Redman

Pursuing diverse project types has kept Sellen Construction busy over the past year. The array ranges from a two-building, two-garage addition to Microsoft’s Redmond campus to myriad tenant improvement projects.

“As we have grown, people associate us with large shell and core projects,” said Sellen’s Scott Redman. The tenant work, performed by the company’s Special Projects Division, is “about keeping in step with our overall strategy to make sure we have a good mix of projects, both large and small.”

Redman notes that Sellen is the largest employer of union carpenters and laborers in the state.

“We’re trying to make good use of their talent,” he said. One of the larger ongoing Sellen projects includes a 160,000-square-foot office/research lab building for Lowe Enterprises on Eastlake Avenue in Seattle. Concrete decks are being poured at the site.

A seismic rehab and repair of the Amazon/PacMed Building for Wright Runstad is nearly complete. The project was a challenge, Redman said, because the company had to keep Amazon up and running throughout the construction process, including during the Internet retailer’s busy holiday season. The firm is also working on a major addition to Children’s Hospital, plus hospital projects for St. Joseph’s and Franciscan Health Systems, in Bellingham and Tacoma, respectively. Sellen is in preconstruction for the new downtown Olympic Sculpture Park.

Overall, Redman said 2002 looks quite similar to 2001, but he’s seeing signs that 2003 will be quite strong.

“There’s a lot of competition right now and a lot of work to be done, just not a lot of high-rise office buildings. Health care and education are strong.”

Redman said Sellen will pursue interesting public projects with GC/CM procurement.

“It’s encouraging to see more projects get the green light for the GC/CM approach,” he said. “It’s a good thing for the taxpayer and a good thing for those of us who are good at that approach.”