Korte & Luitjohan, Inc. St. Clair County Event Center, Belleville

By ROBERTA CODEMO
    Korte & Luitjohan Contractors, Inc. in Highland broke ground for the St. Clair County Event Center located on Route 15 in Belleville in August last year. Project manager Chris Wernle said work will be completed by the end of April.
    Adam Jokisch, president and CEO of Adam’s Auction and Real Estate Services, Inc., hired the firm as construction manager to oversee the $2.7 million construction project.
    “Adam brought us in early in the design process,” said Wernle, who helped finalize the design and the project budget. “Adam has been great to work with. He (Jokisch) has wanted to do this for the past two or three years. I was glad to help when he asked me to manage this project.”
    Jokisch plans to hold auctions at the center once work is complete. Future plans include renting the multi-use facility to groups for events such as flea markets, gun and coin shows, conventions and weddings.
    St. Louis engineering company Thouvenot, Wade and Moerchen in Swansea has overseen the site design, and Netemeyer Engineering Associates in Aviston is the architect and engineer on the project.
    Office space, restrooms and a restaurant take up 5,000 square feet of the total 31,400-square-foot building. The attached 15,000-square-foot, pre-engineered metal auction barn will be used for auctions and events. The building also features 12,000 square feet of covered outdoor space.
    The wood-frame construction office and café building maintains the overall look of a pre-engineer metal building and features a metal roof, metal wall panels and masonry.
    There is a large concrete parking lot and seven acres rocked for temporary storage of large auction items.
    The 12-acre property is set up for future development.
    Founded in 1958, Korte & Luitjohan Contractors is a family-owned, design-build, construction management and full-service general contractor serving the St. Louis Metro area and Central and Southern Illinois.