Units at the Bogen Lofts have a modern appeal.

St. Louis-based Jacob Development Group (JDG) has completed work on what it considers to be the “crown jewel” of St. Louis’ historic Washington Avenue district – the $22 million Bogen Lofts renovation. The 243,000-
square-foot project contains 18 different unit plans and 125 units. A particularly interesting feature, it notes, is the concrete and glass circular showers that were precast before installation.

The original structure was completed in 1903 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. JDG – along with architect Rosemann & Associates, based in Kansas City, Mo., and contractor Paric Corp., based in O’Fallon, Mo. – maintained architectural details such as ornamental parapet along the roofline and original window fenestration; and the building’s keystones, cartouches, spandrels and triglyphs were restored.

Suffolk Construction’s Healthcare business unit in Boston has begun work on a $30 million expansion to the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital – Needham campus. The 44,000-square-foot addition is the hospital’s largest facility improvement project in 30 years. Suffolk will construct a new two-story vertical expansion and create a new front entrance. Completion is scheduled for fall 2009.

Des Moines, Iowa-based The Weitz Co.’s Southwest Business Unit is constructing a regional shopping center in Mesa, Ariz. The 18-acre development will include eight buildings encompassing 214,400 square feet. The shopping center will “fill a retail void that has been underserved within the immediate trade area,” says Diversified Partners Development Co., the developer on the project.

Philadelphia-based Daroff Design Inc. + DDI Architects was selected to design interiors for three multifamily projects in the city: The Murano Condominiums, The Park Rittenhouse Condominiums and 1706 Rittenhouse Square. “We are very pleased to have been awarded these projects, all in our hometown,” President Karen Daroff says.

Plano, Texas-based Hill & Wilkinson Ltd. has opened a new office in Austin, Texas, in a strategic plan to expand, according to Senior Vice President Dick Johnson.

“Many of our Dallas/Fort Worth clients have projects in these markets,” he explains. “We’ve seen exponential potential growth in the healthcare, retail and office/warehouse sectors in which we have deep experience.”

HJ High Construction Co. in Orlando, Fla., was selected as the design/build contractor for the Mitsubishi Power Systems America Inc.’s new 111,500-square-foot manufacturing facility addition that nearly doubles the size of the existing facility. The company plans to construct the structure using 35-foot-high tilt walls and two five-ton bridge cranes running the length of the building.

San Francisco-based URS Corp. was awarded a three-year contract for program management of the Los Angeles Community College District’s $2.47 billion bond construction program to renovate nine city campuses. As the largest community college district in the nation, the campuses cover 882 square miles and educate more than 188,000 students each year.