In Practice: Recent Episodes
Greiner Construction
Welcome to the In Practice Series - where we explore the latest construction trends and topics with some of the field's leading experts! Your host is Heather Weerheim, Director of New Business Development at Greiner Construction in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The construction industry has a stigma surrounding it as many assume it to be a “last resort” career choice. That assumption is far from the truth and many in the field are working diligently to educate students on the countless opportunities a technical career holds.
In episode 13 of our In Practice series, Greiner’s Director of Marketing, Kristina Mahler, sits down with Heather Gay, Director of Construction Management, Civil Surveying, and Business Management and Leadership at Dunwoody to discuss educating the next generation of construction professionals.
Chris Velasco has a passion for green buildings – and, no, he’s not just referring to the paint color. As Executive Director of PLACE, a nonprofit dedicated to sustainable and affordable housing, Chris and his team collaborate with cities to design and build mixed-income and transit-oriented developments.
While many assume that sustainable developments are more expensive than traditional developments, Chris has found the opposite to be true. PLACE works with people to create energy-efficient and cost-effective spaces that promote community involvement and creativity without breaking the bank.
In episode 12 of our In Practice series, Heather and Chris discuss the ways sustainability and affordability go hand-in-hand and how developments like Via Sol are changing the way we think about multi-family housing developments.
Just as design encompasses more than paint colors and flooring, data encompasses more than simply doing the math. Both data and design function best when paired together, as Rhys MacPherson, Senior Associate with MSR Design, explains.
Approaching a design project through a data-driven lens allows Rhys to balance the art and science of design, enabling clients to make informed decisions backed by data, throughout the design process.
In episode 11 of our In Practice series, Heather sits down with Rhys to discuss his data-driven approach to design. They discuss affordable housing, specifically the Via Sol project which emphasizes sustainability and community spaces for families.
Patti Soskin, owner and founder of Yum! Kitchen and Bakery, always knew she wanted to be in the restaurant business. From playing Restaurant as a little girl, to opening a short-lived fine-dining space, Patti eventually found her niche in quick-serve and fast-casual dining when she found a space that spoke to her.
Yum! started as a stand-alone restaurant and has now expanded to two additional locations, with another in the works. Yet, challenges arose as the pandemic forced people in the hospitality industry to adapt to a different way of doing business.
While opening a new Yum! location during the height of the pandemic and managing her other locations during the lockdown was never going to be an easy task, Patti was able to rely on her family and the community she built around Yum! to power through.
In episode 10 of our In Practice series, Heather sits down with Patti to discuss the importance of restaurants and community spaces, especially during the height of the pandemic. They also discuss how location and space can impact a restaurant’s design and construction process.
Restaurant design involves more than choosing a paint color and picking out tables. Design encompasses the entire guest experience from the moment they walk through the door.
These past few years have been anything but normal, especially in hospitality as the pandemic left many restaurants unsure of their next move. For designers, it was an opportunity to experiment with flexible and creative uses in existing restaurant spaces.
In our ninth episode of our In Practice series, Heather sits down with Kim Aune, Senior Vice President with Shea, a local design firm, to discuss restaurant design and construction in the hospitality industry and the ways this industry has had to adapt because of the pandemic.
In episode 8 of our In Practice series, Heather and Josh discuss approaches to pre-construction, the cost of pre-construction, and the future of the pre-construction process.
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In episode 7 of our In Practice series, Heather sits down with Nancy to discuss the importance of small and minority-owned businesses in the construction industry and the role larger construction firms can play in supporting them.
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Spencer Finseth, Principal at Greiner, sits down with Bob Katter, executive VP at Kendell Doors and Hardware, Inc. and longtime industry partner, to discuss distribution challenges and the impact of supply chain delays in the construction industry.
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Host Heather Weerheim is joined by Jessica Mogilka, executive VP at JLL, to discuss returning to the office.
In episode 5 of our In Practice series, Jessica discusses key factors contributing to the return to in-office work and how companies can foster a work environment that retains employees.
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Host Heather Weerheim sits down with Josh Helgesen, principal/field operations manager at Greiner, to discuss the labor shortage.
At the on-set of the pandemic many construction projects were delayed, postponed, or shut down completely leaving many out of work. Now, as things slowly start to pick back up again, industries are still facing a lack of experienced workers to take on new jobs.
In the fourth episode of our In Practice series, Josh breaks down how this labor shortage is impacting the construction field and what people in this field can do to lessen its impact.
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Host Heather Weerheim sits down with Jake Geroux, a carpenter foreman here at Greiner (who happens to be a millennial) to talk about what it’s like to work in the construction field as a member of a younger generation.
In this third episode of In Practice, Jake sheds light on what it’s like to be a millennial in construction with the hopes that his experience will give young people a glimpse into what it’s actually like working in construction today.
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Greiner president Hans Siefker joins Heather Weerheim, director of business development at Greiner, as they sit down with Steve Cramer, the president of MPLS downtown council to discuss the return of commerce in downtown Minneapolis.
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In our first episode of In Practice, Heather sits down with Bryan Gingerich - the healthcare construction executive at Greiner Construction. They discuss healthcare construction in hospitals and clinics, review common terminology, challenges in the industry, and lay out the personality type needed for this line of work.
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