KAI Engineering names Aleksandar Milenkov president as MEPFP practice targets national institutional growth

Recent project work illustrates the range. KAI provided MEPFP engineering and sustainability consulting on the $210 million America's Center convention-center expansion in downtown St. Louis, completed in November 2024 - the facility's first expansion since the early 1990s. The scope included a separate boiler plant for the expansion wing, new gas lines, and seismic shut-off valves, with the design coordinated against FM Global's commercial-insurer guidelines to exceed standard code requirements and reduce long-term insurance premiums. KAI Engineering also served as MEPFP engineer of record on the $62.9 million, 100,000-square-foot Nursing and Health Sciences Center at St. Louis Community College's Florissant Valley campus, which opened in April 2025 and was built to LEED Certified standards.

On the healthcare side, the practice has been selected by IU Health to provide MEPFP engineering for a new 1.9-million-square-foot full-service hospital in downtown Indianapolis - a project that demands the redundant power, chilled-water, and ventilation infrastructure that acute-care facilities require.

System redundancy as a design driver

Milenkov's background in HVAC, steam and chilled-water systems, utility master planning, and energy modeling positions the practice to address what has become the central engineering challenge in institutional work: designing out single points of failure before construction documents are issued.

Healthcare facilities in particular require uninterrupted operation; a failure in one part of the system can have cascading effects across the building. Redundant HVAC systems with automatic switchover, emergency power with uninterruptible power supplies, and redundant data and telecommunications infrastructure are now baseline expectations on acute-care and emergency-operations projects. KAI's work on the Dallas County Emergency Operations Center - which served as the FIFA World Cup 2026 Joint Operations Center - required redundant data, telecommunications, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing infrastructure across all critical systems.

The firm uses BIM-based coordination as its primary tool for resolving spatial conflicts between ductwork, electrical distribution, plumbing risers, and fire-protection mains before they reach the field. Early coordination of shaft sizes, riser routes, and ceiling-zone budgets is where MEPFP engineers add the most value on complex institutional projects - changes made in the model cost a fraction of field rework.

Integrated delivery and the LEED credential

Milenkov holds both a PE license and a LEED AP credential, a combination that signals the practice's intent to treat sustainability not as a documentation exercise but as a performance target embedded in system selection. On the STLCC Florissant Valley project, the LEED Certified target shaped rooftop-unit sizing, zoning strategy, and envelope coordination from early schematic design.

KAI Engineering's position inside a firm that also operates architecture, general contracting, and construction-management subsidiaries gives the MEPFP team earlier access to building geometry and envelope performance data than a standalone MEP consultant typically receives. That integration matters most on projects where mechanical loads are sensitive to façade U-values and air-infiltration rates - healthcare and laboratory buildings chief among them.

Milenkov's promotion to president, with a stated mandate to set strategic vision and drive sustainable business growth across all engineering disciplines, suggests KAI Engineering will continue adding subject-matter experts in technically demanding sectors. Specifiers and contractors working in healthcare, higher education, and civic construction should watch whether the firm's three-office footprint expands further as the national pipeline for large institutional projects grows.