A Great Year: Looking Back at the Accomplishments of 2019

/in /by

This has been an exciting year for Leon Williams Contractors. As 2019 draws to a close, we’re taking the time to reflect on all the great projects that we’ve had the opportunity to work on for our clients.

From the new Pellissippi State Community College welding shop to Wings Over Knoxville, the chain’s first location in Tennessee, this year has been filled with exciting firsts, great renovations and even the beginning of work on Etowah’s new city hall. Here are some highlights of a great year:

A New Face for Etowah Government

For the last few years, Etowah’s city government has been working from a small office north of town. Soon, though, they’ll be able to move into a new city hall, located next door to the historic L&N railroad depot. The look of the new building reflects the historic train station that’s been a southeastern landmark for more than a century. We’re excited to continue working on this project over the coming months and can’t wait until we open the doors on it next year.

Dining Halls, Welding Shops and Biotech, Oh My!

Pellissippi State Welding Shop It was a great year for construction projects and renovations, and we’re proud to have completed several for East Tennessee businesses and educational institutions. These projects included the new office of Allevia Technology and a new medical testing center for the Molecular Pathology Laboratory Network in Maryville, a fresh take on Carson-Newman University’s Stokely dining hall in Jefferson City and the conversion of a loading dock on Pellissippi State’s Strawberry Plains campus into a new welding shop and training space.

Helping Franchise Brands Expand

Throughout 2019, we continued to work with restaurant brands to expand their locations across East Tennessee. We built out the location for the new Wings Over Knoxville, the first Wings Over location in Tennessee, which held its grand opening in September.

Over in Lenoir City, we built a brand-new Which Wich Superior Sandwiches franchise location that offers the region’s first look at the concept’s new branding and interior design. This is the third location we’ve built for the franchise owner.

Farmers and Fireworks

At the first of the year, we prepared the former Goody’s location in Foothills Mall in Maryville to serve as a location for Farmers Home Furniture, a Georgia-based regional furniture chain.

We also helped get the Fireworks Superstore in Kodak, Tennessee, back in business after a landslide had damaged the facility, destroying some walls and interior spaces. We repaired the damage, and the store was able to reopen.

A Modern Collaboration for a Sacred Cause

We’re grateful to have had the chance to work with Studio Four Design on a project on Foothills Church campus, a brand new 32,000-square foot space that opened last year. This year, we were recognized for our work on that project with the 2019 Solomon Award for Church Design, an honor we share with our friends at Studio Four and Foothills Church. Faith is something we’re passionate about at Leon Williams, and we’re always happy to help a congregation create a building that fits their needs and glorifies their purpose.

More to Come in 2020

We love helping our East Tennessee neighbors with their building projects, no matter how large or small, and we can’t wait to see what’s in store as we move into the new decade. If you’ve seen our work and want to talk about your construction needs in the new year, we’d love to chat. Contact Leon Williams Contractors today.

Offset rising material costs with this advice.

3 Strategies to Offset Rising Material Costs

/in /by

Construction material prices have been volatile in recent years, but they continue to rise overall. Combined with economic uncertainty related to tariffs, it can be a challenging time for the construction industry.

Along with increasing materials prices, delays and mishaps can drive construction project costs past the initial budget. To combat these issues, Leon Williams Contractors has put strategies in place to help offset unpredictable costs and deliver more value to our clients.

Build for the Site

Successful builders create structures that work with the sites they’re on, rather than fighting against them. By assessing every site for compatibility with the structures our clients want to build, we ensure parking, traffic flow, even noise and light pollution don’t interfere with local infrastructure and existing development. Choosing the right site, using the right materials, and clearing up any potential issues with environmental and geotechnical hazards before starting construction can save thousands in engineering and remediation costs later.

Design for Efficiency

Leon Williams Contractors also offers design-build construction services, which can save clients a lot of money on materials over the course of a project. A design-build construction team can make more informed decisions about materials and reduce waste compared to traditional building. When clients aren’t paying for excessive material waste, especially the kind incurred when solving construction mistakes, material costs overall can be significantly reduced.

Engineer for Value

When clients begin a renovation or new construction, they stake a lot of their own money, and the money of their investors, on the success of the project. Difficult designs that rely on expensive or complex materials can be a major financial headache. Leon Williams Contractors uses value engineering techniques to give clients an honest appraisal of the value and longevity of every solution we provide, allowing them to save money without sacrificing quality.

If you want to avoid the pain of rising materials costs, we can help. Contact Leon Williams Contractors today to learn more.

Solomon Awards Name Leon Williams Contractors and Studio Four Design’s Foothills Church Project One of the Best of 2019

/in /by

Maryville contractor and Knoxville architect recognized by prestigious church design and construction awards for helping bring fast-growing East Tennessee congregation’s vision to fruition

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Oct. 24, 2019 – Maryville-based commercial construction firm Leon Williams Contractors and Knoxville architecture and design firm Studio Four Design have been recognized by the leading awards program for the church design, building and operations industry for their work on the fast-growing Foothills Church. Foothills Church earned a 2019 Solomon Award for Church Design – Gathering and Community spaces for the 32,000-square-foot open, contemporary design and construction of its new building in Maryville, which opened in 2018.

“The mission of Foothills Church is to develop mature disciples of Christ in relational environments, and as the design-build leader, it was our mission to provide a building to facilitate such an environment,” said Jimmy Hawkins, president of Leon Williams Contractors. “We worked extensively with Studio Four and Foothills Church to provide exactly what it was looking for and were active partners in bringing that vision to life. The natural light and open spaces provide a modern feel that’s comfortable for the congregation and welcoming for visitors.”

The Worship Facilities Network Solomon Awards recognize churches and their partners for excellence in building design, building expansion or remodeling, operational excellence, innovative use and technical production. Leon Williams Contractors completed the project with Knoxville-based Studio Four Design.

“Moving into a new building is exciting for any church, but it presents challenges, too,” said Stacy Cox, president of Studio Four Design. “The leadership at Foothills Church truly invested their hearts into this project, and their fearlessness and commitment allowed us to develop a design that really fits the community here.”

The new Foothills Church campus includes a 1,200-seat auditorium and numerous intentional ministry spaces that can accommodate both large and small gatherings and host its regular Sunday morning worship experience. Meanwhile, the open-concept atrium also allows partners and guests to enjoy a relaxed and intimate space specifically designed to develop relational environments.

A central feature of the new Foothills Church atrium is its elevated baptistery, located in the heart of the atrium, and visible to the public through its oversized glass windows. The intentional and thoughtful location allows friends and family to share the act of baptism while the congregation celebrates along within the auditorium via live video connection.

“It is truly remarkable to witness the way in which God has used this ministry through the expansion of Foothills Church to reach the people of Maryville, Blount County and Knoxville with the Gospel,” said lead pastor Trent Stewart. “We are grateful for the thoughtful work of Jimmy and the Leon Williams team. It’s a powerful reflection of our ongoing mission to develop mature disciples of Christ in relational environments.”

To learn more about Leon Williams Contractors or to view more of their work, visit https://lwcontractorstn.com/.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Heather Ripley
Ripley PR
865-977-1973

About Leon Williams Contractors

An experienced commercial design-build firm, Leon Williams Contractors simplifies the building process by effectively managing costs, adhering to deadlines and reducing complications to provide a seamless building experience. As a value-engineering expert, Leon Williams Contractors offers a complete range of services including pre-construction consultation, site assessment, design-build expertise and construction management in the greater Knoxville, Tenn. area.

For more information, visit www.lwcontractorstn.com or call (865) 982-1734.

About Foothills Church

Foothills Church exists to develop mature disciples of Christ in relational environments. The church was planted in 2009 by current lead pastor Trent Stewart, and his wife Micah. Today, Foothills Church is one of the fastest-growing churches in East Tennessee, hosting approximately 2,000 people weekly at its two Sunday morning worship experiences at its campus in Maryville, Tennessee. For more information or to plan a visit, visit www.FoothillsChurch.com

About Studio Four Design Inc.

Since 2002, Studio Four Design has served as a premier architectural and interior design firm to the Greater Knoxville Area. Their guiding principal is Design Matters, and their goal is to go beyond expectations to provide design solutions that positively impact their clients’ lives and organizations. Their team has worked on a variety of projects over the last decade that includes: churches, educational facilities, restaurants, retail buildings, athletic venues and much more. Studio Four Design takes pride in and is dedicated to all of the clients they serve. To find out more, call 865-523-5001 or visit http://studiofourdesign.com.

Design Build construction offers many benefits over the traditional method.

How Design-Build Construction Can Improve Any Project

/in /by

For today’s commercial developers, the choice between using design-build construction services or using traditional methods can make or break a project.

Historically, architects and designers have been siloed in the industry, designing projects for their clients but often having very little say or supervision in their construction. The task of turning drawings and plans into real spaces has fallen squarely to the contractor, who is responsible for the interpretation of the technical plans, changing, tweaking and modifying them as necessary to deliver a finished product.

While this method has its advantages it also carries a higher risk of mistakes and disagreements among the designer, contractor and client.

Advantages of Design-Build Construction

Luckily, there’s a better way forward. Design-build construction represents a premium model for commercial construction. By letting designers and contractors collaborate from the start, projects can often be finished on time and on budget, with fewer costlier delays and overruns.

Design-build construction uses coordination from the start of the process to make better, more informed decisions as the work progresses. This relationship between the designer and builder makes projects more efficient by minimizing paperwork, delays and the time it takes to fix problems with intermittent communication.

But what if your project doesn’t require a complex new building, but instead just involves redesigning an existing space? Here, too, design-build makes sense. By planning all parts of the project up front, even jobs as simple as a restaurant renovation can be improved. A focus on collaboration eliminates delays arising from slow back-and-forth communication between independent designers and contractors. If design changes are necessary, the entire project team can be updated immediately.

We Can Help

Overall, the largest benefit of a design-build process is efficiency, and that benefits every job, not just the big ones. As a design-build construction firm, we offer more efficient and effective construction processes, saving our clients from the added expense of delays and budget mistakes. If you’re interested in working with us on your next project, contact Leon Williams Contractors today.

Leon Williams Contractors Begins Work on Etowah City Hall

/in /by

Leading Maryville construction firm partners with city on major municipal upgrade designed to streamline services and enhance historic downtown

MARYVILLE, Tenn. – Sept. 26, 2019 – Maryville-based commercial construction firm Leon Williams Contractors has begun construction on a new 3,200-square-foot city hall in Etowah, Tennessee. The new Etowah City Hall will become the city’s permanent dedicated building for municipal government in 2020, when the project is scheduled to be completed.

Etowah City Hall will be located on Tennessee Avenue, on property adjacent to the historic L&N Depot, built in 1906 and a southeastern Tennessee landmark for more than a century. The new one-story building is designed to complement the railroad depot, which was extensively renovated in 2012 and currently houses a railroad museum and the Etowah Chamber of Commerce and serves as a facility for public and private events.

“This project is a significant enhancement for the city of Etowah,” said Jimmy Hawkins, president of Leon Williams Contractors. “It will complement the beautiful L&N Depot and add to the historic character of the downtown area by finishing the currently vacant lot. I am excited for the city employees to have a new space to work and residents to have an attractive city building to be proud of.”

For the last several years, Etowah’s city government offices have been headquartered in a rented office space north of downtown. Before that, the offices were located inside the city’s Carnegie Library.

“The City of Etowah is very excited to be able to use the expertise of Leon Williams Contractors for the construction of the new Etowah City Hall facility and the reinvestment in our historic downtown,” said Tina Tuggle, Etowah city manager.

Etowah City Hall is expected to open in spring 2020.

For more information about Leon Williams Contractors, visit www.lwcontractorstn.com or call (865) 982-1734.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Heather Ripley
Ripley PR
865-977-1973

About Leon Williams Contractors

An experienced commercial design-build firm, Leon Williams Contractors simplifies the building process by effectively managing costs, adhering to deadlines and reducing complications to provide a seamless building experience. As a value-engineering expert, Leon Williams Contractors offers a complete range of services including pre-construction consultation, site assessment, design-build expertise and construction management in the greater Knoxville, Tenn. area.

For more information, visit www.lwcontractorstn.com or call (865) 982-1734.

Designing the Right Site in the Right Way

/in /by

Finding the right site for a new commercial facility can be hard enough, but businesses also have to worry about finding the right design. It takes planning to ensure sites are designed to properly accommodate customers while eliminating or minimizing nuisance problems for adjoining properties.

Site Assessment

Leon Williams Contractors offers preplanning and site assessment services to help businesses find the perfect sites for new facilities. This helps protect our clients from unpleasant surprises like insufficient utilities, environmental hazards, and geotechnical issues.

We can also help determine if the proposed site is large enough to accommodate the facility. There are many factors that need to be taken into account, including required setbacks, green space requirements, adequate parking, and various buffer zones.

Location is important, too. If you’re interested in building a retail location, is there enough traffic to justify it? Is the property sufficiently accessible? If it’s hard for drivers to get into or out of the property, it will cut into your sales.

Be a Good Neighbor

Once a site is selected, the design needs to balance convenience for patrons and visitors while minimizing any potential nuisance problems for neighboring properties or nearby residential areas. Adequate parking and traffic flow are vital. The design of the site should factor in ways to reduce noise and light pollution from the property, preventing community complaints.

We Can Help

The team at Leon Williams Contractors has decades of experience in commercial construction project management. We can help your company find the best site that is built out in the best way. Our proven design-build construction expertise has been put to work in commercial projects all around East Tennessee.

We’re ready help build the best commercial facility for your business. Let us help. Contact Leon Williams Contractors to find out more.

Design-Build Communication Advantages

/in /by

The success of commercial construction projects depends on teamwork and the ability of all the parties involved to cooperate and communicate. This doesn’t always happen.

In traditional commercial construction projects, a developer starts by hiring an engineer or architect to design a facility, and then puts it out to bid to find a contractor to build it. This model often leads to confrontational projects. If something goes wrong, the designer and contractor can end up trying to blame each other. If the plans are missing details or information, the contractor can request additional funds and/or time in order provide the additional work. Often the contractor is forced to play this game in order to have a competitive edge against other bidding contractors.

What is Design-Build Construction?

There is another way. Commercial developers can enlist the help of a design-build construction team — meaning a construction firm works with a designer from the start of the project. As Design-Build Institute of America notes, the design-build model can allow for a more streamlined, efficient construction process:

The owner manages only one contract with a single point of responsibility. The designer and contractor work together from the beginning, as a team, providing unified project recommendations to fit the owner’s schedule and budget. Any changes are addressed by the entire team, leading to collaborative problem-solving and innovation, not excuses or blame-shifting. While single-source contracting is the fundamental difference between design-build and the old ways, equally important is the culture of collaboration inherent in design-build.

Improved Teamwork and Communication

At Leon Williams Contractors, we’ve found that a design-build construction approach offers significant advantages to our clients in East Tennessee. It allows for a higher level of cooperation and coordination between the contractor and the designer.

A design-build construction team can make better, more informed decisions, improve the efficiency of work that needs to be done — and minimize the paperwork, delays, and cost of fixing problems that can result from coordination problems between two companies.

We have decades of design-build construction experience in East Tennessee. If you want to learn more about the advantages of partnering with a design-build construction team, contact Leon Williams Contractors today.

Don’t Trust Unlicensed Contractors

/in /by

When it comes to your new commercial project, who should you trust to do the job right?

If your business is looking to start a new construction project or to renovate an existing commercial building, you’ll naturally be looking to get the most out of your money. When weighing costs and budget, it can be tempting to just go with the lowest bidder.

If you make that choice without properly checking their qualifications, though, you’re courting danger. That cut-rate contractor might be unlicensed, and if you end up hiring them, you’re putting both the project and your business at risk.

Why is hiring a licensed contractor important?

So, what’s the big deal about hiring an unlicensed contractor? You’ll save some money, right?

Wrong. Hiring an unlicensed contractor for a commercial project is the same as writing a blank check. If something goes wrong, your business will be on the hook for damages and loss. If the workmanship is shoddy, you’ll have no recourse.

In the event of mishaps during construction, you want to be sure your contractor is licensed and insured, so that you are not held liable for accidents. For instance, if a contractor’s worker was injured on the job site, you would want to know that the contractor has insurance to cover the worker’s injuries. In the case of a major accident, this could become extremely costly financially.

When it comes to paperwork and record-keeping, hiring a licensed contractor will provide you with peace of mind that they are conducting business according to best practices and have passed all the requirements of the governing body overseeing commercial contractor licensing.

Experience and training

A licensed commercial contractor employs trained workers who have experience and skills that keep a jobsite safe and make sure the work is done under the supervision of highly qualified construction managers to avoid accidents and shoddy workmanship. The best licensed contractors also work hard to stay up-to-date with the best and most efficient construction techniques.

The bottom line is, if you are unhappy with the work of an unlicensed commercial contractor or they provided subpar work and skipped town, you’re just out of luck. Don’t be fooled, hire a licensed commercial contractor like Leon Williams Contractors, and always check references before working with any contractor. Ready to learn more? Contact Leon Williams today.

Leon Williams Contractors Completes 2018 UT-Chattanooga Construction and Renovation Projects

/in /by

Maryville, Tennessee-based commercial design-build firm added new spaces to UTC’s West Campus Housing building and renovated Crossroads Dining Hall in 2018

 MARYVILLE, Tenn. – Aug. 24, 2018 – Leon Williams Contractors, a Maryville-based commercial design-build firm, has completed two major projects at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga that will have positive impact on students and faculty starting in the fall 2018 semester.

The company built three new dining options – Einstein Bros.® Bagels, Dippers southern fried and grilled chicken and a Provisions on Demand (P.O.D.) quick-serve store –  as part of the new flagship West Campus Housing building and completed a full renovation of Crossroads Dining Hall, UTC’s main student dining facility.

“These two locations are central to the UTC campus, so it’s essential that students and faculty have positive experiences there,” said Tyler Forrest, associate vice chancellor for budget and finance at the university. “We also want these facilities to present the university’s commitment to quality and excellence, which is something we share with Leon Williams Contractors.”

The three new West Campus Housing dining concepts account for 6,500 square feet of the 231,000-square-foot West Campus Housing building. Renovation of the 13,000-square-foot Crossroads Dining Hall included replacing all the furniture, food stations and fixtures, adding a Mongolian grill concept and sushi machine, and installing a new state of the art kitchen exhaust system to reduce cooking smoke and smells outside the building.

“These are two very different projects, but what they have in common is that they’re presenting a range of new opportunities for students at UTC,” said Jimmy Hawkins, president of Leon Williams Contractors. “West Campus Housing was essentially a project within a project – we had to work closely with the building contractor to coordinate our work inside their construction site.  Crossroads Dining Hall was similar in that there were two other extensive construction projects occurring on the floors above the space at the same time.”

The West Campus Housing project and the Crossroads Dining Hall renovation were the 13th and 14th projects completed by Leon Williams Contractors at UTC. The projects took place between February and early August. UTC’s fall semester started Aug. 20.

About Leon Williams Contractors

An experienced commercial design-build firm, Leon Williams Contractors simplifies the building process by effectively managing costs, adhering to deadlines and reducing complications to provide a seamless building experience. As a value-engineering expert, Leon Williams Contractors offers a complete range of services including pre-construction consultation, site assessment, design-build expertise and construction management in the greater Knoxville, Tenn. area.

For more information, visit www.lwcontractorstn.com or call 865-982-1734.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Heather Ripley
Ripley PR
865-977-1973
hripley@ripleypr.com

Leon Williams Contractors Announces Contemporary Upgrade of Carson-Newman University Dining Hall

/in /by

Maryville construction firm will add modern finishes and enhanced flow to Jefferson City university’s Stokely Dining Hall

MARYVILLE, Tenn. – June 20, 2019 – Leon Williams Contractors, a Maryville-based commercial construction firm, and Aramark Higher Education have announced a major renovation of Stokely Dining Hall at Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City, Tennessee. The project will upgrade the university community’s dining experience with improved flow, updated contemporary finishes and expanded food options and convenience.

In addition to the improved layout and contemporary finishing, the renovation will add sliding barn doors that can be closed to convert the seating area into an attractive event space. Other additions will include an allergen-free station and expanded made-to-order stations.

“This renovation will bring a completely new feel and function to Stokely Dining Hall,” said Jimmy Hawkins, president of Leon Williams Contractors. “We updated the seating area in this same space several years ago, so it’s satisfying to come back and work with Carson-Newman University and Aramark Higher Education again. This is more like a reinvention than a renovation. When students return to campus this fall, they’ll find an entirely new dining space that meets modern expectations.”

Leon Williams Contractors renovated the seating area at Stokely Dining Hall in 2010. The new project, which is already underway, will take place during the summer and is scheduled to be completed by the start of the fall semester.

Around the country, Generation Z is driving new trends in college dining experiences. Students now want customizable meal options, plant-based choices and allergen-free alternatives. In addition, they expect on-the-go convenience, digital payment options and internationally inspired dishes.

“We are pleased to offer students more variety, convenience and value,” said Rebecca Greenep, dining director, Aramark/Carson-Newman University. “All of the enhancements we are making to the dining program are based on student feedback, and are designed to provide students with even more opportunities to enjoy their meals, as well as their overall dining experience.”

For more information about Carson-Newman University, visit https://www.cn.edu/.

For more information about Aramark, visit https://www.aramark.com/.

For more information about Leon Williams Contractors, visit www.lwcontractorstn.com or call 865-982-1734.

About Aramark Higher Education
Aramark Higher Education is dedicated to excellence in dining, facility, conference center, and stadium and arena services. Aramark enhances the living and learning experience and environment for more than 600 colleges and universities throughout North America.  For more information and a list of our services, visit www.aramarkhighered.com.

About Aramark
Aramark (NYSE: ARMK) delivers experiences that enrich and nourish people’s lives through innovative services in food, facilities management, and uniforms. United by a passion to serve, our 270,000 employees make a meaningful difference each day for millions of people in 21 countries around the world. Aramark is recognized as one of the World’s Most Admired Companies by FORTUNE, rated number one among Diversified Outsourcing Companies, as well as among the World’s Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute. Learn more at www.aramark.com or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

About Carson-Newman University
Founded in 1851, Carson-Newman is a Christian liberal arts university located in Jefferson City, Tennessee, among the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. The University has over 2,500 students and offers 50 undergraduate majors, as well as associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. For more information, visit www.cn.edu.

About Leon Williams Contractors

An experienced commercial design-build firm, Leon Williams Contractors simplifies the building process by effectively managing costs, adhering to deadlines and reducing complications to provide a seamless building experience. As a value-engineering expert, Leon Williams Contractors offers a complete range of services including pre-construction consultation, site assessment, design-build expertise and construction management in the greater Knoxville, Tenn. area.

For more information, visit www.lwcontractorstn.com or call 865-982-1734.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Heather Ripley

Ripley PR
865-977-1973

hripley@ripleypr.com