Master Class: Gary Benson Wraps 50 Years in School Construction

Gary Benson retires from KA next month, closing the books on a distinguished 50-year career in the construction industry that includes extensive service to clients and the community, notably as one of the nation’s top-ranked builders of K-12 schools. Known for his sage counsel particularly in the realm of K-12 school construction planning and development, Gary has also built a reputation for his eloquence and lasting relationships. We asked him to school us in some insights from his singular construction career.

Q: How did you enter into a construction career? What was your path like?
GARY BENSON: I wanted to be a college professor of mathematics, but after my B.A. in Math from Augsburg, I went on to the U of M and did my master’s study in Industrial Engineering – a related field that would mean a career in private manufacturing industry. This was spring of 1974, and Cindy, my wife-to-be, was already a graduate nurse working in Children’s orthopedic rehab, and anxious for me to start working and stop “schooling.” So, by August of 1974, I went to the father of a high school friend who was a partner in at Steenberg Construction of St. Paul, a firm which did projects for Honeywell and 3M. I was hoping he could connect me with someone hiring at those firms. As it turned out, he wanted to hire me. He was self-taught and told me I could learn cost estimating, bidding, and project management on the job. So I did – one month before my wedding in September of 1974! (And yes, the marriage has also lasted over 50 years!)

Q: What was your project management experience prior to joining KA in 1989?
GARY BENSON: After a couple successful years at Steenberg, I moved on to a couple of general contractors, including George Grant in the late ‘70’s. At George Grant that I met future KAers Jim Fishbeck, John Davies, Dave Rollins, and the one and only Gary Hook. Next, I went to work for a construction management firm called The Builders, former Knutson execs who broke away. At The Builders we did the HHH Metrodome (I estimated the earthwork, sitework and utilities for the Metrodome project, which displaced the old KA Yard operations on that site- more foreshadowing) and St. Mary’s Hospital expansion in Rochester – both good CM project exposures for me. Then I got the opportunity to create the project role of in-house cost estimator from 1982-89 at HGA Architects. This exposed me to project cost budgeting from conceptual design to final design (bidding), on a wide range of projects: the VA Hospital; Minnesota History Center; countless Museums and Performance Centers; IMAX theaters nationwide; Senior Housing & Healthcare; and a good dose of K-12 construction, as well as national Higher-Ed projects. Then in 1989, Gary Hook came calling and lured me to KA from HGA to work for him at the fledgling KA Midwest Division office in Circle Pines.

Q: KA’s Circle Pines office remains fabled to this day among seasoned KAers for its close-knit culture of “work hard, play hard.” Talk about that.
GARY BENSON: Oh boy – that first decade at Circle Pines was a whirlwind. We put it all on the line for KA! During the ‘90’s, we launched our K-12 CM practice against solid competition, and at the protest of many architects who would not embrace a delivery method that questioned their design along the way. During our growth spurt, Midwest hired Rich Jacobson, John Huenink (both of whom I trained in K-12!), Natalie Price, Sheryl Stafford, and many others that have ultimately shaped the larger Kraus-Anderson work picture. Several PM’s and PC’s from those days are still with KA.

Q: Early on you were managing projects in multiple sectors- healthcare, retail, office, worship, senior housing, public sector… How did this varied project experience help you build your career?
GARY BENSON: I believe this broad exposure gave me a richness of experience, client relationships, and project types. I always feel that the success of my career has been in developing relationships and trust with the owners I serve. Also, I have always tried to be truthful, never making up an answer if I don’t know it. I don’t lie or BS school boards – if I don’t know something, I’ll admit it…. But I will get the answer they seek. It’s much easier to tell the truth, than to chase a lie around and hope you don’t forget something.

Q: You also have developed a reputation for your eloquence and precision timing, having just the right comment for every occasion.
GARY BENSON: Understanding and respecting one’s audience is always important. When we interviewed for a project with Christ the King Church, I quoted Luke 14:25- “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” We won that project!

Q: General Contractors (GC’s) enter a project after the design has been developed. Construction Management (CM) firms enter into the earlier planning stages, where they are able to provide input to help owners make informed decisions affecting project budgets, schedules, and quality. Talk about how the KA team became involved in doing CM work for K-12 schools.
GARY BENSON: Our first K-12 CM project in the early 90’s was Delano Elementary School. My good friend from my HGA days, Ted Rozeboom, was the lead architect for HGA on this project and they were looking for a Construction Manager. At the time, I think the only K-12 on KA’s resume was as a general contractor. But I knew the ins and outs of CM from my days with The Builders, and I knew Ted was touting us for the job, so we gave it a go. The established competition was fierce about a newcomer coming into their sandbox! We went to the interview, and later that night, I got the good news that Delano wanted to hire us! Wow! We were off and running in the K-12 sector!

Delano got us our start, and soon after we were drawn into Marshall County Central School District in tiny Newfolden, MN, where our KA colleagues Natalie Price grew up and Hook and Jim Larson also went to school there. Their high school had burned down and we got hired as the CM and had to accelerate the project, since they had nowhere else to put the students. Soon after, we started getting many K-12’s, including Valley Crossing for NE Metro 916, North St. Paul, White Bear Lake, Spring Lake Park, and many others. Eventually the big competitors dropped out of the arena and now there are others. We also compete with program managers and owners’ representatives that position their services as equal to CM services, so there is a learning curve to educate superintendents and school boards about the distinctions. CM delivery is especially important working with taxpayer-funded school projects; we are highly focused on keeping the district’s needs connected to the community. The stakeholders need to see where their dollars are going in order to secure their support.

Q: By the end of the Millenium your thought leadership in K-12 was well established to the point that you were serving on both the NEM 916 Foundation Board and the governor-appointed MN Higher Education Facilities Authority. Both boards you have continued to serve for over 25 years! Talk about the work of those two entities.
GARY BENSON: Yes, I’m still on both boards, serving ongoing terms. Over the years I have served as President, Chair, Vice-Chair, Vice-President and other officer roles – some more than once! The NE Metro 916 Board raises funds to provide support for students (scholarships to Career & Tech students), staff (recognition and support for service) and programs (Grants and Learning Materials) served within the 916 Intermediate District. This has been a great two-way partnership as KA has constructed every meaningful school building and addition over this time for 916. MHEFA on the other hand is a state authority board I serve on for Private Higher Ed Colleges and Universities in MN that seek the State’s bonding authority for funding their physical plant projects. It is an 8-person board, and the statute calls for a “member with construction expertise.” I was brought into that role in 1999 and have served consecutive 3-year terms ever since, being reappointed by succeeding governors. To date I have served under Ventura, Pawlenty, Dayton, and Walz.

Q: As KA has deepened its work with school districts, it has worked through a wide spectrum of goals: new construction, additions, LEED certification, disaster response/FEMA coordination, deferred maintenance/facility condition assessment, special education needs, population growth, district downsizing, district consolidation, CTE and pre-referendum support efforts, to name some. How has KA’s early involvement proved a benefit to communities?
GARY BENSON: When I returned to KA from my 5-year “sabbatical” at ICS, I brought with me a particular skill for planning, programming and budgeting school projects – and for leading referendum efforts. Now we have deepened our realm of professional service offerings – really across all our work sectors – to include facilities studies, building science, BIM and imaging, graphics and communications support for funding or referendum efforts. All of which continues to set us apart but better serve owners’ needs. Our goal is to get on board as early as possible with a client – often before they even know what they need (and even before the architect if possible); to bring life-cycle value to the project process; and to get hired before it is just a defined project with a ‘beauty contest’ for fees.

Q: How has the delivery of education changed over your time doing this work?
GARY BENSON: Students learn so differently now – even from 20 years ago. They need to move around and interact socially and learn more “hands on,” not sitting and listening to a teacher. And schools need to be designed and built to provide this kind of movement. Technology and devices, too, have changed the way learning is delivered, as well as the physical nature of buildings to accommodate this. Curriculum and coursework have changed to add so many “related” studies; e.g., Career & Tech is not the woods & metals shops of yesterday. While those are still taught hands-on, students now access related studies in CTE that include medical careers, agri-business, biomedical, highly technical welding, and other specialty trades that can graduate a student right into a career position – locally or elsewhere.

Q: Your name is attached to 228 school projects totaling over $1.7 Billion in construction value. Are there a few projects that particularly stand out for you that you’d care to call out? And why?
GARY BENSON: $1.7 Billion? Wow – I wish I had worked on commission! 😊 So many projects are meaningful to me in several ways. But some recent successes would include Maple River, Red Rock Central, Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop. All 3 of these took multiple times for the voters to accept the proposal of a single-site, new PK-12 school building to serve their needs. The story is different for each, but the outcomes are the same, and my involvement in all three – even ahead of the architect being selected – is especially rewarding.

Q: Looking back at your career, what are you proudest of?
Naturally, I have to look back at my rich career in the K-12 sector and feel proud of the fact that this sector benefits so many people – certainly the students in Pre-K through 12th grade, but also adult, life-long learners, their families and the community as a whole. Schools truly are the centers of the communities – especially out in Greater MN.

When Rich hired me back in 2012, I asked how much I would be doing K-12, as opposed to other sector work. I was told about 50% K-12. It’s actually been about 150% K-12 – But I loved it! Building relationships with school districts out there has been so rewarding for me in my professional career! I guess I really did want to be a teacher/professor…