UM construction bolsters local builders

While the soft economy has been a body blow to builders nationwide, major construction projects at The University of Montana have boosted the bottom lines of contractors and suppliers in Missoula and the surrounding region.

Since 2007, more than $100 million in construction projects have been undertaken at UM. Three projects alone from this year – the Law Building addition, the Phyllis J. Washington Education Center and the Payne Family Native American Center – have injected $38.5 million into the regional economy.

“UM projects have been huge for our company,” said Flint Olsen, president of Quality Construction in Missoula, which recently finished the $14.8 million law school addition. “In the last couple of years, UM has provided in the range of 30 percent of the overall work for our business.”

As the revamped Law Building rose on campus, Quality Construction had as many as 50 company employees working on that project alone, Olsen said.

“And then when you consider all the subcontractors and such, it’s in the range of 300 different people working on that project,” he said. “Then you have the products that are fabricated and produced for the structure, creating jobs at factories and places we don’t even see. And then there are all the suppliers.”

The restoration and preservation of Main Hall is another highly visible project taking place this fall. In a $1.4 million state- and university-funded project, construction crews are replacing the roof, making masonry repairs and building a web of iron structural supports inside the tower for seismic reinforcement. The work is slated for completion in December.

Patrick Barkey, director of UM’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research, said construction employment in the Missoula economy has shown more strength than anticipated, despite downturns in the national economy.

“I think the construction industry in Missoula showed a lot more resilience than some other parts of the state,” Barkey said. “Part of that was highway construction and the Superfund work going on with the Milltown Dam. But UM projects definitely were a big part of it.”

While the current building boom at the University is significant, it’s been busier in the past. Kevin Krebsbach, associate director for UM’s Planning and Construction office, has worked on campus 22 years. He said that a decade ago campus was hopping with construction of two phases of the University Villages housing, the Pantzer (residence) Hall, the Gallagher Business Building and the first phase of the Skaggs Building. UM also has had a lot of bond projects taking place on the other campuses in Butte, Helena and Dillon.

“But ever since then it’s been constant,” Krebsbach said. “We just opened the Law Building, the ($10 million) steam tunnel project will be done by the end of September, the ($15 million) Phyllis Washington education building will be dedicated at Homecoming and the ($8.6 million) Native American Center will be ready by January or February. Working on these projects … they all have been very enriching and rewarding.”

Bob Duringer, UM’s vice president for Administration and Finance, has been on campus nine years. During his tenure, the square footage of campus facilities has increased 596,000 – or about 25 percent.

Duringer is in charge of the “jigsaw puzzle of financing” unique to each UM building project. He said with most of the new buildings going up, 80 percent is not state money. So it’s his job to use available funds – often from a grant or major donor – to find matching dollars, campus revenue or some other mechanism to fully fund each project.

“Leverage is the key term,” he said, “because often you have to find a way to turn one into three.”
Duringer said UM strives to buy all supplies and building materials from vendors within 500 miles of campus. “It’s good for business and more sustainable for the environment when you aren’t trucking it too many miles,” he said.

Doug Jackson, president of Missoula’s Jackson Contractor Group Inc., is the lead builder for UM’s Washington Education Center and the Payne Family Native American Center. When contacted for this story, he had 22 people from his company working on campus and about 100 subcontractors.

When the recession hit, building definitely slowed down in the Missoula area, Jackson said. Luckily, about 25 percent of his company’s overall business comes from UM building contracts that definitely have helped maintain his bottom line.

“Without a doubt they helped us,” Jackson said. “These are great jobs, and architecturally they will be among the most stunning buildings on campus. We are very fortunate and are just happy to have the opportunity.”