News

Projects

Construction is 90% complete for Muhlenberg College’s Seegers Union building.  Various facility improvements included in the 64,000 SF renovation and expansion project will be a new kitchen and 600-seat main dining hall, improvements to the loading dock area, modernizing the existing dining space and expanding and improving existing areas in the current facility.

Butz broke ground in June on Allentown Art Museum’s Expansion and modernization project.  The expansion will add 7,900 SF to the existing facility.  Included in the addition will be an expanded storefront and relocated main entrance on 5th Street, a new main lobby, museum store and café overlooking the Allentown Arts Park.  The rear addition will provide two new galleries, an additional classroom and a new loading dock/service entrance.  Renovations and upgrades are planned for the toilet facilities and existing galleries as well as elevator relocations and upgrading of mechanical and lighting systems.

Completion of Lehigh University’s New Science, Technology, Environment, Policy and Society (STEPS) building is scheduled for the end of June 2010. The 135,000 SF facility will provide offices for 80 faculty members, staff and graduate students.  It will feature 50 research and state-of-the-art teaching labs, as well as 10 classrooms, computer labs, seminar rooms, and a 75-seat auditorium.  The building is constructed with the goal of obtaining LEED certification and is currently tracking LEED-Gold.

Butz has been selected to manage the construction of Community Services for Children Inc.’s new Early Head Start Infant, Toddler and Family Development Center.  The one-story, 12,000 SF building will include five classrooms, therapy rooms, mental health related rooms, a meeting room and a parent-child greeting room. Plans also include a kitchen, laundry & utility facilities, offices and an indoor play area.  Construction is scheduled to begin in October 2010.

Construction has begun for The ArtsQuest Center @ Steelstacks.  The new facility will include two cinemas, a 600-seat Musikfest Café live music venue and the “Blast Furnace Room,” a 4,000 SF multipurpose gathering space.  Completion of the center is scheduled for March 2011.

Phase I facilities improvements are currently underway for the Allentown School District.  The current phase consists of renovations, additions and improvements to six schools in the District.  Construction is complete on South Mountain Middle School (119,700 SF), Trexler Middle School (117,227 SF), Roosevelt Elementary School (57,700 SF), Dieruff High School (237,500 SF) and Jackson Elementary School (85,000 SF).  Construction continues on William Allen High School (447,147 SF).  The new Jackson Elementary School will be LEED certified.  (Click here for project info.) 

Alvin H. Butz, Inc. has been selected by PBS 39 to manage the construction of its new office and broadcast center at SteelStacks.  The 29,000 SF broadcast center will include two television studios featuring state-of-the-art high definition production and broadcast equipment, an HD master control broadcast booth and office space that will accommodate future staff expansion.

Pennsylvania State University’s Berks Campus broke ground in April on its 62,000 SF new classroom / lab building.  The building is designed utilizing a two and three-story layout.  It will house 24 classrooms and labs, 50 faculty offices, a commercial kitchen, café and retail space.  The project is targeting a LEED-Silver certification.

Sustainable Construction - LEED

The Berks County Community Foundation’s (BCCF) Community Building constructed by Alvin H. Butz, Inc. recently received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum-Certification.  The facility which opened in Fall 2009 is a three-story, 12,000 SF office building and community conference center.  The building serves as BCCF’s headquarters and as a meeting place for Berks County Citizens to work on community-related projects.  (Click here for a full press release.)

Mid-Atlantic Construction magazine ranked Butz Enterprises, Inc. 23rd among the top 40 green contractors in the region.  The ranking is based on information provided by regional firms through the magazine’s annual Top Contractors survey.  The list ranks firms based upon their 2009 revenue generated from projects that are certified with a third-party rating organization.

Butz has embraced the U.S. Green Building Council's quest to transform the way buildings are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy and prosperous environment that improves quality of life.  Butz has taken a proactive position in the pursuit of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) training, development and implementation.  Butz currently has 17 LEED Accredited Professionals on its staff with additional staff currently in training and accreditation programs.  Butz is currently managing five construction projects valued at $206 million using sustainable design, construction and operations methods, many of which will be submitted for LEED certification.

Achievements

Alvin H. Butz, Inc. was recently honored with a 2010 Vista Award by The American Society of Healthcare Engineering (ASHE).  The award, in the category of new construction, recognizes Butz, Geisinger Health Systems and the architectural firm Francis Cauffman for the design and construction of the Critical Care Building at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Wilkes-Barre, PA.   (Click here for a full press release.)

Engineering News Record (ENR) ranked Butz Enterprises, Inc. among the top 400 contractors in 2010, at number 338.  The top 400 list includes construction management and general contracting firms.

Alvin H. Butz, Inc. and Sands Bethlehem Gaming, LLC are the recipients of a Construction Management Association of America Mid-Atlantic Chapter Project of the Year Award for the construction of Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem.  The Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem project won the award in the Private Sector Project over $100 million category.  (Click here for a full press release.)

Marketing

Alvin H. Butz, Inc. has decided to produce a new series of marketing pieces with its affiliated companies, Shoemaker Construction Co. and Alexander Building Construction Co.  The fifth in the series which is currently in the development stage will showcase our special projects.  Click to view our past flyers which include parking structures, higher education, healthcare facilities and green building construction flyers.

Our new brochure for The Butz family of companies is now complete.  (Click here to view our brochure.)

Safety

It is the policy of Alvin H. Butz, Inc. to conduct all operations with a maximum amount of planning and care with respect to the issue of safety.  Every project we manage is performed with the goal of eliminating personal injury and property damage.  No phase of our operations or administration is, or will be, considered more important than accident prevention.

Recently, Butz experienced its third Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspection of the year.  The inspection, which occurred at Muhlenberg College’s Seegers Union building was a programmed inspection focusing on fall and electrocution hazards.  Thanks to the safety efforts of our project team and the cooperation of our subcontractors the inspection was a success resulting in zero citations. 

Since July of 2007, Alvin H. Butz, Inc. has experienced 24 OSHA inspections ranging from programmed and focused inspections to complaints.  Those inspections occurred on projects valued at approximately $1.08 billion.  We are proud to say that OSHA issued no citations throughout the course of any of those inspections.   That is a tribute to our safety program and the effort put forth by our project teams to provide a safe working environment.