School Business a Boon

At a time when most states are losing construction jobs by the hundreds – if not thousands – $32 million projects don’t simply fall from the sky.

That’s a big reason why Crossland Construction Co. was thrilled to land the assignment to build the new Siloam Springs High School. The project, expected to be completed this summer, was bid in July 2009 and begun the following September.

“That’s when things were really tough, so having a $32 million project in Siloam Springs, when nothing else is happening, has been great,” said Chris Schnurbusch, division manager at Crossland’s Rogers office. “It’s been super.”

In addition to the obvious bottom-line benefit, the Siloam Springs job has helped sustain Crossland’s workforce. Schnurbusch said more than 40 Crossland employees are working on the high school project.

The Associated General Contractors of America, meanwhile, issued a report recently that painted a grimmer picture for much of the country. Between December 2009 and December 2010, the report said, 36 states lost construction jobs. The total number of jobs lost was more than 90,000.

School construction in Northwest Arkansas, however, has helped the state avoid such dramatic losses. In Fayetteville alone, for example, Nabholz Construction Corp. has been hired to complete three school-related projects over the last two years that will total an estimated $119 million.

“The value of the school work that’s happened over the last two years, not just for us but I think a lot of the construction companies in Arkansas, has been a vital part of our ability to keep our people working,” Nabholz CEO Bill Hannah said.

Construction 101

School districts, just like business owners, handle construction projects in one of two ways. They either accept hard bids from general contractors or hire a company to serve as construction management.

In the first scenario, an owner – or the school board, in this case – hires an architect who draws a complete set of plans and specifications. Any contractor with the capabilities to produce the work can bid on the project, with cost being the driving factor.

A company hired to serve as construction management, conversely, typically works as a team with the architect. Once those two entities get the owner’s vision for the project, they work together to produce plans, pricing, etc.

Schnurbush said Crossland’s ability to work in either capacity has helped it acquire a steady stream of school construction projects.

“We’re unique in that we have the ability to hard-bid with the best of them, if you will, and then we also acquire some work in a [construction management] capacity,” he said. “That’s helped us out a bunch as a company.

“We’re about 50-50 as far as bid vs. construction management.”

Whatever the formula, Crossland has been highly successful in securing school construction jobs. According to a company spokeswoman, Crossland has built eight “major educational facilities” in the state of Arkansas, with a total contract value of more than $90 million.

In addition to the high school in Siloam Springs, those projects include work related to a high school in Van Buren and elementary schools in Bergman ($8.4 million), Berryville ($5.2 million) and Bella Vista ($11.6 million). Crossland also stays busy doing smaller projects, whether it’s building storm shelters for schools in Fort Smith or renovating the football stadium in Green Forest.

Schnurbush said one of the keys to attracting so much school work is Crossland’s in-house workforce.

“Schools are great jobs as far as I’m concerned,” he said. “They’re not up everyone’s alley … but we’re not a paper contractor. We’ve got 700, 800 employees who we’ve trained how to do things.”

That means carpentry, steel work, concrete work, etc. Nabholz does that same work, and Hannah said between 500 and 600 of its approximate 900 employees are craftsmen.

Hannah also said 92 percent of the work Nabholz does is performed on a construction management basis. He said the benefit of those projects is that “the clients get the most value out of the project.”

Building Relationships

Both Hannah and Schnurbusch also said establishing relationships with school districts is instrumental in winning work from them. This is particularly the case in the construction management scenario, in which qualifications are more important than hitting the lowest number.

In those cases, competing firms make a presentation, usually spanning 30 to 45 minutes, in an effort to convince school officials. The presentations often include a company’s past history, its professional qualifications, and perhaps most importantly, its people.

“At the end of the day, it comes down to people – the people that are involved in the presentation and the people that are going to be involved in the project,” Schnurbusch said.

Hannah echoed that sentiment.

“Part of our overall philosophy is that we want to be partners with our clients, not just build a building for them,” Hannah said, adding that 85 percent of Nabholz’s business is repeat business.

“Those are the kinds of relationships that help you get the big and small jobs. That’s important because it’s not every day you get a project like the Fayetteville High School.”

Fayetteville Public Schools public information officer Alan Wilbourn said the transformation of the high school is under way and the $96 million price tag will cover two phases. Nabholz’s other recent Fayetteville projects include a renovation of Butterfield Trail Elementary School ($10.2 million) and construction of Happy Hollow Elementary School ($12.8 million).

Panther Pride

Crossland’s Siloam Springs High School project, meanwhile, is an impressive one. The new campus consists of about 55 acres and almost 300,000 SF of building space.

Building 1, as described by a Crossland spokewoman, is 273,000 SF and houses academics, administration, fine arts, music and sports. An 11,000-SF agriculture building and 14,000-SF athletic field house are separate.

The campus also features an exterior courtyard with brick pavers, sitting walls, and a concrete amphitheatre. The whole facility is being built to house 1,600 students, with room to expand to accommodate 2,000.

The fine arts center seats 470, while the gymnasium seats more than 1,800. There also is an auxiliary gym.

Add it up, and it’s obvious why Crossland was happy to get the job at a time when similar projects are scarce.

“That one hit real nice, timing-wise,” Schnurbush said.

Further good news is, unlike other segments, school construction remains ongoing. The Rogers School District, which opened the $39 million Heritage High School in 2008, is in the planning stages for a new elementary school and Bentonville’s district is eyeing new elementary and junior high schools.

“School construction has been a large portion of the work we’ve been able to produce, especially over the last two years,” Hannah said. “We hope it stays that way.”