It all started with a mission to elevate our neighboring communities, strengthen relationships, and find ways to bring our client’s vision and goals to life. In 2006, our Seattle-based firm grew to support and develop our cities in Olympia and Spokane, making this idea a reality.
Since opening their doors, we’ve collaborated with more than 35 school districts and over 15 municipal clients throughout eastern and southwest Washington. Planting these roots almost 15 years ago and listening to community leader objectives and challenges, we identified early that education and teaching were changing, and student learning was evolving. Through this discovery, we’ve been fortunate to partner with like-minded educators to create better learning experiences and environments such as Centralia School District (CSD) that will adapt to student learning and teaching. In 2017, our Olympia team worked with CSD to pass a bond allowing for repairs, updates, and replacements on two elementary schools, the first-ever new school construction since 1968. Additionally, we’re working together on the modernization of their high school, their first major school renovation project their city has seen since 1988, opening in the fall of 2020. It is clients like CSD who are investing not only in our community but also in creating positive change for the lives and futures of each learner that inspires our team to do what we love every day. Our Olympia team wanted to do more than what they are called to do and helped fund CSD’s new program called the Tiger Resource Room. The Tiger Resource room is a place for all students at each school to find what they need, whether it’s a snack, a jacket, or supplies.
While our Olympia and Spokane offices grew by taking off in these municipal and education markets, we have expanded our teams in each region from small and mighty teams of 2-3 construction managers to now home to 10-15 savvy construction experts. With our growth of teams and expansion of offices, this has allowed us to serve multiple market sectors better. Throughout our time in Olympia and Spokane, we’ve built strong client and partner relationships, and fostering those relationships has led to 80% of repeat clients and referrals.
At the beginning of this year, our Spokane team was selected to manage the Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort & Hotel in Sandpoint, Idaho, to create a destination resort for families to experience community, the outdoors, enjoy seasonal activities, and create memories. We are now in the second phase focusing on the long term, working through the bid process to ensure the best value and price, and collaborating with the design team to complete them so that the drawings will help minimize change orders and cost escalation. We are guiding Schweitzer Mountain Resort through the bid process to get the best value and price to complete the hotel.
Every day, across our communities, our teams, clients, and partners support our neighborhoods we are a part of. From open planning, supporting, and building, to lending a hand to spread positivity and hope, we are all on the same journey to make our communities better. This past February, The Spokane team volunteered with our client from Cheney School District among 400 more volunteers at the 2nd Harvest Bite2Go with a goal to build 15,000 meal kits that would be delivered to schools for those students in need that included healthy, kid-friendly, non-perishable food items to cover meals and three snacks during the weekends. Our Olympia team also helped the Thurston County Food organize and deliver non-perishable goods throughout the community.
For Spokane and Olympia, being better doesn’t mean being the best. It’s listening, understanding, and helping the community by bringing a better set of solutions to the table. Being compassionate and there for each other, serving beyond our industry and spreading acts of kindness to those that live, work, learn and play in the cities that you have allowed us to be a part of.