Hoar Construction by North American Constructors Journal

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Hoar Construction:

A Prime-Time Industry Player Founded in 1940, Hoar Construction of Birmingham, AL is relentless in its drive to find a better way to create value and deliver high-end projects. Written by Kevin Doyle Produced by Stephen Marino

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ick a single word to describe nationally recognized Hoar Construction of Birmingham, AL and driven seems a proper fit in every way. Founded in 1940 by F.R. Hoar, the company has been relentless in its pursuit to find a better way in which to create value while providing the best possible experience and end product of the highest quality for its clients in government, healthcare, retail, commercial, multifamily, and industrial markets across the Southeast. “Ultimately it’s our people and the culture that we’ve built and our commitment to becoming better. We work with some of the best builders in the business and they’ve bought into what we’re trying to do here, so we’re trying to drive that overall experience to our employees and also to our clients. It’s not just another transaction; ultimately we’re trying to maximize the value to our client,” says company President Turner Burton. Burton noted the company took off in the late 1960s when it became involved in the development of large regional malls and the growth has continued to this day. In addition to its headquarters, Hoar maintains regional offices in Houston, TX, Austin, TX, Orlando, FL, Nashville, TN and Washington, DC. “As we continued to grow and started growing markets, our people started

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Hoar Construction | 4 to put down roots and we had some really good people who wanted to stay and do things in Orlando and Nashville. Those were sort of our first regional offices and the others have followed,” Burton says. “It gives us a really good footprint across the Southeast.” Today the company employs 700 with an average per project range from $200,000 to $200 million. The firm provides professional services in general construction, construction management, design/build, and program management. Burton says it is likely to eclipse $1bn annual revenue for the first time “if not this year, then definitely next.” Hoar earned 2018 Company of the Year recognition from Construction Dive and broke into the Top 100 of ENR’s prestigious Top 400 list for the first time ever in 2018 at No. 96. The list is based on revenue and market data. The company is affiliated with the American Building Council, the AGC, OSHA and ACIG, an insurance company that assists the industry’s major players to work together. “Part of what I love about this business since I first started working as a laborer in the field is that no two days are exactly alike. You’re engaged with all types of people, whether it’s the guys on site or sitting in a boardroom and just seeing how the building industry for all of them is something fun,”

Hoar Construction | 5 Burton says.

Prime Time Projects The Broadwest, Nashville: Hoar is collaborating with Turner Construction on this $300 million project that will deliver two mixed-use towers of 34 and 21 stories on a four-acre site in downtown Nashville. Anticipated completion date is November 2021. Turner will deliver the 21-story tower

that will have 510,000sf office space while Hoar will complete the 34-story building that features a 14-story Conrad Hotel with 245 rooms and 20 floors of 220 luxury condos above the hotel. Both towers will sit on eight levels of underground parking and will share a courtyard. Colony Square Mall, Atlanta: This redevelopment of Atlanta’s original mixed-use development, now 50-

“We work with some of the best builders in the business and they’ve bought into what we’re trying to do here, so we’re trying to drive that overall experience to our employees and also to our clients. “ - President Turner Burton www,hoar.com

Hoar Construction | 6 plus years old, is scheduled for completion this year. The project includes demolition of segments of the original mall to create 940,000sf of office space and 160,000sf of retail, restaurant, and entertainment space including an IPIC Theater and food hall. Colony Square weaves in and out of two high-rise office towers, three residential towers and a hotel, all situated on top of a garage. Dania Pointe, Fort Lauderdale: This ground up mixed-use development over 100 acres at Dania Beach features a typical shopping center (Phase One) and a mix of residential apartments, offices, hotel and high-end retail

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occupants (Phase Two). The project includes two parking decks. Two Lakes Edge, The Woodlands, TX: The eight-story multifamily project is owned by The Howard Hughes Corporation. It features 386 upscale one-, two- and threebedroom apartments, a Sky Lounge and fitness center. Two Lakes Edge is a complement to One Lakes Edge, previously built by Hoar. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My job is to support our divisions in each city and helping them to take care of their markets and being there to support the teams on site by making sure they have what they

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need to deliver and to make sure we are living up to all of our commitments while delivering great projects and great experiences for our clients,” says Burton.

All About Safety Burton says the company’s approach to safety is to identify and eliminate the hazards – in essence safety is viewed as the absence of danger. The company utilizes safety inspection checklists and holds review meetings on a regular basis. “They are a key component of our safety program. They are an opportunity to identify potential hazards, discuss the dangers, and educate each other on safe practices.

While we are proud of the culture of safety our teams create on every job site, we know we can always improve,” Burton points out. Teams are empowered to stop work and shut down a job if a potential hazard is identified. “We really push that and allow the team to be in charge of eliminating hazards in the work space. so that builds more rapport with the team and they’re able to go home feeling more engaged and feeling that the company is really supporting them and that they have a great place to work,” Burton says. “We love our people, we want to take care of them, and we want everyone

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Hoar Construction | 8 to go home the way they showed up for work. We really try to drive a family feel here. We’ve been successful with safety when those teams embrace each other; when the guys in the trades start to look out it just makes such a difference on the whole feel of the project and how safe it is,” he continues.

Meeting Challenges Ask the question about what ails the industry in general and the stock answer is most often the lack of skilled laborers to fill the abundance of available jobs. Burton thinks the problem is systemic and runs much deeper than skilled labor. In fact, he believes the commercial real estate model is broken. “One thing we focus on is the inefficiency of our market and how broken the commercial real estate model really is. In the last 50 years we’re one of the only industries that has become less efficient despite all the advancements in productivity and technology. To see how much waste there is in our business is crazy,” he elaborates. If what ails the industry isn’t a lack of resources, what then? “We really view it as a lack of efficiency, so we’re looking at ways to eliminate

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Hoar Construction | 9 waste and to add more value for our client and do that through better planning, better strategy and finding the right people to build a cohesive team and drive our projects to success,” Burton stresses. And, Burton says, that starts with communication and critical thinking. “The biggest thing for us is not necessarily technology as it is communication, whether that’s getting people in a room doing BIM modeling with clash detection or just looking out drawings and figuring out where the pinch points are in a project. What are the constraints that are causing problems for the design team, our client and the trade partners on site … and working through those and trying to get things right, whether it’s in the pre-construction planning phase or out in the field,” Burton stresses. Hoar has been pushing a more collaborative approach to scheduling. “Once you have that communication structure in place you can start adding the technology and getting more and more benefit out of that,” Burton notes.

Staff Development and Retention Burton is unequivocal in his belief that it is the company’s responsibility to develop, retain and support employees in every way.

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Hoar Construction | 10 points out. “The biggest thing for us is making sure we are investing in our people. They are the most important thing and our focus is really building out on what we’ve done the last two to three decades,” he says. Hoar’s top-shelf development and training program provides individuals with a clear vision of how to align their personal goals with those of the company in order to advance. “People that want to work hard and drive toward success can accomplish it. There is a lot of opportunity to grow with this company right now,” Burton

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The company regularly recognizes employees for their accomplishments on the job. “We want a workplace where the team is engaged and they want to accomplish something great together and as individuals. Giving them that opportunity has been the best thing for us,” Burton says. “We have monthly reminders going out that highlight somebody or a team for what they’ve done and the difference it has made for the client. “We’re trying to build a reward system

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“In the last 50 years we’re one of the only industries that has become less efficient despite all the advancements in productivity and technology. To see how much waste there is in our business is crazy.” - President Turner Burton

around that, focusing on the team, whether it’s with a lunch, dinner or an event to go to but really reinforcing that it is a team effort and that it takes a team to do this. We’re helping them to celebrate as a team,” he adds.

Nuts and Bolts

The company works with an everexpanding network of sub-contractors and self-performs less than 20 percent of the work on any given project. Hoar’s company-wide initiative of zero defaults requires a deep dive into areas such as cash flow, character and capabilities for every potential partner. “It is a very diligent process. We spend a lot of time underwriting our trade partners in a way that insures that they’ve got what it takes to finish a project and that they can deliver to our standards,” Burton explains. “How do they work with our team and do they value the same things that we value? It’s a big deal not only for us but also for every other trade on site because that team has to be pulling

in the same direction for the goal of completing the project. One bad trade contractor can make it really hard for everybody else,” he continues. Hoar management challenges its employees to get involved in the community. “We can go and put up buildings anywhere but we’re not really impacting the community, whether it’s a town we’re traveling to or a city where we’ve established a branch office. We want to find the needs of the people there and stay engaged. We so that with team building events and we’ve established a foundation corporately that we use to support and give back. We find out what our teams are passionate about and support that.” Burton says.

Looking Ahead The future couldn’t be brighter for Hoar Construction. The company is firmly rooted across the Southeast and has maintained a family atmosphere while moving into the pantheon of the industry’s

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Hoar Construction | 13 premier players. On the verge of eclipsing $1bn in annual revenue , it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. “Our focus is on where we’re taking the company and making sure we’re taking care of the people and the culture we have here. Ultimately that’s what we’re here for, day in and day out. The best part of our business is the everyday heroes, the guys who show up to work and take care of their family and sacrifice day in and day out to make this company better, and to make this industry better,” Burton concludes.