2 min read November 2022 — Chris Scott, CEO of Scott + Reid General Contractors, told Invest: his thoughts on what makes Dallas such a unique place to do business – the relationships that keep the economy growing. “One thing about Dallas is it’s a relationship town,” he said. “We do life with most of our clients, and we’re blessed to do that.”
What projects have been keeping your company busy over the last 12-months?
We have been blessed with work in multiple sectors of the commercial construction industry. Our current workload consists of major capital improvement projects, full- and multiple-floor Class-A tenant finish out and new construction work. We’re keeping up with the massive growth of the region through our relationships with real estate companies, owners, and business clients. We’re assessing what they’re looking for and then delivering that expectation. Our market position for 2022 is strong and the same goes for 2023. Our pipeline and backlog are trending in a positive direction.
What are the most pressing challenges you and your clients are currently facing?
Material, labor, and energy shortages. These three commodities can greatly impact the timing and delivery of a project. While we recognize the challenges, we have made market adjustments with our partners to deliver a quality project and positive construction experience with limited market distraction.
Our relationships and partners have continued to push the building envelope to deliver goods and price certainty to Scott + Reid and our clients. Scott + Reid is a Texas-based company whose relationships run deep through this large state. Thirty years of working with great people has given us the ability to provide great service and meet client demands in spite of the challenges we all face.
Of all your services, which is seeing the most demand currently?
The repositioning of buildings has been a huge part of our business lately. With the mass migration of people comes a mass migration of money, and investors are paying attention to the North Texas commercial real estate market. They are updating and repositioning their assets to increase tenant retention and prepare for future tenant acquisition. This capital improvement model works well alongside our tenured success with Class-A interior build-outs throughout the Texas submarkets.
How does your organization keep a competitive edge, despite an increasingly crowded market?
One thing about Dallas is that it’s a relationship town. We do life with most of our clients and we’re blessed to do that. We’ve had an influx of competition entering the North Texas market in the past couple of years, which is to be expected with the expansive growth and relocation of companies to the area. North Texas is a great place to live and work and we welcome everyone. It’s a competitive market and there are talented companies that have come in, but it’s a repeat and referral business market, which has allowed us to thrive.
We’ve also been blessed in employment retention, even with new employers coming to town. It’s a reflection of how we treat and take care of our employees. They are getting calls every day to walk across the street but they’re loyal to us. We’re servant leaders; we recognize that our success is largely a result of the great people in the office and in the field living out the story we’re telling and selling. We’re a strong, faith-driven, family company that is intentionally passionate about our employees and their lives outside of Scott + Reid, and I think that goes a long way in our world today.
What is your outlook for the next two to three years?
We follow the growth of the real estate market. If it continues to grow the way it is, it will be robust. It’s how you manage your jobs, people, and expectations in the open market. You can be as successful as you want to be if you do those things right, but it can also catch up to you if you mismanage it. We are paying close attention to inflation and how this is impacting supply chain and material cost. We have heard that some developers have hit the pause button on projects due to interest rates and inflation. From a positive standpoint, the pause button may allow the supply chain and material costs to level out.
Developers and financial institutions are doing a great job underwriting their deals before they get started. They’re being realistic with their numbers and the debt and equity they’re putting into their projects. They’re not getting ahead of themselves in trying to create something that’s not there. There has been responsible development down here this cycle and all indicators show that this trend will continue.
We have a lot of industries driving our economy. Scott + Reid is in the service business, and we will continue to contribute to market growth in a positive way for our region and our clients. At the end of the day, we are a steward of their vision and money. We are thankful to be a small part in this big deal in North Texas
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