BRIDGEPORT, Conn. May 28, 2014 – KBE Building Corporation, a $300 million commercial construction firm regionally located in Connecticut and Maryland, celebrated the groundbreaking for Bridgeport’s new $72-million Jewish Senior Services building at a ceremony on May 21.
Attended by Connecticut governor Dannel Malloy and Bridgeport mayor Bill Finch, the ceremony kicked off a collaborative effort to build Connecticut’s first “household” model nursing home.
As Construction Manager at Risk, KBE will work with Jewish Senior Services to demolish the existing building at 4200 Park Avenue and construct a new skilled nursing and assisted living facility in its place. Comprising a new intergenerational campus and assisted living area, the building will provide a full continuum of senior living services to the community.
“We couldn’t be more honored to work with Jewish Senior Services to bring this long-awaited project to fruition,” said Mike Kolakowski, KBE president and principal owner since 2007.
Financed by People’s United Bank, the $72-million, 372,000-square-foot campus will contain 18 assisted living units, plus 24 “households” incorporating 14 private bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as dedicated short-term rehabilitation and memory care. The project is designed by Perkins Eastman Architects.
Jewish Senior Services will also offer home care, hospice, adult day programs, child care, geriatric assessment, and outpatient therapy. The organization’s Institute on Aging and Center for Elder Abuse Prevention and Senior Choice at Home® programs will continue to provide support for families in the community.
In keeping with its tradition of jobsite safety that includes various STEP (Safety Training and Evaluation Process) Awards of Achievement, KBE has partnered with OSHA to help facilitate voluntary health and safety improvements during the 22-month project, which is scheduled for completion in April 2016.
“Jobsite safety is our priority, especially when building around the elderly,” said Simon Etzel, KBE senior vice president and co-owner. “Whether we’re engaged in construction or charitable giving, we feel privileged to help improve the lives of our seniors.
Building is just one way KBE helps the elderly: The firm’s charitable giving program, 50 Ways to Make a Difference, has donated more than $1.2 million and 5,000 volunteer hours to programs that support seniors, military veterans, and children in Connecticut and Maryland since 2009.
“We established the 50 Ways program five years ago to celebrate our firm’s 50 years in business, plus the renewed commitment we made to philanthropy when Eric Brown, Simon Etzel, and I bought the company in 2007,” said Kolakowski.
A rendering of the new Jewish Senior Services building is available here:
http://impactmarketingandpr.com/press/Jewish-Senior-Services-Rendering.jpg
Image credit: Rendering courtesy of Perkins Eastman
About KBE Building Corporation
Regionally located in Farmington, Conn., and Columbia, Md., KBE Building Corporation is a full-service, single-source commercial construction company strategically positioned to serve the Eastern and Mid-Atlantic U.S. Founded in 1959 and incorporated in 1966, the firm provides preconstruction, construction management, design-build, and general contracting services to clients in the educational, senior living, federal, corporate, hospitality, health care, institutional, and retail markets. KBE has managed more than $2.5 billion in construction volume over the last decade and is ranked among Engineering News-Record magazine’s top 400 construction companies nationally. Learn more at www.kbebuilding.com.
Media Contact: Jonelle Lawhorn | KBE Director of Marketing
t: 860.284.7431| c: 860.836.7517 | f: 860.284.7831 | e: jlawhorn@kbebuilding.com