The Alaska Contractor - Summer 2008

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MEMBER PROFILE DAVIS CONSTRUCTORS By NANCY POUNDS Davis Constructors posts steady growth General contractor reveals its secret of success General contractor Davis Constructors and Engineers Inc. has taken skills learned from its early days of rural construction to become a powerhouse with several highly visible projects now under way. The Anchorage-based business refined planning abilities and an eye for details 30 years ago while handling Bush school projects. This summer Davis Constructors is building major projects, including the new downtown Anchorage parking garage and the 14-story JL Tower office building in midtown. Davis Constructors has built projects across the state, from north of the Arctic Circle to Southeast and from the Aleutian Islands to Western Alaska. Its employees have handled various materials and construction methods, from cast-in-place concrete and structural steel to precast concrete panels and wood-frame structures. Besides school, hotel, retail and office building construction, the project resume also includes rural church restorations, like St. George Church on St. George Island and St. Alexander in Akutan. The company’s portfolio lists increasingly larger projects, in dollar amount and scope. Davis Constructors has completed more than 200 projects statewide, which compiled stack up to more than $1 billion, according to the company’s Web site. The secret to success is practicing the Golden Rule, according to president Kyle Randich. “We’ve had a lot of cool projects and we have a lot we’re proud of,” Randich said. “I really think our top accomplishment is treating people right and in return we are treated right.” As a result, subcontractors, suppliers and other people want to work for Davis Constructors, Randich said. And the treat-them-right philosophy has allowed the company to land bigger projects, he noted. Bright beginnings Jeff Davis started the company in 1976. In the late 1970s and early 1980s Davis Constructors specialized in rural school construction, according to Randich. The work required company staffers to be very detail-oriented, he added. “We were very successful,” said Randich, a 22year Davis Constructors employee. In the ’80s, the company started competing for Materials were shipped to Aniak in 1982 for a school. projects in Anchorage and Fairbanks, carrying over skills learned from rural projects successes. Davis Constructors opened a Seattle office in the 1980s during a construction slowdown in Anchorage. That office was closed later in the decade when founder Jeff Davis died in a plane crash, Randich said. In the late 1980s Davis Constructors started handling design-build work, he said. Throughout the 1990s design-build and negotiated projects increased, growing to 80 percent of the company’s total work compared to 20 percent competitively bid work. Today, the majority of Davis Constructors’ work is design-build or negotiated, Randich said. One big break for the company was landing the contract to build Anchorage’s first large national retailer, Kmart. The store opened in 1992, and Davis Constructors also built a location in North Anchorage and Fairbanks. After a frenzied Alaska debut, Kmart officials closed the Alaska locations in 2003 based on the company’s lagging financial performance nationwide. “Those projects really put us on the map,” said marketing coordinator Lynn Steeves. After completing the Kmart work, the size and type of projects began to change, she said. Randich said the Kmart construction provided new exposure for the contractor.
Past projects Other major past projects have included the Arctic Slope Region Corp. building in Midtown Anchorage. The 10-story building was completed in September 2002, Steeves said. The company also handled two phases of the Elmendorf Housing Privatization, which was one of Davis Constructors’ all-time biggest projects. Phase One was completed in June 2002, Phase Two in 2006, Steeves said. The company also led work on the Eagle River High School, which was completed in 2005. Another project was the 12,000-square-foot, two-story Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program facility at the University of Alaska Anchorage. The uniquely designed building was completed in August 2006. Davis Constructors’ largest project to date, based on dollar amount, has been work at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, according to Steeves. The contractor led construction on Providence’s southwest expansion, which included a sky bridge, parking garage and office addition, which was completed in December 2006. Phase Two called for expanding the parking garage, building the Heart Institute, Cancer Center and the Walter J. and Ermalee Hickel House for long-term family hospital stays. This phase was completed in December 2007, she said. Davis Constructors also gutted the former Alaska Psychiatric Institute building and renovated for Providence offices. Current projects This summer is a busy one for Davis Constructors. The company has several major projects under way. In Anchorage, the general contractor is working to finish tenant improvements in the occupied 14-story JL Tower by mid-year, Steeves said. The office building is located in Midtown near the ASRC facility. Another project heading toward completion later this year is the Linny Pacillo parking garage in downtown Anchorage. Construction continues on Clark Middle School, Steeves said. The project called for demolishing the old facility and rebuilding a new school. Completion is estimated for July 2009, Steeves said. Aerial of the Target store in Anchorage. (above) Fort Wainwright Army Barracks renewal project. (left) Their latest military housing project, on Fort Richardson, will house 105 families when complete late this winter. Davis Constructors is also handling upgrades at the Fairbanks International Airport this year. The project is renovating some sections, including upgrading gates to accommodate 747s, Steeves said. The project also calls for demolition of older areas next year, she said. Business partners Davis Constructors’ President Randich can adeptly list benefits of membership with the Associated General Contractors of Alaska. He praised the AGC personnel and resources available to industry members. He also commended the networking and training opportunities offered by AGC. Aerial of Providence Alaska Medical Center southwest expansion. “I couldn’t imagine doing business without AGC,” Randich said. AGC staffers are well-versed in issues facing the industry and “portray a good voice of the contractors,” Randich said. Steeves lauded AGC’s education program in the Palmer- Wasilla area, which, in turn, benefits Davis Constructors. She believes AGC staffers “have a finger on the pulse of the industry.” With Randich at the helm, Davis Constructors aims to follow its successful business formula for the long term. “Going into the future we will continue doing what we’re doing,” Randich said. “The cornerstone is treating people right. It’s paid dividends.” Nancy Pounds is a freelance writer who lives in Anchorage.
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8005 Schoon St. Anchorage, AK 99518
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The Alaska Contractor - Summer 2008

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