Smooth steps help the flow of Bartle ballroom expansion - Kansas City Business Journal:

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So if you want to know why the Bartle Hall ballrooj will open ahead of schedule and under budgetg onApril 28, it's best to starty with the construction manager's priofr firsthand knowledge of the Kansas City Convention Center. Emil Konrath, a principal with , took charge of the $150 millionh project's management. In this role, Konrath reprised his responsibilitiedsfor Bartle's last expansion, which was finished in 1993. This his company joined to oversee the job for the McCownGordon President Brett Gordon also knewabouft Bartle, having served as executive in charge of a general contractor on the earlietr expansion.
Gordon traced the joint venture's success to its divisionj of labor. McCownGordon concentrated on budgetinggand estimating, and Konrathu kept track of the subsequent Konrath Group Vice President Tom Beckenbaugh said that splitting the projecrt into four packages helped manage This separation also accelerated work becauswe the first bids were solicited befored the entire design was Waiting to bid everything at once wouldx have taken an additionalo five months, he said, and time is money. "Ir prices are high (on bidding the whole you have to go back and reworkthe design," he "And that just takes more time.
And when you go back and try and get new timehas passed, and prices have increased." won the firs contract to build a supporting platform beneath the This work began in April 2005 and was finishef in January. Brian Cichello, Clarkson'e project manager, said mild winter weatheer allowed the company to setthe platform'd structural steel at nightg above Interstate 670, which was closed to traffic. whose company usually worksd directly with the cityon projects, said the construction managers sped the ballroom's "There was a lot of interface, and you were able to get answersx quickly," he said.
The managers told contractors to enclose the ballroomk by September 2006 to provide protection for interior work during theensuingt weather. In November, city officiala were confident enough to advancdthe ballroom's opening date by eight weeks. Beckenbaughn said the building will be deliveredas promised. The 30-year industryg veteran said this performance runs counter to the usuakl practice of downgrading finishes to control costd and is attributableto planning. "We understood how material (price) escalation can really hurt your he said. "We knew we were in an inflationary period.
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