To build better buildings, build relationships, exec says

In a five-year span, Gary Siroky has more than tripled revenue at Core Construction and expanded the general contractor's projects to include public and private office and industrial development.

Core, founded in 1937 in Illinois, incorporated in Nevada in 1999 and named Siroky president in 2002. Associated General Contractors of Las Vegas honored him as 2006 Contractor of the Year.

Core's Nevada division, employing 56 people, accounts for about $120 million of the company's $600 million total revenue, which makes it the nation's 94th-largest contractor, Siroky said. The company also operates in Florida, Illinois, Texas and Arizona.

Core has built 18 schools for Clark County School District and has three more under construction. Overall, it's the nation's seventh-largest builder of K-12 schools, he said.

Municipal projects and health care have become two primary sectors for Core, Siroky said. The company recently completed the northwest office for Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada and Centennial Hills Community Center. Core also did one of the first condominium conversions with Monterrey Villas at Las Vegas Country Club.

The 41-year-old Siroky, who's originally from Phoenix, has lived in Las Vegas since 1989, working various positions with Martin-Harris Construction before joining Core.

Question: What best prepared you for your career in construction and specifically your position with Core?

Answer: I guess the cliché is hard work, but the true answer is perseverance, not wanting to take "no" for an answer. In any industry, there are obstacles in your way and if you take it for face value and walk away, you're not going anywhere. Beyond that, honesty and integrity.

Question: What is your primary role as president?

Answer: My job is to get out of the way of other people and let them do their jobs. Obviously, I'm the conductor of the orchestra here, but they make the music, not me.

Question: When you were growing up, what did you dream about doing?

Answer: In college, I had visions of being an industrial developer. I was always an entrepreneur. I had five paper routes and started a palm tree trimming business in high school. I went to college to go into business. It didn't matter what it was. Part way through my major in finance and my major in real estate, I decided industrial development was the way to go.

But unfortunately, I got out of college at the height of industrial development and junk bonds with Charles Keating and the whole savings and loan thing.

I always had a passion for construction. I always wanted to get my hands dirty. I worked for Frank Martin (Martin-Harris Construction) in college. I sent him my résumé and I talked to my wife.

We thought three to five years max and we'd move back to Phoenix and 18 years later, here I am.

Question: What's the most important thing you've learned at Core Construction?

Answer: I don't know if it was at Core Construction, but the most important thing I learned in any business is it's not a function of background or how good you are, it's a function of how you relate with people.

Question: What's your proudest work accomplishment?

Answer: Well, when I took over the operation ... we do a lot of volume with very few employees.

Question: How do you find good workers in a tight labor market?

Answer: We can train just about anybody for a skill set, but you can't train personality and attitude. You hire for attitude, you train for skill set.

Question: How would your employees describe you?

Answer: Fair. Honest. Caring. Demanding.

Question: How bad is the construction industry? We've been reporting massive layoffs in the home building industry. Is that carrying over to the commercial sector? Have you had any layoffs?

Answer: The only layoffs were general laborers after wrapping up projects. I think we're at a point where the impact from residential is starting to creep into commercial. Even though commercial is strong, there's more competition with subcontractors, more competition with general contractors.

I also see market changes with the passing of construction management risk legislation.

I can guarantee you there aren't any developers out there building spec (speculation) because of the ripple effect of the housing market. I'm talking about the economic ripple effect, the 15,000 people out of work. People aren't going to build because nobody's expanding right now. I went from one résumé a month to five or six a day, all coming from the residential sector.

There's still commercial following residential, but it's a six-month to three-year lag. So there's development in the boonies that still need services. There are still a lot of developers high on the growth of Nevada. I've watched Arizona go through it for years and they don't have the casinos. I'm still very positive even though we're in a correction.

Contact reporter Hubble Smith at hsmith@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0491.