Preservation Forward Landmarks Illinois hosted its spring fundraising event March 10 at Chicago’s Old Post Office. The historic preservation organization called for and supported the 2020 renovation of the venue. 

The event honored the 2022 Landmarks Illinois Influencers, a group of seven women honorees who have shaped Illinois’ built environment and who, through their work, are joining the preservation organization in its effort to create a more diverse, equitable, inclusive and accessible preservation movement. The 2022 Illinois Influencers were Mariah DiGrino, a partner at DLA Piper; Eleanor Gorski, the executive director of the Cook County Land Bank Authority; Tiara Hughes, senior urban designer and project manager at SOM; Cheryl Johnson, executive director of People for Community Recovery; Tonika Lewis Johnson, a social justice artist; Stacey Pfingsten, executive vice president of the American Institute of Architects Illinois chapter; and Alicia Ponce, founding principal at AP Monarch.

Guests enjoyed drinks and hors d’oeuvres in the Old Post Office’s Great Hall throughout the evening, made donations via the Landmarks Illinois giving app and enjoyed a performance by the Chicago Bears Drumline throughout the evening. Pictured are Mariah DiGrino and her daughters.

Photo courtesy of McCarthy Building Cos.

NGA Headquarters Tops Out in St. Louis

The last steel beam was secured in place March 3 to complete framing of the 700,000-sq-ft main office building that is the centerpiece of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s (NGA) new Next NGA West (N2W) campus under construction in North St. Louis. 

The beam is part of the approximately 5,000 tons of steel used to support the building, which is more than 40% complete. All the steel was fabricated in the U.S. and erected by local St. Louis ironworkers.

“I’d like to congratulate the team in St. Louis and across the Kansas City District for their hard work and dedication to delivering the program so far,” said Col. Travis J. Rayfield, Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Kansas City District, the agency delivering the project for NGA. “We could not have reached this milestone without the strong partnership of the NGA, [joint venture contractor] McCarthy/HITT and all the subcontractors who have contributed to the N2W project. We look forward to continue delivering our commitments, regardless of challenges, to this program which is so important to both the St. Louis region and the Kansas City District.”