McGough sets sights on new offices in Bismarck, Sioux Falls

By Andrew Weeks

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. • McGough Construction, a company headquartered in St. Paul, Minn., and with offices located in North Dakota, Iowa and Texas, is expanding into South Dakota with a new office to open in Sioux Falls.

The company also has expanded its presence in North Dakota with a new office in Bismarck.

The Bismarck office, a leased onefloor space in the Wells Fargo building on East Broadway in downtown, will open May 3, according to Ryan Goodsen, vice president of regional operations, who will lead the new office. The 2,600 square-foot space will initially house three to four full-time staff members but Goodsen plans to grow the team.

continued on page 30 continued from page 29

“The space will have multiple meeting rooms with full virtual meeting capabilities,” he said. “This office will be supported by the same full company resources our other regional office locations provide.”

Goodsen has been with McGough for 13 years, working with operations throughout the Dakotas and Minnesota. He leads an experienced team of construction professionals born and raised in the region.

Founded in the 1950s, McGough made a name for itself with the development of collaborative delivery methods and the execution of complex projects. The family-owned company has continued to build on that legacy, amassing an extensive portfolio of experience, including projects in health care, corporate office, higher education, performing arts, hospitality, research/laboratory, and industrial projects around the country.

A project called Block 9 has transformed the skyline of downtown Fargo. The Terex Manufacturing project in Watertown, S.D., won a 2020 ENR Best Project Award.

McGough has completed projects for organizations in the Dakotas, such as Sanford Health, University of North Dakota, North Dakota State University in North Dakota and Prairie Lakes Healthcare, also in Watertown.

“Our strong portfolio of successful projects throughout the region and our optimism about continued growth throughout the Dakotas were key factors in our decision to solidify our presence in Bismarck,” he said. “We are looking forward to expanding our client relationships in the community and strengthening our existing relationships with owners, architects, local subcontractors and consultants.”

Sioux Falls office

Clark Hagen, who has been with the company for about 20 years, will take charge of the Sioux Falls office. He currently is located in Fargo, but plans to move to South Dakota before the new office opens in June.

Clark Hagen

The 3,000 square-foot space his team will occupy also is located in that city’s downtown – a perfect location because it is in easy access to architect and design firms in the area, he said.

Hagen said the company is trying something different with the Sioux Falls office: it will contain 100 square-foot, pre-built and self-containing pods.

“This really is an open office concept,” he said. “We have our formal office, but then we’ll have these smaller breakout pods like little huddle rooms that staff can go into for a private call or if they have to do a video session or something like that. … It’s something a little different, but we figured we’d try it out, see how they work for us. If we like it, we can bring the concept to other locations. If we grow out of our space in Sioux Falls and need to relocate to a larger space, that’s a piece of furniture, essentially, that can come with us.”

Hagen said he is most excited about building his team and knowing that McGough continues to expand in the region. Noting the success the company has had with its Fargo office, he said Sioux Falls has a similar vibe that he believes foretells of future success in the South Dakota market.

“We’re really excited about that,” he said. “We’ve proposed projects over the years (in South Dakota) and we’ve always felt that to have continued success we really needed an official location in South Dakota. We’re coming off of the heels of our success with Prairie Lakes Healthcare in Waterdown.”

Hagen, who said his team will primarily serve clients within a twohours radius of the office location, is excited about being part of downtown Sioux Falls.

“We’ve had success in other communities that, if we’re downtown, a part of that community overall has been successful, whether it’s in Rochester, Duluth, in Iowa or in Fargo,” he said. “The designers that we partner with, the architects and engineers, are all within walking distance of our office. That’s pretty important when, just going to lunch or for an afternoon walk, you can bump into somebody and have that quick conversation; it’s invaluable. I think about 90% of the design firms are within walking distance of downtown.”

Looking to the company’s future in South Dakota, he said: “I think in the near term there is the possibility of a Rapid City location.”

THESE IMAGES PROVIDE A PEEK INSIDE ENCLAVE’S NEW OFFICE BUILDING IN WEST FARGO, N.D. THE BUILDING HAS 63,000 SQUARE-FEET OF COMMERCIAL SPACE — 83,600 WITH THE SHARED AMENITY SPACES AND UNDERGROUND PARKING — AND AMONG ITS MANY FEATURES INCLUDES A LARGE SHARED CONFERENCE ROOM ON THE SECOND FLOOR THAT SUSPENDS OVER THE COMMUNITY LOBBY ON THE FIRST FLOOR. ‘THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS, WE WANTED TO CREATE A SPACE THAT WOULD MAXIMIZE WORKLIFE SATISFACTION FOR ALL,’ SAYS CO-FOUNDER AUSTIN MORRIS. ‘IT’S WHY WE CAREFULLY PLANNED OUR OFFICE TO HAVE WORKSTATIONS POSITIONED ON THE OUTSIDE PERIMETER, NEXT TO THE WINDOWS WITH AMPLE NATURAL LIGHT, AND OFFICES LOCATED IN THE CENTER OF THE BUILDING.’