A Passion for Relationships
At Portland Commercial Construction, trust and transparency mean everything
Kurt McLaughlin, President and CEO of Portland Commercial Construction, LLC, dreams big, and he asks the same of his employees. “I ask them to write down their goals, and if their goals aren’t large or ambitious enough, I tell them to dream bigger,” he says. “My job is to inspire and encourage them to reach for those goals and to give them opportunities that allow them to jump to that next level.”
It’s this passion for people that is turning heads in the commercial construction industry and has paved the way for the company’s tremendous growth. Since opening its doors in 2016, Portland Commercial Construction has doubled its growth each year.
“We find ourselves invited to be in the same room as some of the larger general contractors that have been around over 20 years. The reason we’re in that room is because of our passion for building relationships and trust with each and every customer,” McLaughlin says.
Portland Commercial Construction is a boutique commercial general contractor that specializes in health care facilities. The company’s services include tenant improvements and new construction for sole proprietors and small firms throughout Oregon and Washington.
McLaughlin appreciates the complexity of building medical and dental spaces. “This type of construction has very stringent requirements. We often work in or near patient areas where dust and infection control are critical,” he says. “Everyone involved in the project must have a detailed understanding of what it means to work in a health care setting.”
The company holds a Health Care Construction certificate from the American Society for Health Care Engineering and is not only familiar with control requirements during the construction process, but has in-depth knowledge of design and permitting needs. “Having a good working relationship with the Oregon Health Authority is essential to avoiding additional costs down the road in the construction process,” McLaughlin says.
The company’s approach to any project is complete transparency—from the very beginning. “Our goal is to provide as much information as possible at that first meeting,” McLaughlin says. “Most doctors and dentists build practices once or twice in a lifetime. They often don’t anticipate the architectural, engineering and permitting needs. We do. Our job is to have an open, honest conversation about what’s realistically required for each project.”
He adds that the company seldom bids a project to exact plan specifications. “If we see that something the client wants is unusually expensive or not feasible, we suggest alternatives. We are problem solvers,” he says. “Other companies bid low and later hit the client up with endless change orders. Our goal is to provide a realistic estimate upfront that clients can trust.”
Quality Work: On Time, On Budget
It’s this level of trust that has opened doors for the emerging small business—and kept those doors open for repeat business. “When I first began marketing our new company, clients knew me from previous general contracting work I’d done with them over the years. But though I myself was not new to them, Portland Commercial Construction was,” McLaughlin says “They had to take a leap of faith that my new company would follow through and deliver a quality product, on time and on budget.”
Just six months after opening, Portland Commercial Construction won its first two projects, a family dental office in Vancouver, Washington, and a dental lab in Lake Oswego, Oregon. “With the dental office, we were very close in price with our closest competitor and won the project because of the client’s trust in me. That meant everything,” McLaughlin says.
One of his favorite projects is a medical clinic built at Leatherman in Portland. “We constructed a two-room medical clinic for employees inside the company’s manufacturing facility,” McLaughlin says. “All around us, Leatherman employees were hard at work, producing utility knives and pocket tools.”
Sense of Accomplishment
Though the company itself is young, McLaughlin is a seasoned general contractor with more than 25 years in the industry. “I got my start back in high school when a neighbor, who was a commercial carpenter, asked me about my plans for the summer. I told him I planned to sleep. He said, ‘No, you’re coming to work with me,’” McLaughlin recalls. “I worked all that summer and then went back the following summer. After I graduated high school, I worked for him for eight more years learning the trade.”
McLaughlin hadn’t planned on a career in the construction industry, but found himself drawn to it because it gave him a sense of accomplishment. “You start with plans and a pile of material. At the end of the week, you have something to show for your work,” he says.
As head of Portland Commercial Construction, McLaughlin admits to missing that feeling of accomplishment that comes from fieldwork, but he feels gratified in mentoring others to grow and succeed in the industry. “I mentor my own employees and even mentor other local small-business owners. It definitely takes time, but if they show up, I help them. I want others to grow their businesses and be successful,” he says.
Throughout his career McLaughlin has sought mentors who have not only shown him what it means to do good work in the field, but how to run a successful business. “These mentors taught me the ins and outs of the industry. With each company I worked with, I looked at what these companies did well and what could be improved upon. By the time I opened Portland Commercial Construction, I had well-formed ideas of what’s important to me as a business owner, client and boss,” McLaughlin says.
A Force for Good
For McLaughlin, one very important part of doing business is community stewardship. “I was raised in Portland. It’s my home, and I am committed to investing in my community. It’s part of our corporate culture, and I intentionally hire people who are equally passionate about giving back,” he says.
His employees volunteer for nonprofits like HomePlate Youth Services, which provides services for homeless youth; Blanchet House, which offers food, shelter and aid to those in need; and Project Lemonade, which serves foster youth. The entire company is on deck to volunteer on a remodeling project for Constructing Hope. Both McLaughlin and Angela Watkins, diversity, inclusion and project director at Portland Commercial Construction, serve on the board of directors for the Oregon League of Minority Voters. In addition, the company is a member of, and lends financial support to, the Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs.
Watkins is particularly excited about an upcoming panel discussion for Energy Trust of Oregon. “The focus is on Energy Trust’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) outreach initiative and includes program support for underrepresented rural communities,” she says.
McLaughlin is proud of the company’s recognition for its commitment to diversity by the Daily Journal of Commerce. In its second year in business, Portland Commercial Construction earned a 2018 Building Diversity Award from the newspaper for its efforts in shaping the built environment through outstanding work, leadership, mentorship, community involvement and promotion of industry diversity. “We’re creating a company that is not just a force in the industry, but a force for good in the community,” he says.
For McLaughlin, the memory of a project may fade, but not the relationships. He concludes, “At Portland Commercial Construction, we are passionate about our work, we are passionate about our clients, and we are passionate about our community.”