Henthorn Commercial Construction LLC

The Henthorn family has been involved in commercial development for several decades. In 2008, after working in restaurant development for 30 years, Mike Henthorn established Henthorn Commercial Construction LLC alongside his son, Tyler, who had been working for Turner Construction in Philadelphia. Despite a rough economic climate, the business took off. With established contacts within the commercial sector and more than 60 years of combined expertise between the company’s management staff, Henthorn Commercial has become a leader in the northwest Texas commercial construction market.

Henthorn Commercial’s main wheelhouse is new construction and large remodels surpassing $2 million, although the team’s capabilities also include multifamily construction. The team’s portfolio includes restaurants, retail office buildings, churches, schools and other projects within a 150-mile radius of the company’s Lubbock, Texas, headquarters. The family also owns a development company under the same corporate umbrella.

Standing apart from competitors

“We are a blue-collar bunch,” explains Mike. “We get actively involved in each job. We take the quality of the work very personally and I think it’s our personal interaction with the clients, architects and engineers that has supported our growth over the last seven years.”

In addition, the father-son duo works with a skilled and dedicated employee base. “Our team is filled with self-starters,” Tyler notes. “We have 15 full-time employees. They share our values of personal attention and hands-on involvement with every project.” Project managers can be found on-site just about every day and Mike and Tyler are frequent visitors to the company’s many projects throughout northwest Texas.

With strong in-house resources, Henthorn Commercial was able to mow through the first year of operation, despite the economic challenges. “Our volume has grown significantly from when we started,” says Tyler. “From 2009 to 2010, we tripled our growth and every year since we have doubled. Going into 2015 we have four times the workload we had last year.”

“There is an extraordinary amount of work out here for contractors with a good reputation,” Mike notes. “I have lived in Lubbock for years. I was here back when the Tornado destroyed the town and right now construction is at as high a level as it was then when they were rebuilding the city.”

A growing portfolio

Recent work includes a strip mall that Tyler says will be a unique build. “This is about a $15 million project,” he explains. “We have Texas Tech University here in town which has great Spanish-inspired architecture. The design firm has captured this aesthetic very well for the shopping center with an urban aspect to it. The whole concept is going to be really unique. We will have a high-end furniture design studio, a hospital-based medical clinic and a large trampoline park.  With the planned addition of a pair of high-end restaurants, the center will offer a blend of service as well as retail businesses.

In 2012, Henthorn Commercial completed work at a branch of Platinum Bank in Lubbock. The team was responsible for the complete interior and exterior renovation of a four-story, 32-year-old building. The 11,000-square-foot facility on the first floor consisted of a complete demolition and renovation of the entire space.

The team has also been involved in several restaurant projects in recent years. French-country-inspired La Madeleine Restaurant was another unique build for the team. “This was the first franchised restaurant for the company and we will be building a second unit for this franchisee later this year,” Mike notes. “We have established an impressive list of restaurant clients including KFC, Steak and Shake, Domino’s Pizza, Pizza Hut and Cowboy Chicken and Red Mango which has led to multiple locations for most of these brands.”

On another end of the commercial spectrum, the team is about to complete a ground-up project for Emergency District 9-11. The new administration building and backup call center in Lubbock is privately funded, operating separate from the city. The center serves as a backup 911 data center. As a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) rated building, Henthorn Commercial worked with specialty subcontractors, all capable of working to the distinct specifications of FEMA code.

Lasting relationships

Working with a network of trusted subcontractors, Henthorn Commercial is able to tap into resources that expand the team’s capabilities. “We have a network of contractors we work with fairly regularly,” says Mike. “We decided early on that we wanted to be a contractor that was known for paying our subs and suppliers on time and in-full. Our strategic partners are more like teammates and our success is tied into those relationships.”

Another key to the company’s success is people. “One of our key performance indicators is our team and the attitude of its members,” Tyler says. “We are focused on bringing in the right people at the right time and working together to ensure our projects are on time and running efficiently. We are planning our future growth very carefully, adding employees who fit well with our values. We are taking on larger projects as our bonding capacity increases.”

While sustainable growth takes a lot of effort, Mike and Tyler say they don’t think of it as work. “We love what we do,” Tyler explains. “We like being involved and we like managing our business job by job, but at the same time, we have a very hang-loose group. It’s a lot of fun.”

With a positive company philosophy, Henthorn Commercial Construction LLC continues to grow, building quality projects and relationships throughout Texas.