Construction in the Ozarks Spring 2010: Springfield-Greene County Botanical Center

General Contractor: R.E. Smith Construction Co.
Architect: H Design Group LLC
Engineers: Mettemeyer Engineering LLC, civil and structural; Colvin Jones Davis LLC, mechanical, electrical and plumbing
Estimated Cost: $4.3 million
Crews are working on the parking lot at the Springfield-Greene County Park Board’s botanical center at Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park, said Mike Freitas, project manager with general contractor R.E. Smith Construction Co. Work on the facility’s standing-seam metal roof will start this month, but Freitas said crews are still about three weeks away from beginning interior work at the 12,500-square-foot center. Weather delays have pushed back the estimated completion date, which Freitas said will likely be in mid-October. The building is designed to achieve Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design-Silver status. About $3 million of the center’s funding comes from a Greene County sales tax approved in 2006, and the remainder comes from private funds raised by Friends of the Garden and city and county support, officials have said.