A flexible philosophy

IN-HOUSE TEAM PROVIDES BIG BENEFITS FOR CLIENTS

by Benjamin Brewer

IN 2002, LUKE HANSON AND OWEN DAKE DECIDED TO RISK IT ALL and form a custom home-building company, Skywalker Construction LLC. Both men had been raised on job sites with their families and wanted to combine their unique skill sets to create a homebuilding experience unlike any other in Durango.

Hanson and Dake wanted to apply their lifelong experience in the construction industry to meaningful projects in the community.

“We were college buddies in the late 90s,” Dake said. “I had worked for construction companies for years, and I ran into some projects that needed Luke’s hands. Then, he offered me some work on a couple of his sites. Eventually, we worked together so much that we decided to form Skywalker Construction.”

Since then, Skywalker Construction has completed hundreds of projects in Durango, and La Plata County, including custom homes, renovations, additions, design builds and commercial projects. This small but mighty company has grown to 12 full-time employees, including skilled architects, designers, project managers, carpenters and journeymen. Having inhouse builders is a unique approach in the building world, as many companies “sub-out” contractors, which can lead to increased client costs.

“Our [building] philosophy is very clientfocused,” Dake said. “It’s nice having 12 in-house employees. They all have different skills, and we can move them around and use their talents where they’re needed. Our clients get a better deal and quality work and are not charged a premium like they would with sub-contractors. It’s usually quicker, too.”

It’s true: Skywalker Construction has a reputation for providing the best-finished products for the best price. They were voted by residents as the “Best Home Builder” in The Durango Herald’s Best of Durango contest for five years running. Many of their finished projects have also won first place in the annual Parade of Homes, sponsored by the Homebuilder Association of Southwest Colorado. In 2021, they received a “Best of Houzz” award, which recognizes the top home professionals across the country.

Most, if not all, of Skywalker’s projects also incorporate eco-friendly build practices to support the well-being of the Durango community.

Skywalker’s best projects include a top-tobottom reconstruction of a house on East Fifth Avenue, and a remodel of an old historic building on Main Avenue into an NYC-style single-family loft. With those projects, the team wanted to refresh the building while reducing Durango’s carbon footprint and preserving its historic character.

“With that project on East Fifth Avenue, we took a historic home and used all the original rock and stone,” Dake said. “We took it down, built it up, and it looks similar to what it did, but it’s brand new.”

This year, Skywalker Construction is engaged in about ten projects concurrently. Many of these projects are “design-build,” which means that Skywalker Construction will oversee every aspect from concept to construction.

Skywalker’s involvement at every stage of a project differentiates them from other builders in town— who generally have little involvement with the drafting process.

“We love to in-house design-build,” Dake said. “We have some fantastic draftsmen and engineers, and with that, we can do a ground-up design and push projects forward to wherever the client wants us to go. We can do anything from modern-style projects to old historic revitalization.”

Dake expanded on Skywalker Construction’s uniqueness with its adaptable, tailor-made approach.