Is KA the Right Partner for You? Perspective from an Owner Turned General Contractor
By Mike Stark, HCC, LEED Green Associate
Mike Stark is a project manager at Kraus-Anderson Construction Company
Hi! My name is Mike Stark and I, too, was an owner just like you! The first 6 years of my professional career I spent in the facilities departments for two Fortune 1000 companies. During this time I worked with general contractors of various sizes and abilities across most of the 50 states on build outs of corporate facilities, clinics, and sales branches. Like all owners, owner’s reps, and facilities managers I was tasked with providing facility solutions that met the company’s vision and needs while driving efficiencies and savings through my construction planning, process, and execution. As an owner I quickly learned my projects that were most successful in meeting project costs, schedule, and expectations were those in which both owner and general contractor viewed the construction relationship as a partnership rather than just a transaction.
As I celebrate my one year anniversary as a project manager with Kraus-Anderson this August, I look to Kraus-Anderson’s mission statement of building enduring relationships and strong communities as a reason why Kraus-Anderson has, and will continue to be, successful in building solutions for tomorrow. Just as I learned early in my career working on the owner’s side, Kraus-Anderson too realizes the importance of owner and general contractor relationship as a partnership, not a transaction.
So what does this mean for you as an owner when you work with Kraus-Anderson? How does KA build a partnership with you on your current and future project? From the perspective of a former owner turned general contractor here are three reasons Kraus-Anderson will drive success for you as a partner on your next project.
1. Preconstruction/Planning/Estimating
When building the next corporate office of the future, cutting edge healthcare clinic, or neighborhood-changing housing development, planning for the short and long term throughout your project is of utmost importance. Kraus-Anderson’s Preconstruction, Quality, MEP, and Project Management teams pour through every project with a fine tooth comb to identify potential constructability issues and scheduling hurdles, and develop reliable budgets that set the owner up for success in the execution of their project. With a wealth of historical data and a healthy partnership with the subcontractor community, Kraus-Anderson is able to provide consistent budget development from conceptual to construction documents. With an emphasis on evaluating a project’s potential risks in the schedule related to FF & E, materials, and stakeholder decisions, Kraus-Anderson gives owners the control in mitigating their risk. This consistency in our construction budgeting and scheduling allows you and your executive teams to have more time to focus on driving the growth of your business.
2. Communication
Throughout the construction of a new facility or a renovation there are numerous departments, third party owner service providers, and many others that are affected and directly tied to the success of the project. Working wtih Kraus-Anderson’s Project Management team, it is not a monthly communication update, but a weekly, daily, or even hourly communication depending on the project needs that keep you as an owner informed so that you can ensure the least disruption to your employees, service providers, and/or customers. Through the development and implementation of disruption avoidance plans between Kraus-Anderson and owners, an operating hospital can renovate its facility, a CEO can build an addition to a new corporate office, or a developer can expand a hotel without an employee, patient, or customer disruption. Listening to and appreciating an owner’s needs so that the project accounts for them is the key to success.
3. Owner’s Perspective
Kraus-Anderson owns and operates roughly 5 million square feet of commercial and retail properties, including our new corporate office development in downtown Minneapolis. As property manager, developer, and builder we have the unique advantage of being able to assess projects from multiple viewpoints as we wear the hats of those various roles every single day. As a fellow owner Kraus-Anderson understands the detail and attention that is required on your next project from real estate and development, financial cost analysis, and design/construction development. As Kraus-Anderson partners with you to construct your future project, we evaluate from the perspective of a building owner– looking at not just the short term construction costs, but what materials and systems will provide your building the best long term value as well. With expertise in all these areas, Kraus-Anderson can guide you every step of the way.
Kraus-Anderson strives to build enduring relationships and strong communities. These are a just a few of the many reasons Kraus-Anderson can be successful builder, problem solver, and partner for you. We look forward to standing alongside you as a partner in your next project!
Feel free to contact your local Kraus-Anderson team member or myself to learn more about how we can partner to deliver a successful project together!
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