With A Little Help From Its Friends: Why Relationships Matter To Shaw

Shaw Construction’s skills in self-performed work, virtual design and modular construction have helped it complete more than 1,700 projects for clients in the Rocky Mountain region.

But the Colorado-based company, which operates as a general contractor, construction manager or design-builder as the work requires, has something else in its tool kit to set it apart in a crowded field: a team that is good at building and maintaining relationships with clients and other stakeholders.

That would be an asset for any contractor, but Vice President and Construction Manager Robert Glover said it pays particular dividends for Shaw. 

“We have a lot of repeat clients in the mountain region, and we’re almost 100% negotiated work, which is our business model,” he said. “To be successful with the volume of work we do here, particularly in the housing and multifamily realm, which can be a litigious market, it’s extremely important for us to have trusted partners and to be one ourselves.”

To continue to nurture its relationships, Shaw will participate in Bisnow’s Colorado Mountain Developments Summit on Aug. 26, where Aubry Teeters, a Shaw construction manager, is a scheduled panelist.

“Events like this are an opportunity to reach the community at large, including local governments and other vendors and subcontractors,” Glover said. “We're always trying to expand our list of quality people to work with as well as learn about the competition. Events allow us to reach a larger audience and network with as many people as we possibly can.”

Outreach is important in Shaw’s region, where developers and mountain communities need a reliable partner to navigate some unique challenges, he said.

“There are multiple complex things happening here,” Glover said. “No. 1 is a crisis where the worker bees — the teachers and police and others — have a tough time finding affordable housing.”

Those needs must be balanced with local communities’ desires to maintain their historic characters and enforce design and zoning guidelines. The best way to thread this needle is to work closely with all stakeholders to understand their concerns and find solutions, he said. 

Glover said this underscores the value of trusted partners who share Shaw’s values, particularly when it comes to listening to the concerns of residents in communities impacted by development.

Shaw’s frequent partners include Triumph Development, a commercial, resort and residential developer. Together, in a public-private partnership with Vail, Colorado, they redeveloped the 407K SF multi-unit Timber Ridge property to feature 302 studio and one-to-four-bedroom units, all of them deed-restricted for local workers.

Glover said the company’s relationship with Triumph works because Shaw has proven it will act as a true partner and assist with community outreach, along with providing construction expertise. 

“We never step away from an issue, which is why we have a very high success rate with them in projects around Colorado,” he said. “We believe in what they're doing and, like them, we are passionate about providing housing.”

On Timber Ridge and other projects, Shaw knows that patience is a virtue as well as a competitive advantage because a large development can take five or more years to advance from conception to first shovels in the ground. All along the way, Shaw works closely with its client to navigate entitlements, land planning issues and, in general, listen to the concerns of local governments and residents and explain how the development will benefit the community — to “calm nerves and get us over the hump on these projects,” Glover said.

Aside from its emphasis on building relationships, clients appreciate that Shaw can self-perform its work with skilled tradespeople, giving it more control over pricing and scheduling, he said. In addition, the company operates two panelization plants, one on the Front Range and the other on the Western Slope, allowing it to purchase lumber in bulk and pass the savings to customers.

“Those things help us control our own destiny more so than other firms can and allow us to develop an inventory of enterprise relationships with large vendors across the United States and even Canada,” Glover said. “It insulates us from a lot of volatility in the market and gives our clients a lot of trust in us because they know we build both relationships and buildings to last."

This article was produced in collaboration between Shaw Construction and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.