Chairman: Chris Clark
Specialty: Traditionally, the company has worked for community-based nonprofit agencies, building low-income housing and commercial projects. Lately, it has added private mixed-use buildings.
Year founded: 1910
1999 revenues: $72 million
Projected 2000 revenues: $75 million
Largest current project: The $17.6 million Opus IV Apartments in downtown Bellevue. It is a mixed-use project with 248 apartment units in four levels of wood-frame construction over two levels of concrete parking garage. Construction should be finished this summer.

Chairman Chris Clark said W.G. Clark’s business took off back in 1997 and has been going strong ever since. For this year, he is predicting $75 million in volume, a modest increase over 1999, but still a record for the company.

"We have settled into this capacity level," Clark said. "I wouldn’t say we are full (but), we’re really not trying to expand. We’re enjoying the maturity of this boom cycle."

Clark said a jump in demand for urban mixed-use buildings is behind the company’s recent success. The contractor, once known for its jobs with nonprofit organizations, now has half of its projects in the private mixed-use sector. According to Clark, the typical mixed-use building is five stories of residential wood-frame construction over a concrete base with retail elements.

"Years ago, I argued against the Growth Management Act," Clark said. The act has come back to help his company out, he now admits, with its emphasis on urban mixed-use projects.

Clark said the company still has a focus on nonprofit work. Last fall, it finished up a $7 million remodel of the Frye Hotel in downtown Seattle for the Low Income Housing Institute. The hotel has 234 units for low-income seniors, families and disabled people.

A big plus of working for the nonprofit market, according to Clark, is it’s less interest rate sensitive, providing a cushion for W.G. Clark if the economy cools.

A new area the company is developing a niche in is fixing leaking buildings.

"We have developed expertise in the areas of envelope quality control," Clark said. "The bottom line is any contractor wants to be seen as a very strong player in a small niche."

To serve the new niche, the company hired Randy Hyatt as its building envelope specialist. Hyatt attends planning meetings, goes to job sites and deals with building envelope issues in a proactive way. Clark said he has become well versed in the subject. "He kind of runs an organization within our company," he said.

Earlier this year, W.G. Clark began a $5 million repair to the 26-unit Watershed condominium building in Kirkland, which is only eight years old but has been damaged extensively by leaks.

Some of the upcoming projects at W.G. Clark include a new $10 million residence hall at Seattle Pacific University and the $15 million Welch Plaza in Seattle’s Central Area. The SPU project is expected to start in May and Welch Plaza has a June 2 start date. The Welch project includes two towers of wood-frame apartments and one tower of concrete office over two levels of parking garage.