A significant increase in the backlogs of Orange County’s largest commercial construction companies didn’t immediately translate into more work for them last year.
The largest 27 commercial construction companies on this year’s Business Journal list had a collective 10.7% decrease in revenue during the past year to $5.1 billion.
Ten companies reported declines in year-over-year business, including three of the top four, whose combined revenues represent about half of the $5.1 billion on the list.
Fifteen companies posted year-over-year increases, and two entries are Business Journal estimates.
The Business Journal ranks companies by annual revenue generated from local offices, whether the projects are here or elsewhere.
The drop in business ended a three-year streak of year-over-year revenue increases when area construction companies benefited from myriad big-dollar projects, such as the $550 million expansion of John Wayne Airport and the $1.1 billion expansion of Disney’s California Adventure theme park, in addition to federal work and several large hospital-related projects.
The bulk of the local mega-projects are now in the rear-view mirror, leaving construction companies scrambling for smaller projects to fill the void.
The good news is that there appear to be more of those projects to choose from, with the local commercial real estate market in recovery and numerous developments in the works.
The companies on the list reported nearly $6.6 billion in new contracts over the past year, a 40% increase from a year ago.
The backlog is the highest reported on the annual list in more than five years.
Eighteen companies said their backlogs increased over the prior year, and rising employment figures at companies on the list suggest that they’re gearing up for more work.
The 27 companies combined employed about 3,700 people in OC in May, an 8.4% increase from a year ago.
McCarthy, Clark Swap Spots
n The Newport Beach office of St. Louis-based McCarthy Building Cos. moved up one spot to the No. 1 position on the list with $1.3 billion in revenue reported in the past year, down 13% from year-ago levels.
The company was part of the team that built the largest office project in OC in nearly seven years, the $150 million Fountain Valley headquarters of Hyundai Motor America Inc.
McCarthy, one of the country’s largest builders of parking structures, said it was responsible for the $15.9 million, 1,535-car parking structure for the headquarters.
The general contractor for the office project itself was Hyundai Amco America Inc., a unit of the carmaker’s South Korea-based parent company, Hyundai Motor Co.
McCarthy’s reported backlog at its local office fell less than 1% to $644 million but still represents the second largest backlog of any company on the list. Notable projects it’s been awarded recently include a renovation to Emmes Group of Cos.’ 4000 MacArthur, a two-building office complex in Newport Beach.
n The Costa Mesa office of Clark Construction Group LLC in Maryland swapped places with McCarthy on the list, moving down one spot to No. 2 with $444.6 million in revenue last year.
That represents a nearly 64% drop for the company, which had been one of the main firms working on the expansion of Walt Disney Co.’s California Adventure theme park in Anaheim. That project wrapped up last year and was one of the largest construction projects in OC in the past decade.
Clark appears to be preparing for an increase in work. Its reported $948.5 million backlog is the largest of any company on the list. Notable projects under way include the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center, or Artic, which is being built next to the Honda Center and Orange (57) Freeway.
n Rounding out the top five on the list are the Newport Beach office of DPR Construction, with $434 million in revenue, up 32%; the Irvine office of Hensel Phelps Construction Co., with $370 million, down $36%; and the Irvine office of Swinerton Builders, with $336 million, up 107%.
DPR reported working on projects for a number of OC’s top healthcare-related companies, including Irvine-based Allergan Inc. and Edwards Lifesciences Corp.
Hensel Phelps also has some key medical contracts. It’s working on an expansion of a health center in Huntington Beach for Newport Beach-based Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian. It also recently won a $92 million contract to build a 250,000-square-foot student housing project at the University of California-Irvine.
Swinerton is working with Lynwood developer M+D Properties to build The Source, a mixed-use project in Buena Park whose plans call for more than 400,000 square feet of retail space.
The development, which will also include a hotel, held a topping-off ceremony in April. It’s the largest retail project to break ground in OC since the real estate downturn.
