‘Tis the season when we receive many holiday cards here at JRF Headquarters and while we appreciate them all, this year, one really has stood out as it has “before” and “after” pictures of one of our projects! It gives us so much fulfillment, pride and warm gooey feelings to see that one of our valued clients used our work on their Christmas card. Nothing brings Team JRF more happiness than a satisfied customer. If the client is happy then The Boss is happy and it spreads throughout the company from there. We truly believe that each project should be built as if it were our own. To have that level of commitment from your staff, it takes a great leader. Therefore, on behalf of everyone here at JRF, we would like to thank J.R. for another great year. Team JRF looks forward to 2017 and all it has to offer and wishes everyone a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year – especially The Boss!
The tournament at Grand Park has lasted all day and you and your family are starving. The question is where to go to get some tasty grub? Right now, there are only seven restaurants close to the sports complex, but that number is about to increase. A long time Carmel favorite, Bub’s Burgers & Ice Cream, will soon venture into the fast-casual market in Westfield with their fifth location at Grand Park Shoppes located on Tournament Trail, just north of S.R. 32.
With its close proximity to Grand Park, owner Matt Frey hopes to serve the sports crowd as well as locals. Often families are pressed for time and don’t want to hit yet another drive-thru, chain restaurant for their meal. As an alternative, Bub’s Burgers will implement a simplified menu as well as an ordering counter to get customers in and out fast while still providing them with the food they have come to know, love and crave.
The new space will also allow Bub’s to offer outside seating as well as inside for those occasions when you have a bit more time to enjoy your meal. While customers will still have to go to Carmel to get their Big Ugly fix, the Westfield location will be serving up a mouth-watering menu including burgers, chicken, hot dogs, portabella sandwiches, fries and shakes.
We here at JRF Construction are beyond excited to be part of Bub’s newest venture as it joins Subway and Big Red Liquors in the 12,000 sf development. With spaces still available and the close proximity to our office, we are as excited as you are to see what else is coming!
We are a company that focuses on communities. We build around them and for the people in them. And over the last 13 years, we have been excited to be involved in our own community of Westfield. While it has been quickly growing, we wanted to share some of the places that have become our favorites.
Where to eat
- We like to get to work early, and start the day off right. But we won’t do it without a filling breakfast from Erika’s Place. From farmers omelets to the ever popular Joe’s Fryin’ Pan, you won’t ever leave hungry.
- When lunchtime hits, you will usually find some of the JRF team diving into a delectable sandwich at Rail Epicurean Market. Their constantly changing menu, filled with locally grown ingredients offers something for everyone.
- After a long day of working hard, there are few things more satisfying than a Buccaneer or Davey Jones at the popular Big Hoffa’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que. Just thinking about their savory pulled pork, coleslaw, and mac & cheese, makes our mouths water.
Where to drink
- Every company has a favorite watering hole. One of our favorites is Grand Junction Brewery. From 1520 to Squirrel Stampede, you can’t go wrong with a brew at this local favorite.
- If beer isn’t exactly what we’re feeling, more times than not, you can find some of the JRF team tossing back a Jack and Coke with some fish n’ chips at The Mill Tavern. But don’t worry. They have beer too.
Where to hangout
- On our days off, like most people, we like relax and spend time with our families and friends. The Bridgewater Club is a great place in the community where you can do anything from salsa lessons to playing a round of golf.
- Grand Park is also a favorite weekend spot among our families. With 31 multi-purpose fields and 26 baseball/softball diamonds, we often find ourselves cheering on our kids and hanging out with our neighbors.
What the Future Holds
We’re excited to be a part of building a larger and stronger community. The completion of Grand Park will bring many more restaurants, shops, and hotels to the Westfield area, including a 12,000 square foot retail building that Team JRF is about to start. Hopefully you will stop into one of our favorite places and maybe discover a new favorite for yourself.
Earlier involvement between developers, design teams, and builders is a growing trend that we are seeing in the construction industry. And it’s one we are quite fond of at JRF. Even during the design process, we can work with the owner to ensure a comprehensive building plan that is both time and cost effective.
How the traditional process works
Typically, we are invited after the design process is completed to bid on a project via an architect or an owner. We then do extensive research to qualify each proposal, making sure it includes all required items and accounts for all plans and specifications. A detailed scope of work will also accompany our bid so the owner knows exactly what’s included in our proposal.
Although this process is customary, there are some potential disadvantages. The cost of the design, in terms of both time and money, has already been expended before the project cost is determined. If the project pricing is above budget, this requires rework of the design and multiple pricing iterations, which requires additional time and redesign fees. Bringing the owner, architect, and builder together as a team on the front end can eliminate these pitfalls.
Plan sooner. Build sooner.
Owners often see a loss in momentum between the design, bid, and production phases. Involving a trusted builder from the early stages eliminates that loss, which leads to quicker project completion.
Communication is key for a successful build, and the sooner that communication can happen the better. We like to work with developers/owners and their engineering firms early in the design stage. This allows for effective constructability meetings so we can better identify overall budgeting, pricing, and materials ordering. Doing all of this creates better lead times, which in turn allows a more aggressive build plan and gives us ample time to anticipate supplier and subcontractor schedules.
While early involvement is not appropriate for every build, it’s something we are doing more of in today’s market. From the blueprints to breaking ground, it allows for a much smoother process.
Don’t wait until spring. Contact us to start planning your next build now.
In the spring of 1995, I started JRF Construction and we hit the ground running. As the nights grew longer and temperatures colder that first year, I remember working on a particular project that was at it’s final (and most critical) stage—the installation of the decor and furniture. I was nervous about the looming turnover date and was making sure the site was ready for the installation crew so they could stay on task and finish on time, ensuring we made our deadline.
The crew arrived, and everything was going smoothly. They were working hard for the first two days of their four-day installation process. But as the end of the second day was coming to an end, I could tell something was not quite right. Most of their equipment was packed in the truck, and they had been careful not to get too far ahead of themselves on certain components of the job. When I questioned the lead crewman why the pack-up on a Wednesday night, he gave me a reply I will never forget. “Because it’s Opening Day on Friday,” he said. “We need to leave tonight to be home in time to get to the cabin and hunt.”
Was he serious? How were they prioritizing fun and leisure over the job I was so desperately trying to finish in time? How dare they just leave like that? No warning. No communication. And no question—they were going to leave no matter what.
Most construction workers are very salt-of-the-earth kind of people. We hunt, we fish, we work with our hands, and seldom do we consider spending free time indoors. We have to be on the go and in the middle of it all. So the installation crew believed leaving a job for Opening Day was completely justifiable.
As I reflect on this memory, 15 years later, I can’t help but to laugh. Who was I to say that these men should prioritize my job over their hunting trip? I had let my dedicated ways get the best of me. When I focus and make a commitment, nothing can stop me, and I have a tendency to run my company the same way. Sometimes I expect people to commit to goals at work without considering what really makes them tick.
It’s important to remember to maintain a balance with a job you love and the things you love to do outside of the job. And it’s important for me as a business owner to help my employees and those around me find that balance.
Most people spend at least one third, if not half, of their life working. It goes without saying that you should find a job you love. But I would also say that even if you like your job, you most likely wouldn’t do it if you didn’t have to. You would spend your time doing things that really make you complete.
As I write this, I am in a deer stand on a picture-perfect late October evening. My heart is warm, my mind is clear, and my soul is calm. I’m outdoors doing what I love. So maybe I need to go back to work tomorrow and think about why we all work. And maybe the question should be asked differently—how do we manage our time better to work so that we can have more time for those things we most enjoy?
It’s not always easy to get things done in the winter. Especially when those things involve constructing new buildings. So when longtime client, Thomas English, needed a project completed during one of Indiana’s harshest winters, he called on JRF to get the job done.
The snow and ice of January was still on the ground when JRF began construction in February on the new Mattress Firm in Plainfield, Indiana. This 4,560 square foot, steel-supported building required special care and consideration during the construction process through times of undesirable weather.
The project combined two parcels of land to accommodate the building, which included an additional access drive from a side street. The spring thaw brought with it soft soils, so stabilizing the land became a major priority in final stages of the project. But despite the slight delays for weather-related events, JRF completed the project on time.
Not every day is full of sunshine and perfect temperatures in the construction world. We prepare for the rough winters and the saturated springs so that we can continue to deliver quality buildings. And with rumors of another unforgiving winter on the horizon, JRF is fully prepared to face whatever Mother Nature can dish out.
It’s an exciting time at JRF right now. With numerous new projects starting around the Midwest, we’re looking for a few great people to join the JRF team. We’re growing and looking for people interested in growing with us.
We need motivated individuals with an eye for detail and the desire to work hard. We work with many clients, so we need organized, adaptable people who are willing to do whatever is necessary to help the JRF team throughout the construction process.
Specifically, we’re looking for experienced Superintendents, Carpenters, and a Carpenter Foreman. More details below.
If that sounds familiar, you can submit your resume here. Or if it sounds like someone you know, feel free to send them our way. We’d love to hear from them.
Superintendent
Candidate must be able to schedule and coordinate the day-to-day activities of a jobsite, understand blueprints and design drawings, and communicate progress and potential issues to the other members of the construction team (both electronically and verbally).
Five years previous experience is preferred with restaurant experience a bonus. Excellent benefits package is offered to all employees.
Skilled Carpenters & Carpenter Foreman
This position may need to travel periodically depending on the current project load. Salary will be determined by experience and expertise. Excellent benefits package is offered to all employees.
This week marks 15 years since we set the first plumb line as JRF Construction. And what a fifteen years it’s been—breaking ground, putting up buildings, and growing the JRF family.
There’s something incredibly rewarding about being in construction, to be able to drive around our communities and see the buildings we’ve built, to know the people they were built for. It can also be challenging, and it takes no small amount of grit to succeed. So we take a certain pride in being able to say after 15 years, “We’re still here, we’re still building, and we’re stronger than ever.”
Over the years, we’ve overseen 100s of building projects across a variety of industries—hospitality, retail, commercial offices. We’ve built for all kinds of people in all kinds of places, from rural Michigan to bustling urban neighborhoods in Indianapolis and Nashville. And that has afforded us the experiences and the opportunities to realize who we want to be as a company.
Built Around You
You might have noticed our logo got a bit of an update recently. The past few months, we’ve had a lot of conversations among ourselves and with our customers about who we are and why we care so much about putting up good, strong buildings.
What we came to is the people we build for—not only our customers, but their customers. Every person, every business, and every community is different. Likewise, every project should be built around what makes them unique.
That’s where our new mission comes from. It seems simple, really. It’s something we’ve always known and have always tried to achieve. But now, we’re making it a point to put it front and center as something to strive for, something to hold ourselves accountable to.
And so we want to thank you for the past 15 years. We hope and believe that we made them the best they could be, not only for ourselves, but for the people and the communities we have built for.
We hope you will take some time to explore our new site and learn more about who we are, who we build for, and check out some of our recent projects. Because after all, JRF is built around you.