Family Tradition

By Business Observer Staff
| 6:00 p.m. July 27, 2007

Entrepreneurs

Family Tradition

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE by Dave Szymanski | Tampa Bay Editor

The Tampa-based commercial real estate construction company now offers

design services and can help companies find financing for their new buildings.

Hidden River and Sabal Park, a couple of Tampa's suburban-style corporate addresses, are miles apart off Interstate 75 but share one thing: Most of the buildings were built by R.R. Simmons Construction Corp., a family-owned, 39-year-old commercial real estate contractor.

Simmons is also the name behind some eye-popping commercial projects, including the see-through "globe" building in downtown Tampa, also known as the Tampa Port Authority headquarters; MacDill Federal Credit Union headquarters; Corporate Center One (Westshore's largest office building and home to Outback Steakhouse Inc.); and the University of South Florida's new athletic training center.

Commercial real estate construction companies don't always have a long life span. It's not as bad as the bar and restaurant industries. But it's not far behind.

That's one reason Simmons is unique. Randy Simmons, 54, is the second generation to head up the family firm, which builds office buildings, stores, warehouses, light manufacturing and parking garages.

What has been the key to the big contracts and the longevity? Focus.

"We've been very focused on things we do well and not flash-in-the-pan things," Simmons says. "We have not gotten caught up in that. We stuck to our knitting. It is impossible to be all things to all people."

The other things that set Simmons apart are that it offers additional services, such as design. It now employs a team of four architects. It can also help CEOs find financing for a new building or locate someone from which to lease the building.

It built a reputation in the 1980s as the build-to-suit office building contractor. But it is striving to be more.

"We try to be completely flexible to morph a business relationship in any fashion to meet a business' need," Simmons says. "The scope of services we're asked to do is much broader than it was before. It's much more complicated than it was 15 to 20 years ago. There are permits, regulations, land-use issues and the needs of the clients are more complex."

Simmons has been active locally and nationally in economic development and trade associations. He was formerly chairman of Tampa's Committee of One Hundred. His main roles are meeting with client CEOs to structure projects.

His wife, Linda Simmons, is CEO and president. A former banker, Linda Simmons handles the legal and administrative tasks at the firm. The couple live in Temple Terrace and the corporate office isn't far away, in Hidden River Corporate Park at Fletcher Avenue and I-75.

However, the growing firm plans to do what it does for clients: Build a headquarters building. It is looking at designs and locations now and plans to start on it after Jan. 1.

Humbling beginnings

Simmons' father, Bob Simmons, founded the firm in 1968 with three employees, doing mainly small industrial buildings. Randy Simmons began working for the firm while in school, painting, sweeping, doing whatever his father needed. He went to the University of Florida and earned a building and construction degree in 1975. Randy briefly worked for a homebuilder in Tampa for a year and half, but soon joined his dad.

He eventually bought his father out in 1985.

Besides expanding services, Simmons has also diversified its client base throughout Florida in the past five years. It used to be just focused on the Tampa Bay area. It has an industrial project underway in Jacksonville and a parking garage project in Orlando. It completed parking garage in Fort Lauderdale and will likely do a second phase there. It is also working on 700,000 square feet of industrial space for Trammel Crow near the Port of Tampa.

It does not build homes, townhomes, condominiums or bridges. "It takes a completely different mindset," Simmons says. "We don't do a lot of public sector work. We do corporate and commercial.

"You're not going to see us build a nuke plant" he adds. "But if you want a suburban-style office building, we're pretty good at it."

During the condominium boom, Simmons got several calls to do high-rise projects. It refused.

"We were getting tons of calls," Simmons says. "That's not our business. If you can't be good at something, don't do it.

"Run away from anyone who says they do everything," he adds. "We say we're going to be really good at certain things."

In another break from its past, Simmons Construction mainly does not jump into bidding contests. Instead, Simmons meets with CEOs and talks about how Simmons Construction will handle the project and tailor it to that CEO's requirements.

"Price is relative," Simmons said. "It's the comfort level of who you're working with. It's about understanding needs."

The traditional low-bid competition does not always produce the best product. "In the low price, classic hard bid process, there's an enormous number of different respondents and whoever makes the greatest mistake often gets the job," Simmons said.

To insure quality, Simmons researches the subcontractors it works with to make sure they are reputable. It checks their financing, litigation and safety records before hiring them.

Some of the challenges for Simmons are a growing scarcity of land and the growing complexity of permitting.

"We have done a lot of work in Lakeland," Simmons says. "They are good people. You used to be able to sit down and get things done pretty quickly. But even there, it's requiring more regulations and time."

Another challenge for Simmons and other contractors is finding quality labor. There are people available, but the quality of craftsmanship is diminishing.

"It is a difficult scenario," he says. "We had years and years of craftsmanship. Now there is a lot of less-skilled talent."

Simmons wouldn't reveal revenues at the privately held firm, but said they have been consistently increasing at about 10% per year. He pointed to the firm's longevity and its lack of litigation trouble.

"Longevity is the real measure," he says.

What advice would Simmons give other executives and CEOs? Discriminate when hiring. Make sure the employees and subcontractors share your values.

"You have to be careful who you work with," he says. "Find the best person in the market. Don't take the shotgun approach. If you work with good people, you'll have a lot less worry, less sleepless hours."

It's also important to treat each client as special and exceed his or her expectations, Simmons says. Don't sell them what you want. Get them what they want.

"Talk about how to make a 'wow' experience with your clients," Simmons says. "What can you bring to the table to make their business prosper?

"Don't be like the car salesman forcing them to buy the blue car. If he wants the red car, get the red. If he wants two cars, get him two. Really tune in with customers and support their needs."

AT A GLANCE

R.R. Simmons

Construction Corp.

Business: Commercial real estate construction

Status: Privately held, family owned and run

Employees: 35

Headquarters: Tampa

Growth: 10% increase in revenues per year

Specialties: Office, warehouse, retail, light manufacturing and parking garage construction

Executives: Randy Simmons, chairman; Linda Simmons, CEO and president

Key projects: Port Authority headquarters, Corporate Center One, MacDill Federal Credit Union headquarters, Sabal Park, Hidden River Corporate Park

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