Multiple projects recently built by Boyd Jones have earned national recognition for excellence in construction. The Midwest affiliate of industry publication Engineering News-Record on Aug. 22 announced two Boyd Jones projects have been recognized in its 2023 Best Projects competition.

The magazine assembled two panels of industry experts that selected the new Against the Current Career Academy in Macy as the Best Project in its K-12 Education category for 2023 Best Projects competition. The 39,000 SF facility features classrooms and lab space corresponding to each of the six career pathways comprising the academy, including a 300-seat auditorium, retail store, day care, and cafe. Umónhon Nation Public Schools students participating in the academy can choose any of the following career tracks, each of which is in high demand within the community: CNA/nursing, culinary arts, construction, automotive, entrepreneurship/business, and early childhood education.

“To know that we played a critical part in helping create these opportunities for the tribe’s young people is truly humbling,” said Boyd Jones President Jon Crane. “We’re proud of the work we’ve done for the district and honored to have been a part of this project.”

ENR Midwest also recognized the new Kids Can Community Center in Omaha with an Award of Merit in the Small Project category. The 27,000-SF new building stands on a long-vacant corner lot that was home to a neighborhood elementary school before it closed 30 years ago. The new facility provides larger rooms for programming and enables Kids Can to expand its early childhood education program to include infant care for the first time in its 115-year history. The building includes a warming kitchen, STEM room, expanded community room capacity, a gymnasium, and adjacent green space for outdoor youth sports programming and community activities.

“The challenges of finding affordable child care represent a crisis both within our community and across the country,” Crane said. “Kids Can represents a solution to many of these challenges.”
Founded in Omaha in 1908 as part of the national Social Settlement movement to help immigrants, Kids Can serves over 1,000 children annually through its own facilities, after-school programming at seven elementary schools in north and south Omaha, and an off-site summer program. Kids Can moved into the new facility in late March after spending the last 60 years in a building just down the street; Boyd Jones also built that property.

“It was evident that Boyd Jones cared about the neighborhood, going above and beyond to address any concerns and maintain open lines of communication,” said Robert Patterson, Kids Can CEO. “Their inclusive approach ensured that the end result reflected the collective aspirations of our organization and the community at large.”

The Boyd Jones projects were among 15 recognized as Best Projects and 14 that received Awards of Merit from a pool of 63 submissions across 16 categories. ENR Midwest covers 11 states: Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin.