Page 20 - BusinessWest April 15, 2024

CONSTRUCTION >>
Building on Momentum
Area Contractors
Hoping for a
Strong 2024
BY JOSEPH BEDNAR
[email protected]
To Wonderlyn Murphy, a successful construction project can be defined in different ways. And one of those is how gratifying it is.
Take the new digital marquee sign at the MassMutu- al Center, which displays upcoming events, weather,
and other information. Springfield-based City Enterprise built the structure that holds the digital display in place and ran the electri- cal work. The stone exterior in that area of the building had to be removed, reconfigured, and reinstalled after significant steel rein- forcement was added to the wall structure to support the 40-by- 25-foot display.
“That’s a brand-new sign, and it’s a big deal for Springfield and a big deal for us. We wanted that contract because of everything that Springfield is doing,” said Murphy, City Enterprise president, noting other developments happening in the downtown area, like the trans-
formation of the former Court Square Hotel into housing. “To be part of what’s happening in Springfield, for me, is important.”
Another gratifying project is City Enterprise’s work on Martin Luther King Jr. Community Presbyerian Church, which was set ablaze by an arsonist in December 2021.
“We’re currently working on rebuilding that, to make sure that they have services again,” Murphy told BusinessWest. “It’s a very significant project for us, being a local contractor, and that being an African-American church with all its history. It’s an important project for us, very close to home.”
In terms of sheer volume of work, Murphy said, “it’s been chal- lenging finding the right opportunities for us to bid. We have found them — we have an excellent estimating department that fishes out all these opportunities to bid. But it’s slim pickings out there.”
That said, she added, “it’s cyclical. As the summer comes along, we’ll find more opportunities that fit within our wheelhouse.”
City Enterprise has been involved in an array of intriguing proj- ects, though, from laboratory renovations at UMass Lowell and two projects at UMass Amherst’s Mullins Center — an HVAC system overhaul and chiller replacement — to work at the Moakley federal courthouse in Boston and a complete rebuild of a security entryway for the Air National Guard at Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport.
“That’s a very significant project,” Murphy said of the latter. “We’ll take on any type of challenge.”
Dan Jodice has a similar take on being involved in a variety of projects. As a co-owner
“As the summer comes along, we’ll find more opportunities that fit within our wheelhouse.”
of PDS Engineering & Construction in Bloom- field, Conn., he’s seen the
Outlook
Continued on page 22
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20 APRIL 15, 2024 << CONSTRUCTION >>
BusinessWest
Wonderlyn Murphy (standing, center) with her leadership team at City Enterprise.