BizCONSTRUCTION
PIMA COUNTY JOINT TECHNICAL EDUCATION DISTRICT CAMINO SECO & 22ND STREET CAMPUS
When Nonprofits Build BFL Provides Expertise
Businesses often support nonprofits in their communities by occasionally writing a check, relieving some of the stress, worry and angst that comes with depending on the generosity of others to fulfill a mission. However, a business also can support a nonprofit in a way that provides more enduring relief from the organization’s stress, worry and angst – say, by helping them spend their money as efficiently as possible on a major project like constructing a building. BFL Construction, a company rooted in Tucson for 45 years, is like a lot of local, caring companies that donate thousands of dollars and have employees that volunteer and advocate for worthy causes. But it’s also a company that will partner with a nonprofit going through the often-stressful process of making a major capital investment such as new construction, bringing expertise, financing and labor to the table. Along with its extensive portfolio of commercial construction that includes biomedical campuses, housing, office complexes, banks, schools and government buildings, BFL has helped a number of nonprofits with their building process – sometimes from the very be176 BizTucson
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Summer 2018
ginning at land acquisition to the very end when BFL hands over the keys to the front door. “We work with nonprofits because they are a group that needs help from a company with a core value of integrity that can go in and say, ‘What are your needs?’ ” said BFL President David Larson. “We can take this client, whose
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We can take this client, whose core business is not construction, find out their needs, design a plan and get them there. David Larson President BFL Construction –
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core business is not construction, find out their needs, design a plan and get
them there.” With precious financial resources at stake, the margin for error in a building project is minimal. It takes the expertise of a company like BFL to ensure that a nonprofit’s funds are spent wisely and that, at the end, it has exactly what it needs. While the construction company has all the operational and technical expertise, the nonprofit still has to have a firm grasp of what it actually does need. It may think it needs certain capabilities in a facility, or it may not realize that it needs something it hasn’t thought of. The builder – in this case, BFL – can provide that level of guidance. “We just kind of become the quarterback,” said BFL founder and CEO Garry Brav. “We recommend different players to meet with and just see if there’s chemistry, if there’s interest, if there’s expertise in specific things. “Different projects require different resources, different expertise, and there are different problems. So you just have to do it on a case-by-case basis to figure out exactly where the emphasis has to be and where the money needs to be focused.” In 2009, JTED, the taxpayer-funded Pima County Joint Technical Education www.BizTucson.com
photos: www.balfourwalker.com
By Jay Gonzales