Making the List

Midsize and large GC firms across Texas stay busy in major markets

By Debra Wood

With continued population growth fueling a demand for schools, retail space and other facilities, Texas contacting firms report a stellar 2007.

“The market was great, and it was a good time to be in business,” says Gary Roden, chief operating officer and senior vice president of Aguirre Corp., a minority-owned firm based in Dallas. The firm ranked 120 out of in Texas Construction’s annual ranking of the state’s top contracting firms with $22.8 million reported for in-state revenue. “The economy has been good, and there have been lots of opportunities for anybody in the contracting or design business, and we do both.”

Formed in 1960, Aguirre diversified after the telecom crash, Roden says, to decrease the risk associated with a slowdown in one sector. The company expanded into program management during the past four to five years. Aguirre is in the midst of providing program management services as part of a joint venture with 3D/I Parsons of Houston for the Dallas County Community College District’s $450 million, three-campus capital improvement program, set to wrap up in 2010.

advertisement

In 2007, Roden found bank construction strong. Aguirre provided general contracting services on four branch banks for Citibank, each at a cost of about $1.2 million. For Wachovia, the company worked on 10 $1.4 million banks. However, looking ahead, except at Wachovia, Roden expects retail banking expansion to slow.

Aguirre’s largest 2007 project start was the $97 million, 300,000-sq-ft Winstar Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma, for the Chickasaw Nation. The project includes building a steel-frame and fiberglass wall to cover an existing casino and make it look like a Tuscan village.

As for 2007’s success, Roden credits selecting the right projects and making sure the firm had the right subcontractor base and a talented labor force.

“It has been a struggle the last couple of years to make sure we’ve had enough project managers and supervisors to do our side of the job, and we have to make sure we have support from our subcontractors,” Roden says. “Because of the skilled-labor shortages, some subcontractors are having to pick and chose whom they work for.”

Joel Stone, vice president of business development for employee-owned SpawGlass in Austin also reports a good year for new projects and for adding talent. The company ranked No. 15 in the state’s list of top contractors, with total revenues of $336.4 million in 2007. The firm has four independent offices in Austin, Houston, San Antonio and Harlingen.

“The type of work we were able to pursue has been key,” says Stone, reporting strength in the higher education, military and medical markets. He notes an increase in owners opting for alternative delivery methods, such as design-build and construction manager-at-risk. The company started a $30 million design-build project for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Ellington Air Force Base, which reserve units from four branches of the armed services will use for operations.

SpawGlass has two projects in College Station for Texas A&M University’s athletic program: a $22 million basketball arena currently under way and a $31 million athletic center.

Higher education also kept the folks at Lee Lewis Construction in Lubbock busy in 2007. The firm’s revnue remains steady, growing modestly from $387 million in revenues in 2006 to $391 million in 2007. The firm is ranked No. 10 in the Top Contractor list. The company is working on the $33 million, 152,000-sq-ft Texas Tech Physicians Medical Pavilion at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in Lubbock. In June, it completed the $25.5 million, 125,000-sq-ft addition and 24,000-sq-ft renovation at the Texas Tech University Clinical Research Tower, also in Lubbock.

In San Angelo, Texas, Lee Lewis is building the Angelo State University Centennial Village Student Housing. The $22 million project includes construction of several three-story buildings, which will house 492 students, and a one-story commons area.

Lee Lewis completed in December a $20 million, 100,000-sq-ft recreation center and natatorium for the city of Frisco, Texas. It expected to wrap up early in 2008 the $10 million, 15,000-sq-ft Lion’s Club Park Senior and Recreation Center for the city of Killeen, Texas.

CEO Lee Lewis reports some industrial work, including a $35.8 million, 325,000-sq-ft distribution center and 57,000-sq-ft office for Sysco Food Services in Lubbock, and a lot of K-12 school construction. It’s working on a $20 million addition and renovation at Lake Dallas High School in Lake Dallas, set for completion in August, and the $60 million Heritage High School for the Frisco Independent School District, scheduled for a June 2009 finish.

The company, founded in 1979, will not take on a new project without identifying someone to manage it.

Angela Cardwell, marketing manager for Joeris General Contractors in San Antonio, reports strong retail and school markets. Joeris ranked No. 50 on the top contractors list.

The company is working on a $22 million renovation-addition for the Boerne Independent School District, which was part of a $90 million bond package. The project involves demolition of an existing cafeteria, administration, vocational and classroom building; converting an existing band hall into a theater; and building an 82,500-sq-ft addition to the high school.

“The school market is trying to play catch up,” Cardwell says.

On the retail side, Joeris is building the $30 million, 300,000-sq-ft McCreless Retail Center for HEB Grocery Co. of San Antonio. Scope includes demotion of the existing structures and building a new store and theater. The project is scheduled for a fall completion. Also for HEB and Reata Real Estate of San Antonio, Joeris is building the $45 million, 430,000-sq-ft Stone Ridge Retail Development, set to wrap up this fall.

At the University of the Incarnate Word, Joeris began work, in 2007, on a $27 million dorm and a parking garage, set for an August finish. The fast-track 70,000-sq-ft, 4.5-story dorm and 350,000-sq-ft, nine-story garage sit on a tight, sloped site, which presents challenges in setting up scaffolding and other equipment.

George Pontikes, president and CEO of Satterfield & Pontikes Construction of Houston, also reports a strong K-12 market. The firm ranked No. 28 on the list of top contractors. The company completed a $40 million renovation of a 1920s-era high school for the Houston Independent School District.

The company also is working on a $100 million, three-school project for the Cy-Fair Independent School District. The district is using building information management to design, schedule and build the facilities.

“We are not aware of any other K-12 in the state of Texas or Louisiana doing this,” Pontikes says. “[The district] deserves credit for taking this path. In the future, we will see a shift toward a more collaborative way to build structures.”

In addition, Satterfield & Pontikes has several unique projects, including the $42 million expansion to the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, which it started in 2007. It also is working on a building at the Houston Space Center for NASA.

“2007 was a great year, mainly because of the demand,” Pontikes concludes. “There was a lot of work out there. We’re seeing slowdowns in other parts of the country, but Texas and Louisiana look like the best markets in the country.”

The year ahead While 2007 offered many opportunities, top contractors are a bit more guarded about the year ahead, due to concerns about the economy.

“I think Texas will be impacted less than either of the two coasts,” Roden says. “I think there will be a softer market in 2008, but our backlog is good. And we continue to have a lot of opportunities.”

Lewis reports a larger backlog going into 2008 than 2007, so he expects the year to bode well, as does Pontikes.

“I think 2008 will be a good year for Texas, in all of the major markets,” Pontikes says.