2022 Construction Appreciation Week and Workforce Development Month

The Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership (The Partnership), the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) and F.H. Paschen are working together to create the talent pipeline needed to continue building a bright future for Chicago.

The construction industry remains a driver of economic growth. The third week in September is designated as Construction Appreciation Week, during Workforce Development Month, celebrating the hardworking men and women of American construction who are instrumental in development of our infrastructure.

CDOT is working on several roadway changes and mobility improvement projects in Chicago’s Jackson Park that will support the Obama Presidential Center and the Chicago Park District’s South Lakefront Framework Plan. The project will increase green space, improve connectivity and safety for people walking and biking, and accommodate future traffic demand.

The Partnership, CDOT and F.H. Paschen are collaborating to bring these career-pathway jobs to Chicago, connecting local residents with construction jobs on the project. This collaboration aims to address today’s workforce shortage; the need to diversify the skilled trades where people of color and women have been historically underrepresented; and the need for career-ladder jobs with family wealth building wages and benefits.

CDOT awarded a construction contract for the Jackson Park Transportation Improvements to F.H. Paschen, which is meeting the unprecedented workforce goals for area residents on this state-funded project, via IDOT’s Highway Construction Careers Training Program. The contract includes goals of hiring 15 percent of residents of neighborhoods adjacent to Jackson Park and 50 percent Chicago residents. The project also provides opportunities for on-the-job training and creates pre-apprenticeships for local residents.

To apply for these positions, local area residents can go the project’s website: https://jacksonparkimprovements.org/jobs

The County of Fairfax, Virginia Department of Public Works and Environmental Services awarded F.H. Paschen the Award of Excellence for the Building Design and Construction of the Central and Dulles Maintenance Facility – Salt Dome projects.

“We’re honored to receive this award,” said Bill Rocha, General Manager of the F.H. Paschen Mid-Atlantic office. “It’s a testament to our project team, our subcontractors, and our great partners at the county.” General Contractor and Construction Manager F.H. Paschen has been in the Greater D.C. region for over 20 years.

F.H. Paschen is accustomed to building critical infrastructure in and around Fairfax County, completing the construction of nine escalator canopies for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), community, and government centers in Loudoun County, and several upgrades and renovations to local schools and park districts.

The Award of Excellence was presented at a virtual award ceremony on Friday, April 9^th.

On Sunday, December 20^th at IBEW Local 134, construction companies F.H. Paschen and Turner Construction Company handed out meals to one-hundred Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Chicago Builds students and their families.

Chicago Builds is a citywide, two-year off-campus training program for CPS junior and seniors interested in pursuing a career in construction after graduating high school.

Chicago Builds Campus Manager Isaac Carter emphasized the true team effort it took to pull the event together, “It is critical to the program’s sustainability to secure and have active participation & support from industry partners. We are thrilled to have had this opportunity with F.H. Paschen and Turner to provide our students and their families with a special token of support to lift their spirits during these unprecedented times.”

“This year has been such a challenging year for everyone. Though these are not the best circumstances, Turner Construction wanted to do our part and help the students and families of the Chicago Builds Program,” says Rick Blair, Vice President, General Manager of Turner Construction.

The meals were prepared by three local businesses near the Chicago Builds campus at 3000 S. King Dr. Catering the dinner was Dirty Bird Southern Kitchen and Premier Melon & Express. Desserts were catered by Shake Them Cakes.

“The year, 2020, has been one of the most emotionally draining years for all of us. I’m truly grateful to be a small part of this hot food drive that’s being provided by F.H. Paschen and Turner Construction. They’re definitely showing the term ‘I am my brother’s keeper’ still exists,” says Dirty Birds chef/owner James Sanders.

“Many students aren’t aware of available career opportunities in construction or how lucrative they can be.” F.H. Paschen Vice President Charles Johnson reiterated the importance of early intervention and engagement with students interested in construction. “We are committed to developing the next generation of construction professionals, events like these allow us to introduce ourselves and make those initial connections.”

Students and their families were also formally invited to a virtual meet-and-greet with the F.H. Paschen executives following the Holiday season.

The F.H. Paschen Safety Committee unanimously selected Jason Cox as the 2020 Johnny B. Golden Hard Hat Safety Award winner.

To be eligible for this award, the individual must exceed in three categories: 1) successfully execute our Safety and Quality Control approach, 2) lead the men and women on our jobsites with a proactive, safety-focused approach, and 3) carry-out the legacy of John Barkowski. The same people who described Johnny B as a detailed-oriented and solutions-driven man, say the same about Jason.

Regardless of how large volume or high-profile the job is, Jason has never sacrificed safety. He understands that safety is important to our clients and owners, and that starts with the men and women working on our jobsites. Jason makes it clear that he cares for the tradespeople under his supervision and that intentional effort translates to a team-focused approach to safety. For Johnny B, it was always about the team; success couldn’t be found without the whole team buying in, and Jason has continued that legacy.

Thank you, Jason, and congratulations on being selected for this prestigious award. Jason Cox follows the previous two award winners: Jason Pope (‘19) and Jeremy Roach (‘18).

Parents and students gather at GWCP for F.H. Paschen’s P.I.E. – Paschen’s Innovations in Engineering – event for a night of information, engineering challenges, and pie!

Students at George Westinghouse College Prep, along with parents and faculty, attended the 5^th annual P.I.E, Paschen: Innovations in Engineering, event on Thursday, February 27. F.H. Paschen hosted the event at Westinghouse College Prep as an introduction to their Paschen Engineering Scholars Program as well as the field of engineering for interested candidates.

The Paschen Engineering Scholars Program began in 2015 and exposes students to curriculum and hands-on activities that develops technical skills, builds problem-solving abilities, and offers real-world work experience as well as access to career opportunities in the STEM and construction fields.

“Our scholar program is a great opportunity for students to dive into the world of STEM and get insight into the large breadth of opportunities available within each field,” said F.H. Paschen COO Chuck Freiheit. “Since its inception, it has continued to evolve and we’re so proud of the impact it has made in the lives of the students that have participated in the scholar program as well as those who have come to us as interns. We’re opening doors for the next generation of construction.”

The evening started with the serving of pizza to attendees, followed by a presentation on the history of F.H. Paschen along with an update on their current and ongoing projects. Following the presentation, students were broken into two teams: Aviation and Development. The Aviation team was tasked building their own airplane with provided supplies as well as developing a name and brand around the plane, with the goal of making it physically fly. The Development team was to build a structure for a Chicago neighborhood of their choosing and determine the building’s purpose with that community.

F.H. Paschen accepted the 2019 Project Award from the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) for the American Airlines Concourse L/Stinger. 

We constructed a new concourse capable of handling five regional aircrafts with a pedestrian bridge tying into existing Terminal 3. The new facility includes hold rooms, concession areas, restrooms, airline support spaces, mechanical spaces, and circulation areas. 

In addition to the complex nature of building on an active airfield, Paschen had to devise innovative methods for erecting a nearly 600’ long walkway without impacting the gate operations of six different carriers. To address these challenges, Paschen, in collaboration with the design engineers, fabricator, erector and American Airlines, came up with a design for the bridge that would allow the walkway to be erected in three segments. The pieces were originally built on the ground, so they could eventually be hoisted up in the air and placed. 

This award joins the 2019 Construction Industry Service Corporation (CISCO) – Top Project Chicago, New Construction, American Airlines Concourse L / Stinger. 

We are excited to announce that the Barkowski Family has established the John Barkowski Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship will provide financial assistance to a graduating Westinghouse Paschen Scholar who will be furthering their education in a field of engineering.

John took great pride in his work and was a leader to many during his time at F.H. Paschen. He was always committed to training and educating the next generation of builders. To continue John’s legacy of excellence and hard work, the Barkowski Family will grant a scholarship to a graduating Paschen Scholar who best exemplifies the character and values of John.

F.H. Paschen and Westinghouse College Prep are entering the fourth year of a successful partnership and will welcome the new class of Paschen Scholars during the Hard Hat Ceremony on Thursday, May 30th. During this ceremony, Paschen will honor the graduates of the inaugural Paschen Scholars class and will present the John Barkowski Memorial Scholarship to the awarded senior. 

On Friday, May 3, CPS students participating in the competitive Paschen Engineering Scholars Program from George Westinghouse College Prep (GWCP) participated in an educational tour of the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant in Cicero as part of their STEM discovery and training initiative. The scholars toured the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant (WRP), one of the largest wastewater treatment facilities in the world, serving residents in the central part of Chicago and 46 other communities.

“It was bittersweet,” said F.H. Paschen Project Manager and GWCP Paschen Engineering Scholars liaison, Antonia Winfrey. “I’m watching my first group of scholars participate in their final tour prior to their Hard Hat Ceremony graduation on May 30^th. We’ve grown so much together and I know we’re setting them on the right path. It’s been an incredible journey.”

Owned and operated by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD), the Stickney WRP serves 2.3 million people within 260 square miles in Cook County to mitigate flooding and convert wastewater into valuable resources such as clean water, phosphorous, biosolids, and natural gas.

“It was a great example of engineering at work,” said Joe Scarpelli, Executive Vice President at F.H. Paschen. “Every opportunity we have to show these students the power of STEM at work is so valuable, and today was extremely impactful.”

Students that participated in the tour represent each of the current four classes of F.H. Paschen’s Engineering Scholars Program, a curriculum that includes hands-on activities that allow the scholars to develop technical skills, build problem-solving abilities and gain real world work experience to improve their knowledge of and access to career opportunities in the STEM fields.

“We were happy to welcome a group of bright students from Westinghouse College Prep to our Stickney Water Reclamation Plant,” said MWRD President Kari K. Steele. “We hope they gained an appreciation for the work the MWRD does to clean water and recover resources. We also hope they will consider careers in the water industry.”

F.H. Paschen accepted the 2019 Infrastructure Construction Award from the Chicago Building Congress (CBC) for the Chicago Department of Transportation 41st Street Pedestrian Bridge. 

The 1,470-foot pedestrian bridge spans over Lake Shore Drive and connects Chicago’s Bronzeville Neighborhood to the lakefront. The project’s construction consisted of the removal and reconstruction of pedestrian paths, bike trails and sidewalks, roadway lighting relocation, and furnishing and installing lighting on the bridge structure. 

The cultural and community significance of the bridge was highlighted in the Chicago Tribune. 

This award joins the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association (IRTBA) Contractor of the Year honor for the construction of the 41st Street Pedestrian Bridge. 

On National Rebuilding Day, April 27th, F.H. Paschen joined the Cook County Department of Capital Planning and Policy and Rebuilding Together to repair two homes in the Chicago Heights community. 

Our construction crews spent the week leading up to National Rebuilding Day remodeling the two homes. Renovations included the installation of all new kitchen appliances, vinyl flooring, and accessibility upgrades.

Paschen is a proud partner of Rebuilding Together in both the Chicagoland and Metro Washington, D.C. areas.

Last week marked the end of this year’s summer internship program. Our interns were spread across the company, filling various roles in our Estimating, Building, Civil, and PPG divisions.

Many of our interns had the opportunity to work on active job sites including 41st Street Pedestrian Bridge, 95th Street Terminal Improvement Project, O’Hare Runway 9C-27C Bid Package #1, American Airlines GEM Facility, and many more.

Last Friday, our interns gave their final presentations on their summer internship experience. Interns from our offices in Atlanta, GA and Washington, D.C. were flown in to create a collaborative presentation experience in which our interns spoke directly to our executives.

As a part of their final presentation, the interns nominated an employee for a ‘More Paschen’ award. The employees weren’t limited to a specific title, but were individuals who went out of their way to make an impact on our intern’s summer and made a lasting impression on their experience.

We received incredible feedback from our interns! Our industry’s future is bright with talented and innovative minds – we were truly fortunate to have such an excellent group of individuals.

We are wishing our interns a successful school year!

More Opportunity. More Paschen.

Our interns come from all over the nation, studying at schools including Villanova University, Purdue University, Illinois State University, Howard University, Miami University (Ohio), Michigan State University, Iowa State University, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Eastern Illinois University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Valparaiso University, University of Alabama, George Mason University, California College of the Arts, and Notre Dame University.

F.H. Paschen’s CTA Project Executive, Matt Moss, was on WGN Radio discussing the 95th Street Terminal Improvement Project.

The Paschen Milhouse Joint Venture credits the Mayor’s Office, CTA President Dorval Carter Jr. and city officials for their leadership and cooperation on this transformative project.

To listen to the interview, click here.

More Versatility. More Paschen.

Peoples Gas hired McKissack & McKissack and FH Paschen, which partnered with Epstein, to design and build the new facility. The firms have committed a projected total spend of more than 50 percent with minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses. They also have committed to hiring Chicago residents for at least 50 percent of the jobs during construction.

The facility will reduce maintenance costs, improve the efficiency of customer responses, provide safer traffic flow for employees and include large meeting rooms available for public use. In addition, the building will be constructed to meet City of Chicago sustainability requirements.

“We’re honored to serve the residents of Chicago through our partnership with Peoples Gas,” Roland Schneider, project executive, McKissack Paschen JV said. “We take great pride in increasing the quality of life through the investment of infrastructure and workforce development.”

More Versatility. More Paschen.

We recently celebrated the grand re-opening of the Buffalo Grove Park District Community Arts Center. F.H. Paschen was the general contractor on this $3.3 million dollar renovation.

The project included: a renovation of the lobby, vestibule and multipurpose room. We also installed a new roof and a pitched seating in the 360-seat theater. The new building is LEED certified.

“The Buffalo Grove Park District hired F.H. Paschen to be the lead contractors in renovating our Community Arts Center. The onsite Paschen team was very intelligent, personable, kind, and efficient,” said Kim Cashmore, Superintendent of Recreation. “I was in attendance at the weekly construction meetings and was very pleased to have had my questions answered, while working side by side with Paschen to problem solve any issues that came up. It was a pleasure to have Paschen overseeing the project.”

The Center provides performances for Buffalo Grove and the surrounding communities.

More Versatility. More Paschen.

For most Falls Church residents, it’s just another humid mid-Spring day. But for 40-year resident Andy Parks, it’s special. He’s sitting on his porch enjoying the spring rain with his dog Summer for the first time since last August.

It’s a moment made possible by F.H. Paschen staff volunteering with Rebuilding Together on Saturday, April 28.

“You couldn’t put a price tag on that day,” Senior Estimator Anthony Edwards explained.

Before that weekend, Andy lived mostly confined to the home he shares with his wife Kitty. It’s not that Andy didn’t want to leave; he physically couldn’t on his own.

Andy had double-knee replacement surgery closely followed by other health problems, and is now confined to a wheelchair. Without an access ramp, the wheelchair made getting out of the house a major obstacle. He could only leave his house to attend doctor appointments, but even those outings posed a problem since couldn’t get out of the house without assistance. The local fire department had to be called for each appointment to help Andy out of the house and down the porch.

Noticing the urgent need, Andy’s physical therapist referred him to the local chapter of Rebuilding Together. Rebuilding Together, Inc. is a national non-profit organization that focuses on safe and healthy housing solutions by connecting low-income homeowners with volunteers who can help.

F.H. Paschen staff volunteered with Rebuilding Together to help Andy and Kitty live a more mobile life. “When we were there it felt like we were helping a family member out, it didn’t feel like work,” Edwards said, “They opened their arms up to us like they’ve known us their entire lives.”

Over a two-day period, Paschen staff volunteered nearly 20 hours, and using their construction expertise, built a ramp from the front door to the driveway. In addition to the much-needed ramp, Paschen staff, with help of other volunteers, made many other interior and exterior improvements to the home. The crew completed tasks including repairs to the kitchen range hood, installing a fire extinguisher, cleaning the gutters, and fixing the backyard fence.

“It was an awesome fulfilling experience, and to give back to someone is such an amazing feeling,” Administrative Assistant Amy Dineen shared, “especially with him not being able to leave on his own since last summer.”

When asked how his life has changed, since the ramp installation, Andy quickly replied with a smile, “I can get outside now.” If gratitude could be personified, it just might look like a man on his porch relishing the rain with his dog.

More Opportunity. More Paschen.

The Conrad Sulzer Regional Library was built by our Paschen family of contractors in 1985. Recently, we were privileged to renovate this historic Chicago Public Library.

This interior renovation was completed in ten phases across three floors, in order to keep the building fully operational throughout construction.

Project Engineer Sean Lewis stated, “The interior renovation was especially challenging due to the magnitude of the renovation scope and the library’s one and only requirement – keep the library 100% operational at all times.  This posed many coordination challenges, including a 10 phased project schedule for the base scope. The library was pleased throughout the project with the quality of work and the minimal impact that we had on the patrons and staff of the library.”

Work included new flooring and painting throughout the building, a new lobby circulation desk, three new conference rooms, upgraded power and data, new fixtures/accessories at all seven bathrooms, a new AV system in the auditorium, and children’s area upgrades. The entire library lighting system also was retrofit with upgraded LED fixtures.

The job was completed by F.H. Paschen’s Preferred Projects Group (PPG). For more information on our wide variety of services and delivery methods, click here.

More Versatility. More Paschen.

The Paschen Scholars made their second visit to the 41st Street Pedestrian Bridge construction site. When the Scholars visited last, they met with our Project Manager and Project Engineer to review the plans and walk the site containing only our trailers.

Since that time, steel has been erected, a temporary bridge was built and much progress has been made. The Scholars were given a tour of the site and were prepared with many questions for our Project Manager. The questions ranged from the amount of RFI’s on the project to date to why they took the time to work on the BIM Coordination. They also discussed scheduling and how the project sequencing was decided to ensure minimal down time during the winter.

The Paschen Engineering Scholars program is more than an average internship. Three years of STEM curriculum, summer internships, exposure to college engineering programs, construction site visits, classroom-to-site applications, and one-on-one support ensure each student can seek the STEM career of his or her dreams with confidence.

We are looking forward to many more site visits with our Paschen Scholars!

Learn more about our Paschen Scholars program and our work with Westinghouse College Prep.

More Opportunity. More Paschen.