KWA Construction team members practicing social distancing at the office.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic a new normal has begun to emerge. For construction professions, adapting to the new normal can take different forms. At KWA, our priorities are not only the health and safety of our employees, but our subcontractor teams as well. As we incorporate new procedures and technology, we continually strive to keep our project teams and work family protected and engaged. 

Protecting our Workers

We are very proud of our KWA team and their efforts over these past several weeks in helping to ensure we successfully implement new protection measures. Our project teams have prudently enacted social distancing guidelines, implemented temperature monitoring procedures and set up additional hand washing stations, in addition to utilizing PPE. In true engineer/builder fashion, the team has come up with an innovative contraption to enhance the hygiene of our jobsites. Our project team at the Columbia Renaissance Square site built sinks to increase the number of handwashing stations available to all jobsite workers and their teams.

Engaging Our Team

Many of our non-field team members have also been working from home to help halt the spread and flatten the curve of the virus. By utilizing remote office software, hosting and participating in virtual meetings and virtual inspections, the KWA team has not missed a beat in their day-to-day responsibilities.

In an effort to stay connected with our work family, KWA hosted the company’s first virtual get-together with a ladies happy hour event. Our inspiring team of women went the extra mile by calculating the money that would’ve been allocated for their bar tab and donated the amount to help support the North Texas Food Bank. The ladies’ support and generosity for our community was a true testament to what we mean when we say “Creating Better Futures” as part of our KWA mission.

Since our first virtual get-together was such a success, KWA has committed to hosting similar events in the future, ensuring all our team members feel engaged and valuable in these uncertain times.

Building Great Places

Although our work environments may look a bit different these days, we are grateful to our employees for being flexible and productive over the past few months. See below for a glimpse into some of KWA’s recent accomplishments:

Stairs were recently lifted into place at Legacy Lakeshore, and next in line is the framing. Sprawling over 3.38 acres on Lake Carolyn in the Las Colinas area of Irving, Texas, the nearly $46-million, five-story community will offer 293 units. This luxury waterfront property is scheduled for completion in summer 2021. 

The above is an aerial view of the work being put into place at Arlington Commons. Now in phase two, the upscale apartments will soon feature a four-story, 358-unit apartment complex and five-story covered parking garage. As the largest multifamily redevelopment project in Arlington history, and one of the largest in North Texas, Arlington Commons is expected to contribute approximately $300–400 million in value to the City of Arlington once complete in 2026.

Framing for phase two of the Columbia Renaissance Square project is progressing nicely. Following a successful completion of phase one (seen in the background of the photo), the Fort Worth development will consist of affordable independent senior living apartments and mixed-income apartments. This phase is expected to be completed in December 2020.

The team working on The Village at Rayzor Ranch project has successfully seen this one all the way to finish line. Denton’s new state-of-the-art apartment community is located in the much anticipated mixed-use development Rayzor Ranch Town Center. The highly-walkable, 400-acre planned development offers retail, restaurants, office space, a medical facility, a hotel, parks and entertainment venues.

The image above gives us a bird’s-eye view of our Cooper project in Fort Worth’s medical district. The KWA Construction team on this project is working hard on getting ready for their first turn. The Cooper will be built on two separate city blocks between West Rosedale and West Oleander streets, connected via a sky-bridge over Washington Avenue. This community is expected to be completed this fall.

A Light at the End of the Tunnel 

No matter the challenges we face in our new world, the KWA team continues to creatively adapt, and excellently persevere. We continue taking steps to protect our workers on the jobsite while creatively staying engaged and uplifted. Despite any difficulty in striking a balance for our new normal, we continue with our mission of “Passionately developing our people, building great places and creating better futures.”