first project with PGAL and the third fire station we have built for the City of Arlington.

President Mike Freeman Featured in Fort Worth Inc. Magazine

If you haven’t seen this month’s issue of Fort Worth Inc. magazine, our company President, Mike Freeman is pictured on page 44. Mike likes to stay out of the spotlight, but he stepped up when Fort Worth Inc. called to schedule this shoot! The write up on Steele & Freeman is on page 41.
https://fwtx.com/magazines/magazine-digital-issue?issue=647929&i=1580502219

Project Update: Argyle High School Phase 2

Thank you to Superintendent Sam for this update and photos of our Argyle High School Phase 2 project.
On the day of this work, more than 30 finishers, carpenters and MEP trades arrived early to beat the rain and place and finish approximately 15,000 SF of concrete for the new band hall area of the project. This specific area doubles as the storm shelter for the facility and meets all the newly mandated building code criteria. Rigorous structural requirements and inspections are performed to verify that this building component will last and provide peace of mind and security to this district when the weather conducts its own test.

Team, Team, Team

We received a great compliment from one of our subcontractors and we are very proud to share it here:  “I wanted to take a minute to say how much we appreciate our relationship with Steele Freeman. I am going through my aging [invoices] report and low and behold Steele & Freeman is the only GC not on my list and most importantly rarely do you ever have a single invoice onto that list. That says a lot about how you guys partner with your subs.

Also, your staff from the field team and management team to your administrative team are always great to work with.  You guys run a good site, handle your business professionally and best of all take – care of your subcontractor partners.

So Thank You.” #TeamTeamTeam

Project Update: Flower Mound Library Expansion

We hope your 2020 is off to a great start! Superintendent Luke sent in an update on his Town of Flower Mound Library expansion. This project adds to the north and south side of the existing building. We are going to share this in two posts. Here is what’s happening on the south addition: Structural steel is complete. Roof joist installation and stud framing continue and the building envelope installation is beginning.

Project Update: Argyle High School

Special thank you to Superintendent Sam and Project Manager Nathan for this update! We are currently installing grade beams on the new administration area and they are 95% complete. We are wrapping up the grease trap which will be tied in soon and preparing to pour the first slab in the first week of January (see photo). This slab will be for the auditorium including the lower seating and back stage. The piers for the classroom addition, new field house and gymnasium are complete and foundation beams will start at the end of January.

Project Update: New Grapevine Animal Shelter

Superintendent Jim reported demolition is complete on the existing shelter structure and paving demo is 95% complete with asphalt removal starting today. Moisture conditioning will begin next week. This is our first project with City of Grapevine. This facility was designed by Quorum Architects! We are also working on the Grapevine Golf Course Club House project which is currently in pre-construction.

SFI Delivers Legendary Service

We strive to deliver legendary service on every project. On a recent school project we were approached about how to build a homecoming float. Rather than merely offering advice, Superintendent Javier and Carpenter Eustaquio took the time to build the float so it would be safe for the students to ride on. Javier and Eustaquio were excited to receive a card and cake as a thank you. #ThisIsWhyWeBuild #SacrificeEverythingForSafety

Project Update: Ennis Public Safety Facility

We are happy to bring you this update on our Ennis Public Safety Facility!

On the outside of the building, metal studs and roof decking are nearing completion on the main building. Roofing and exterior waterproofing will begin within the next week. Project Manager Nathan would like to thank our subs, Rice Drywall, Structural Fabrications Inc, and DMG Masonry for their work to date.

Inside the building, metal ductwork is being installed by Travis Mechanical, electrical runs are being installed by Intex Electric and metal stud walls are being started by Rice Drywall. Roof drains and copper piping are being installed by Curl’s Plumbing. This 38,000 SF facility was designed by RBDR Architects.