“We walked out of the office wondering what we would do next and within 48 hours we had a $3 million contract.” Thus begins the success of Manasota Commercial Construction.

Vice president Clayton D. Johnson and his partner Stanley E. Stephens worked together for an area commercial contractor and realized they shared the same vision for how to run a business and treat clients. They bravely ventured out into the construction market and were granted their first project thanks to a client with their previous company. This laid the foundation for how they acquire projects today: “We rely on word of mouth advertising,” said Johnson.

Founded in 1987, the company has grown to gross an annual revenue between $12 and $13 million and has 18 employees, relying on subcontractors for 90 percent of their trades while holding general labor and finished carpentry in house. Serving the southwest coast of Florida, Manasota works strictly in the commercial industry specializing in office and manufacturing projects. Their niche is in mid-size commercial buildings with the contractors’ needs guiding their decisions, and providing a quality product.

With the bulk of their business being construction management, they also have design build clients that are mainly negotiated projects. “We sell ourselves as a service. It has worked well for 20 years; even in slow periods we have work,” said Johnson.

Manasota attributes much of their success to their long-term relationships with both clients and subcontractors. “Through the housing boom, our subcontractors and vendors took care of us and we took care of them. Our relationships also allow us to have competitive pricing,” Johnson explained.

Projects

For Johnson, the most interesting project of his long career in the construction industry came with Manasota’s renovation of the South Florida Museum and Bishop Planetarium. Years prior, there was a devastating fire in the planetarium that required complete interior demolition, fire restoration, and new construction of administrative offices, classrooms, museum display area, and an upscale formal lobby. This lobby is perhaps the star of the project, featuring a natural theme and wood paneling that came from a single Anegre tree, an exotic hardwood that traveled all the way from the Ivory Coast of Africa, the only area where the tree is native. The wood was cut from the tree in a strategic manner, allowing the grain to be aligned in such a way that it appears as though the tree was simply unrolled along the wall.

This project is remarkable for another reason: Manasota constructed the dome with a state-of-the-art screen, projector, equipment, and seating of a quality available, at that time, in only two other locations in the world, one on the Queen Mary and the other in Hamburg, Germany.

This 31,000 square-foot project also included a Gulf Waterways exhibit and a second floor renovation that included HVAC replacement, fire sprinklers, and elaborate interior detailing. Amazingly, all of this was completed under tight deadlines and under budget, proving the quality of Manasota’s services.

A recent project in the medical sector brought new creative challenges for Manasota. The two-story 30,000 square-foot design build project was constructed with a Spanish influence using three tower structures, two exterior covered walkways, and a barrel tile roof to increase its focal interest. The new building brings medical services to communities that were previously segregated from other area medical services.

The site itself posed the greatest challenges with historical oak trees placed throughout that needed to be protected from damage. This led to a lot of reconfiguring, eventually working the trees into the finished product.

The Eye Associates also has a space on the site comprised of 7,500 square feet with two mahogany ceiling domes and an onyx and granite reception area, adding to the welcoming environment for the center’s patients.

Manasota is currently gearing up for a 26,000 square-foot facility for the Boys & Girls Club that will include a gymnasium, classroom, and gathering and social spaces. This state-of-the-art facility, it is hoped, will become a prototype for replacing all the clubs in the area. This project will also coordinate with the school board who is building a new elementary school on the same site , Joining forces allows the students to share facilities and the two entities to jointly manage their programs.

New Additions

Manasota has taken advantage of new technology benefitting the construction industry, requiring their subcontractors to use their new streamlining operations. With email capabilities, communications are vastly improved and simplified. Gone are the days when five people stood around unknowingly looking at five different plans, thanks to their use of Planwell. This service allows their subcontractors to view the most recent plans online and order them for immediate pickup.

“Technology today is available for the entire industry and we need to take advantage of it. It makes us better builders, better communicators, better for our clients, and improves the entire process,” said Johnson.

When it comes to being green, Manasota has used environmentally-friendly materials for years. Johnson and a project manager are in the process of becoming LEED accredited. Manasota looks at the economic benefits of using higher-efficiency equipment, calculating pay-back periods and initial costs for their clients, helping them make the best decisions.

Relationships

“A lot of people can build what we build; we are about the relationship,” Johnson acknowledged.

“If we end a project with a better relationship with our clients than when we started; then we don’t have to question what happened in between. Our future business comes from past clients promoting for us…we sell our service and that has worked well for 20 years, even during slow periods,” said Johnson.

Looking Ahead

Even this slow period? Manasota is waiting to see the changes to the current economic situation, hopeful that funding for some projects will become available sooner rather than later. Manasota has recently picked up some government projects, serving a sector somewhat uncommon for their business model. The company remains optimistic, however: “”the market will return and we will be poised to take advantage. It doesn’t do anyone any good to be pessimistic,” said Johnson.

Manasota also has a backlog of projects on which they can rely during this economic turmoil. With a perpetually positive outlook and service-oriented culture that relies on word-of-mouth advertising, Manasota Commercial Construction is sure to overcome this economic challenge stronger than they were before.