In an effort to improve communication and collaboration between the concrete and both investment and development communities, Build with Strength, a coalition of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, has launched an Investors and Developers Advisory Council. Jonathan Arnold, President and CEO of Arnold Development and Jack Holland, an investment banker in Kansas City, Missouri, will serve as inaugural co-chairman of the Council.
“The goals and tenets of Build with Strength are perfectly aligned with the type of development I have been associated with my entire career,” says Arnold. “I am excited to take on this formal role and look forward to working with our partners to advocate for safer, more durable, cost efficient construction in markets across the United States.”
The council will serve as investment and development advisers to fellow Build with Strength coalition members such as architects, builders, engineers, policy makers, and emergency services professionals who work together to raise awareness about the benefits of concrete construction, especially for low- to mid-rise structures. Additionally, council chairmen will work with their colleagues in the development and investment fields to better educate decision makers about how concrete can help improve their bottom line over the long term.
“The marketplace is littered with misconceptions about concrete and what it means for an investors’ bottom line,” says Holland. “I am happy to take on this role to help clear up these misconceptions in the investment community by highlighting the value that concrete projects bring to long-term investors.”
Arnold and Holland are working together to develop and build the world’s most energy-efficient building, a 276-unit multifamily unit development in downtown Kansas City. By combining Passive House with Lean Construction (a highly efficient project management system) and using concrete, they were able to have lower first costs and a lower total lifecycle costs than utilizing less safe wood frame construction.
