Founding Partners announce retirement, and the company celebrates 20 years in business.

Bremik Construction announces a leadership transition, new partners, and the formation of a board of directors with outside members. It also announces the retirement of co-founders Brent Parry and Mike Greenslade after 20 years of leadership.

Spencer Bradley has been appointed as the new President. Bradley has grown within the organization’s culture, starting as an intern in 2008 and again as a Project Engineer in 2011. He has held several leadership positions within the company and collaborated with diverse teams, clients, and project types, developing a proactive and consistent leadership style. “This transition has been in the making for the last eight years. It is well-known within Bremik, and its structure and pace have been meticulously planned. Part of the transition was the management team’s selection, development, and mentorship to develop the leadership skills and experience needed to run and grow the company,” said Bradley.

Under Parry and Greenslade’s leadership, Bremik has undertaken a strategic approach to ensure a seamless transition. A partner group of current employees has been formed, which includes eleven senior leadership team members. “The group of partners has been carefully selected,” said Parry, each partner has a strong internal and external reputation and is dedicated to upholding and improving the quality of buildings Bremik builds for each client. This team is a robust group of highly qualified people who will help Bremik continue to grow and, more importantly, fulfill our mission of constructing buildings that will serve our communities for the next 100 years.”

In addition, the company has established a new board of directors consisting of internal members Parry, Greenslade, and Bradley, along with Jeannie Spencer, Bremik’s Director of Finance, who has been with the company for 19 years. “Jeannie Spencer has not only been a part of the Bremik culture, she has helped develop it,” said Parry. “Her tenure at Bremik is second only to Mike and me, and we are very proud she is now a partner and a board member of the company.” Outside board members are Christie White, founding partner of Radler White Parks & Alexander, Amy Kohnstamm, former school board chair at Portland Public Schools, and Pat Hanlin, an independent commercial real estate professional. The choice to add outside board members and the selection of White, Kohnstamm and Hanlin was thoughtfully done with the specific intention of providing expertise for the ongoing business governance and what each could provide from a market perspective. “It’s an exciting time at Bremik. They have a stellar reputation, great workmanship, and a strategic plan that positions them for growth, said Kohnstamm. “The team of partners at Bremik is well respected and well-equipped to lead the company.” The quality of the work and the local roots are important factors for White and Hanlin to join the board. “I drive by the Bremik office building daily into work. The work and care Bremik put into restoring the firehouse to become their headquarters office impressed me, and when they called about being on the board, I felt I already knew the company’s quality because of that building.” For Hanlin the knowledge was even more personal. “I hired Bremik for my first building in 2011. The team that built my first building is still at Bremik and doing great work,” said Hanlin. “The bench Brent and Mike cultivated, who are now in leadership positions, is very impressive. They are high-quality people who have grown up in the Bremik culture and will do a fantastic job.”

“For a transition like this to work, you must have the right people advising you and the right people in place who are prepared to take over, said Greenslade. “From the very beginning, we had great advice. Our first advisor was my wife.  When starting Bremik, she would not let Brent and I move forward unless we first wrote a business and succession plan. She was insistent on both. We’re glad she did because it served as the foundation for the eight-year process we just completed.”

How It Started

Bremik Construction was founded in 2004 with the vision to do things differently than the typical General Contractor. At the heart of this desire was to build great buildings that serve the community and last for generations.

“Mike and I started Bremik expecting to produce about $10 million in revenue. Our plan premise was a company with Mike and me as the only employees. Two months later, we had enough business to hire six people. Eighteen months later, Art DeMuro awarded us the White Stagg building, and our business grew significantly. Back then, our brand was built on historic renovations. Today, we are still the go-to historic renovation builder, but we are better known for our work in healthcare, education, multi-family housing, hospitality, commercial office, industrial, and retail,” said Parry.

Attracting and developing like-minded professionals who share their vision of developing high-quality buildings was central to the company’s early success. From the beginning, Bremik approached its work through an integrated, collaborative relationship with clients, architects, and consultants to develop buildings that meet their project vision. This dedication to quality led to the development of a culture that prioritized internal learning and leadership and the development of what is called the Building Professionals Program. Unlike traditional continuing education, which limits participants to a specific topic, our internal program emphasizes and integrates all business areas so employees can understand what it takes to make a great product and how that impacts the business. According to Parry, “At Bremik, everyone is a builder. We share information so that a project manager and superintendent know what the other is doing and vice versa. We know this helps build better buildings. We got rid of the historical silos every GC follows. Because of that, we deliver value others cannot.” The program has helped retain great talent and ensure sustainable success as the company leadership transitions. According to Parry, “Construction is a dynamic, high-risk business. The more everyone understands, the better the good times, and when things get tough, as they did in 2008, it allows the business to make decisions everyone understands. And because of that, in 2008, we did not have any layoffs, which few competitors can say.”

The Success of Bremik

“Being the best is not about size. Great work is a function of expertise, experience, preparation, and dedication. Over the last 20 years, the company has grown its capabilities and expertise. This has translated into more volume, but it also serves as proof that Bremik is a builder unlike others, capable of accomplishing projects others its size consider outside their scope,” said Bradley. “We expect a lot of ourselves. A hallmark of our success remains our commitment to being great builders. Delivering high-quality projects is contingent on our commitment to the core values of building well-rounded professionals, taking pride in craftsmanship, maintaining consistency, and developing innovative solutions. These core values are a common thread throughout our culture and our portfolio of work. While specific projects in the past put us on the map, and the fact that those projects are high-functioning buildings serves as a proof point of our value, our brand is being built every day in the work we do for our clients in the wide variety of industries we serve.”

20th Anniversary

Bremik Construction celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2024. Two decades have been marked by many significant projects:

  • 2005 – Lodge at Government Camp | First of many projects on Mt. Hood
  • 2006 – Awarded the $22M White Stag Block project (First and the largest (at the time) LEED Gold Historic Renovation in the United States
  • 2009 – Wilsonville Medical Plaza | First ground-up medical office building
  • 2012 – Central Eastside Lofts | Start of market-rate housing trend in Portland’s Central Eastside
  • 2013 – Deskins Commons | First affordable housing project
  • 2015 – Lower Burnside Lofts | First Design/Build project
  • 2018 – Canopy Hotel | First hotel completed
  • 2022 – Rose Villa Senior Living Community | 2023 DJC Top Project, Multi-Family & Mixed-Use
  • 2021 – Saltwood North | NAHB Best Mid-Rise Apartment Community
  • 2022 – Willamette Valley Vineyards Tasting Rooms | Outpost tasting room concept with four regional locations
  • 2023 – The Joyce | Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) project in Downtown Portland
  • 2023 – McKay High School and Canby High School | longstanding Oregon public high schools
  • 2024 – Timberline Lodge Pool | The highest pool in the Pacific Northwest

The company’s 20-year anniversary is a milestone, and it’s all the more significant because it coincides with the retirement of the founders. From its humble beginnings to what it has become, it is easy to see the impact Bremik has had on the built environment landscape throughout the Willamette Valley. The 20-year anniversary also marks new geographic beginnings with the opening of an office in Redmond, OR. “The Redmond office is an expression of our dedication to this state. We know we can have the same positive impact on the east side of the state as we have on the west side,” said Bradley.

The Future of Bremik

“Our objective is to continue building on what Brent and Mike started. They have built a unique company, structured with great intention and care. Without Mike and Brent taking the initiative to hang their own shingle, there is no Bremik, and this opportunity for our current partners would not exist.” Bradley said. “We intend to continue to grow Bremik to support the needs of our team, our clients, and the community we serve. With growth comes the opportunity to develop people. The entrepreneurial spirit drives Bremik, and we want to build a company where people can have more than a job but a thriving career. The moves we have made to develop and create a new management team, the partners group, the board directors with internal and external members, and our new office in Redmond are all designed to build upon the outstanding foundation our founders established.”

“I’m excited about the new leadership. I know they will take the company to a new level of success. The GC business is about people and relationships. Those relationships include every team member at Bremik, our subcontractors, architects, engineers, and everyone involved. To do a good job, we must elevate everyone’s performance, which is why we have dedicated so much effort to our training program”, said Greenslade.

 

About Bremik:

Bremik is a leading commercial construction company headquartered in Portland, Oregon. With a focus on an intentionally diverse portfolio of work including education, housing, healthcare, municipal, entertainment, office, and general commercial construction, Bremik has built a reputation of excellence in the construction industry. For more information, visit www.bremik.com.