NEWS.

Latest & Greatest.

Whether it's a new project, construction industry updates, an employee teaming event or an opportunity to celebrate the best in our community - there's always something to talk about at McDonald Building Company.

Service

Steve Friedemann 12/21/20 Steve Friedemann 12/21/20

Lead Superintendent, Pete Perri, retires after 9+ years at MBC!

It’s a bittersweet day at McDonald Building Company. We have the great fortune to watch our very own, Pete Perri, move onto his next great chapter as he retires from MBC after 9+ years! 🥳🥳🥳 Pete served as our General Road Superintendent and Lead Superintendent on several projects (and part-time superhero) as one of our very first employees. Pete has worn so many hats day in and day out that it’s near impossible to sum up all his accomplishments at MBC throughout the years. Pete was our main man when MBC built our current Norristown office in 2015, and he is now vital in transitioning his lead on our office bunker expansion project here in just 6 weeks. Not only was he the “funny guy on campus” with his sarcastic humor, he always had his “Pete” way of making everyone feel part of the MBC family. ❤❤❤ We will miss seeing Pete in his MBC truck as he visits the jobsites and we will certainly miss his classic ugly Christmas sweaters. While we’re sad to see Pete go, we know that he’s going to enjoy retirement in the beautiful Kill Devil Hills of Outer Banks. We heard the Outer Banks may be a great spot for our MBC Vacation Home…right, Pete?!? 😂😅😬

President, Paul McDonald said, “We will miss you so much, Pete! From the entire MBC family, we wish you all the best and enjoy everything that retirement has to offer.” #peteofalltrades #retirement #mbcfamily #mbccares #bestwishes

Steve Friedemann 12/11/20 Steve Friedemann 12/11/20

Delaware County Housing Authority and Pennrose Partner on upcoming MBC project, Kinder Park IV

Congratulations and great work to Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) , Delaware County Housing Authority, and Pennrose for their recent partnership on financing Kinder Park Phase IV! McDonald Building Company is beyond thrilled to be building the fourth and final phase of the Kinder Park project in Woodlyn, Delaware County for Pennrose Properties. This final phase will add a six-story, 96-unit building with several amenities to further support independent living for seniors and individuals with disabilities. Sitework has begun and we are expecting completion by Spring of 2022. 👷‍♂️👷‍♂️👷‍♂️ #buildingontrust#mbccares#newprojects#pfha#dcha#pennrose

https://www.pennrose.com/news-views/news/2020/2020-delaware-county-housing-authority-and-pennrose-partner-on-kinder-park-phase-four

Steve Friedemann 12/9/20 Steve Friedemann 12/9/20

Hamilton II dismantles Tower Crane marking huge milestone for project

What goes up must come down! 🏗🎶🎵🏗 #mcdonaldbuildingcompany #buildingontrust #hamilton #towercrane
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President Paul McDonald says, “A year ago last Friday we presented a schedule to RPG indicating crane dismantle on 12/4/2020. The tower crane came down on 12/5/2020. In the face of COVID-19 challenges delays, both on-site and off-site, and the normal Herculean efforts required in our industry to meet our commitments, we missed it by a day. There are many to thank, but a HUGE shout-out to Brian Cook and Chris Pili. Without their tireless efforts, this does not happen. Congrats to the entire Hamilton II team and to Radnor Property Group for their support.”

Steve Friedemann 12/2/20 Steve Friedemann 12/2/20

Upcoming MBC and Dale Corp. project, 3.0 University Place, receives recent press in Philadelphia Business Journal

McDonald Building Company along with our Strategic Alliance Partner - DALE Corporation, is proud to be partnering with University Place Associates in the development of 3.0 University Place as they announce funding for their upcoming project. 3.0 University Place, a sprawling life sciences building in West Philadelphia, will feature 250,000 square feet of innovative lab and office space and plans to break ground early 2021. More to come on this exciting development, stay tuned! 🥳🥳🥳

#upaphila#dalecorp#mcdonaldbuildingcompany#buildingontrust

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2020/12/02/silverstein-and-cantor-fitzgerald-invest-in-30.html?ana=TRUEANTHEMTWT_PL&csrc=6398&taid=5fc7ae4f585f620001536593&utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+New+Content+%28Feed%29&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

Steve Friedemann 11/19/20 Steve Friedemann 11/19/20

MBC spends morning onsite at Hamilton II with FreshFly Productions for upcoming broadcast

What a day with the talented crew of FreshFly Productions! We spent some time this morning capturing footage and interviews for an upcoming broadcast of the Hamilton II project and our partnership with the Girder-Slab Technologies, LLC super-structure system. 🎥🏗🎥 The top floors of Hamilton II naturally offer sensational skyline views making for a killer back drop, here’s a sneak peek of what’s to come. 👀👷👷‍♀‍

#sneakpeek#freshfly_films#girderslab#mcdonaldbuildingco#buildingontrust#mbcbuilds

Steve Friedemann 10/9/20 Steve Friedemann 10/9/20

John Brooks Recovery Center expands to South Jersey Community

McDonald Building Company is proud to join in the celebration of the grand opening of John Brooks Recovery Center - the nonprofit's latest residential treatment facility in Mays Landing, New Jersey. The opening of JBRC has expanded their continuum of care allowing the organization to now serve over 1,200 individuals in need of outpatient and inpatient care, primarily for those recovering from opioid addiction.

Located on a five-acre wooded site in the Hamilton Business Park, this new $15 million facility features 48 short-term beds, 48 long-term beds, and 24 detox beds. The building features an outdoor courtyard space, medical exam rooms, a fitness room, dining areas, group therapy rooms and several counseling offices. The 59,000 square foot Recovery Center is now able to comfortably provide individualized treatment integrating primary care, behavioral health and recovery support services for their residents.

“There is so much I would like to say, our AEC team has played an integral role in helping John Brooks fulfill what was a dream,” says Alan Oberman, Retired CEO of John Brooks Recovery Center. “It was about four years ago when we moved into our new outpatient sites and now we are in this magnificent site. Finding the McDonald team has been terrific, solution-focused despite the challenges and in turn, an impressive result."

Construction began in 2019 and JBRC opened for residents this Fall of 2020. KDA Architectsserved as the Project Architect and The Carlin Collaborative served as Owner's Representative.

Congratulations to the entire MBC project team for a job well done - Bruce Jones as Project Superintendent, Gardner Halloran as Project Manager, Dawn Goudreault as Project Coordinator, and Jack Kenney as Project Engineer.

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Steve Friedemann 10/8/20 Steve Friedemann 10/8/20

Major Milestone at MBC Site, Peg's Place, lays Strong Foundations for work ahead

Today was a great day for our team over at our project, Peg’s Place, in downtown Philly. The team worked hard in the early hours this morning to get this slab-on-grade completed for the foundation. The team has dealt with quite the hurdles in the last three months (because 2020 amiright?!?), but the finishing touches on this foundation is a huge milestone for the project. Well done to our team and big shout out to Andrew, Ed and Ali for all their work. #mbcbuilds #buildingontrust #strongfoundations

Steve Friedemann 10/1/20 Steve Friedemann 10/1/20

MBC Celebrates recent Drexel Co-Op, Alex Torres, on all his accomplishments!

MBC is so proud of Alex Torres, our Drexel co-op who recently finished up his first year co-op experience last week...AND it just so happens to also be his birthday today too (Happy Birthday, Alex!). 🎉🎁🎉 Alex started his six-month co-op this past spring and was stationed full-time at our Hamilton II site. He spent the majority of his co-op supporting the team with various tasks including daily manpower reporting, Covid-19 & safety compliance, and field supervision support. Although his co-op is officially complete, we are thrilled to announce that he will be continuing with MBC at Hamilton II on a part-time basis while he continues his classes at Drexel. 🙌 How lucky are we?!? MBC’s partnership with Drexel University’s co-op experience offers the opportunity for undergrad students to balance classroom theory with practical, hands-on experience in the AEC field. Brian Cook, Hamilton II Lead Superintendent, says…“Alex is an integral member of our team. His growth from the start has been nothing but impressive. In today’s environment especially, his fearless approach to tackling the daily tasks has propelled him to the front line. The project runs better because of him.” Alex (or “Koala” as our hoist operators onsite like to call him) set the bar pretty high and we are so thankful to have him continue as part of the MBC team. Congrats to you, Alex! 🥳🥳🥳

#drexelcoop #alexkoalatorres #hamiltonII #mbcfamily #mbccares

Steve Friedemann 9/22/20 Steve Friedemann 9/22/20

McDonald Building Company Donates Truck Loads of Books for Project HOME Book Drive

Are you looking for a place to donate your gently used books?! McDonald Building Company proudly delivered literally a truckload of books to HOME Spun Boutique in Philadelphia in support of Project HOME Books. For the past week, MBC organized a book drive to encourage staff to donate their own gently used books - courtesy of one of our very own Project Managers, Matt Currie. Big thank you to Matt for inspiring the staff to donate (and delivering all those books!) to a more than amazing cause. These donations help Project HOME by furthering their mission and support jobs for people who have experienced homelessness. Check out their website to see how you can sponsor your own book drive today!

#projectHOME#mbccares#mattrocks#bookdrive#truckloadofbooksProject HOME

https://www.projecthome.org/posts/2020/08/how-run-book-drive-project-home?utm_source=Project+HOME+Subscriptions&utm_campaign=581b0a5cde-&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f885b8e5b8-581b0a5cde-275706201&mc_cid=581b0a5cde&mc_eid=d6ead25fea

Steve Friedemann 9/18/20 Steve Friedemann 9/18/20

McDonald Building Company participates in National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction

At McDonald Building Company nothing is more important to us than Safety. We are proud to participate in this year’s National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction. First thing this morning, our carpenters from Wyatt Inc., over at Hamilton II took a moment to discuss the importance of Fall Prevention and how to recognize fall hazards. Many fatal falls that impact the construction industry are preventable and just a short toolbox talk can make an everlasting huge impact.

#Standdown4Safety#safetyaboveallelse#buildingontrust

Steve Friedemann 8/28/20 Steve Friedemann 8/28/20

Hamilton II Places Final Steel Beam to Top Off Superstructure

The construction crews at The Hamilton project paused earlier today as they observed the marking of a milestone in the construction of Phase II - the building’s “topping off” - the placement of the final steel beam.

Dating back to the 19th century, this topping off ceremony pays homage to the long-standing tradition of construction workers, particularly steel, where the final beam is hoisted to the tallest point of a building (complete with an evergreen tree to bring good luck to its occupants).

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To commemorate today's occasion, the crews enjoyed boxed BBQ lunches all while looking snazzy and sporting their casual Friday in custom MBC Hawaiian apparel. Hawaiian Fridays...also a tradition in the construction field.

It is vital we recognize and celebrate the outstanding grit and resilience of several contractors who have contributed to the success and efficiency of this superstructure build.

In particular, Iron Workers Local 401. While they have all exhibited their usual quality workmanship over these last several weeks, they have admirably adapted to quite a challenging year. Jason Gravel, Road Superintendent of Independence Steel/XLE Metals, effortlessly overcame many obstacles to ensure the project had the steel needed continuously on time to erect this impressive structure. Also, Jim and Crash, crew foremen for Independence Steel/XLE Metals, both deserve a congratulations for accomplishing this incredible achievement.

Key Trade Partners: Crystal Steel Fabricators (steel fabricator & manufacturer), Independence Steel/XLE Metals (steel erector), Healy Long & Jevin (cast-in-place concrete), and Jonasz Precast (pre-cast plank).

While more work is yet to come, today at Hamilton II we are fortunate to take part in a long-lasting historical tradition that recognizes this major milestone of the men and women that have worked so hard together to get the project to this point.

““Congratulations to Brian Cook and our site staff, our key trade partners, and Radnor Property Group for their commitment to first and foremost safety, then quality, and ultimately efficiency during some very difficult circumstances,” says Paul McDonald, President of McDonald Building Company. “This is a huge accomplishment under normal conditions, but extremely impressive during the pandemic limitations over the past several months.” ”

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McDonald Building Company is several months into the new 16-story urban high rise in Philadelphia's North Broad Street Corridor. Phase II includes 297 resident units and a rooftop deck in addition to numerous amenities, retail space, a fitness center, community plaza & garden.

A fully clad pre-fabricated metal panel wall system is being used for the building enclosure and GirderSlab system with steel & precast concrete planks was utilized for the primary structure. And now, the steel framing is officially complete today after this momentous last beam was installed.

Construction began December 2019 and although Covid halted work in the spring, the project remains to be on schedule and on pace to open Summer of 2021. The project architect is MY Architecture.

Want to see more project renderings? Click here.

Want to view the live construction cam at Hamilton II? Click here.

Steve Friedemann 8/26/20 Steve Friedemann 8/26/20

MBC team attends the 21st Annual AIA Golf Outing this past Monday

Two foursomes represented McDonald Building Company at the 21st Annual AIA Golf Outing this past Monday! In addition to being a great day of golfing with colleagues, we even had one of our own Project Managers, Greg Ondick, sink a 30+ foot putt to put him in the putting contest playoff. Ultimately not a winner, but a beautiful weather day and a great time was had by all. Thank you AIA for hosting the event and to Sunnybrook Golf Course for a fun afternoon! #buildingontrust #aiagolfouting2020 #golfday #mbcevents

https://www.aiaphiladelphia.org/

Steve Friedemann 8/14/20 Steve Friedemann 8/14/20

Best of luck and huge thank you to our summer intern, Dan Pawluczyk!

This summer we were lucky enough to have Dan Pawluczyk return for his FOURTH summer internship at MBC. 🥳 Most notably, he was stationed over at Ancillae Assumpta Academy for the last few months assisting our Superintendent and field crews with various day-to-day responsibilities and material ordering. Just ask him about alllll the specialty lighting! 💡 Dan has been a great addition to the team and handled any task thrown at him. MBC’s internship program offers the ability to work alongside MBC staff whether in the field or our main office (or both) and hopes to provide a professional hands-on experience for college students aspiring to learn in the AEC industry.

Dan has helped with many projects over the years through his summer internships including his alma mater Holy Ghost Prep when we built the school’s new Holt Activities Center.💪 Dan will be returning back to school this fall {virtually} for his fifth and final year at Penn State pursuing a degree in Architecture. 👨‍🎓 Best of luck to you Dan, you are welcome back anytime! #mbccares#mbcfamily#buildingontrust#danistheman#internship

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Steve Friedemann 7/30/20 Steve Friedemann 7/30/20

Take a sneak peak at our nearly finished renovation over at Ancillae Assumpta Academy

We are getting close to wrapping up the renovations this summer at Ancillae Assumpta Academy’s Handmaid Innovation Center in Wyncote, PA. This complex “over-build” of the original Academy building includes an innovation lab, three science lab & prep spaces, a digital production studio, six new resource learning instructional areas, and patio space to further enhance the Academy’s outdoor classroom facilities. Final touches are being completed next week and brick pavers are almost complete!

#buildingontrust #mbcbuilds #mcdonaldbuildingcompany #welcometothembcfamily #ancillaeassumpta

Steve Friedemann 7/9/20 Steve Friedemann 7/9/20

Residents are now moved in at MBC’s most recently completed project at the Maguire Residences

Thrilled to announce residents are now 100% moved in at Maguire Residences, MBC’s most recently completed project. This former vacant elementary school in the heart of Kensington was refurbished to create permanent housing of 42 residential apartments for those who have experienced homelessness and are committed to recovery. Residents will have access to employment services and ongoing housing stability support. Congratulations to Project HOME and the Kensington community, we are proud to be part of this project.

Many of the beautiful historic elements of the building were kept intact and restored including interior clerestory windows in the corridors, brick feature walls, and the exterior architectural windows. Stay tuned for the exterior photos coming soon.

#mcdonaldbuildingcompany#buildingontrust#mbcbuilds#historicrenovations#kensingtonphilly#newprojects#projecthomephl

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Steve Friedemann 5/27/20 Steve Friedemann 5/27/20

Congrats to all our 2020 Grads!

McDonald Building Company would like to take a moment to congratulate all the 2020 graduates this year! Big shout out to two of our very own MBC Grads Class of 2020 Jack Kenney and Patrick Rush. Jack recently graduated from Drexel University with his Bachelor’s in Construction Management and a minor in Business Administration and Patrick graduated from Rowan University with his Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering. MBC is incredibly proud of you guys and can’t wait to see the places you go as you reach new heights. Great job, fellas!

#buildingontrust #mcdonaldbuildingcompany #mbccares #mbcgrads #threecheers

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.”

— Dr. Seuss

Steve Friedemann 5/8/20 Steve Friedemann 5/8/20

But first…lemme take a “maskfie”

MBC Cares – In addition to beefing up the PPE for our field crews, MBC made sure our remote staff was covered too in their own at home “branch offices”. Custom masks were graciously homemade by Anne McDonald and mailed out to our entire MBC team. Protected in style!

#buildingontrust #mcdonaldbuildingcompany #lemmetakeamaskfie #mbcstrong

Steve Friedemann 5/6/20 Steve Friedemann 5/6/20

Hamilton II tower crane assembled in one day

Talk about getting right to it after the official 5/1 opening of construction in Philadelphia…Hamilton’s tower crane was assembled in ONE DAY rather than the usual two-day build last weekend. Thanks to the thoughtful planning and preparations by AmQuip Crane Rental LLC and their talented crews. A big shout out to Pat Crawford, Bill Loder and Joe Pace for their professionalism and smooth running operations.

Wave to William Penn!

#buildingontrust #backtowork #hamiltonII #towercrane #americanpride

#amquip #amquipcrane

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Steve Friedemann 4/29/20 Steve Friedemann 4/29/20

Blue Angels and Thunderbirds fly over Hamilton II site project!

Watch carefully in the upper left corner - Blue Angels and Thunderbirds fly right over our Hamilton II project site yesterday!

#americastrong #buildingontrust #hamiltonII

Steve Friedemann 4/7/20 Steve Friedemann 4/7/20

HEPA Filters donation from MBC to medical community

McDonald Building Company is so grateful to the medical professionals who are on the frontlines of this pandemic and we are looking for ways to support the medical community. MBC donated eight HEPA air infiltration units to AtlantiCare South Jersey for emergency use in creating excess isolation rooms if needed. “MBC is proud to support the hospitals as they courageously continue their work during these challenging times. To help however we can, no matter how small, we are undoubtedly happy to contribute,” said Paul McDonald, President. “Our MBC family will continue to work with our community partners to provide support and deploy resources wherever possible.”

#worldhealthday2020 #mbccares #buildingontrust #mcdonaldbuildingcompany