Dargan Construction

The look and feel of South CarolinaÔÇÖs Myrtle Beach has been changing beyond recognition, and Dargan Construction has been at the heart of it, Ruari McCallion learns from Don LloydThere has always been a certain something about the Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina. The Atlantic Ocean can be calm or it can be mighty in its wrath, but it can never be ignored. The light has an almost magical quality as the sun rises out of the great sea. The dunes and salt marshes sweep and dip in every direction except east, offering a haven to birds and wildlife, an irresistible lure for the fisherman and a siren call to vacationers and those seeking a spot to unwind from the demands of the city. The area has become especially popular with golfers, and why not? The ÔÇ£linksÔÇØÔÇöbetween the sea and the inland pastures, too dry for the one and too wet and salty for the otherÔÇöwas spotted centuries ago in Scotland as the ideal location for the great game. Myrtle Beach probably has a greater concentration of golf courses than anywhere outside of Scotland itself. Golfers and other visitors have been coming by the thousands for years, and it was local people who first invested to provide them with the accommodations and facilities they needed. Myrtle Beach has been changing and growing. The roads are better, the facilities improved and more varied, and the buildings are there to cater to more sophisticated and demanding tastesÔÇönone more so than North Beach Towers, which represent a two-year, $145 million project at the heart of the North Beach Plantation Project, a 60-acre, $320 million oceanfront residential complex. The Towers themselves rise to 19 stories, impressive but without destroying the qualities that owners and visitors crave. They comprise 336 condominium units, the majority of which were pre-sold before the official opening in January 2009. They sit together at an angle, linked at the center by a single connecting floor at the third level and by a larger connection at floors 14, 15 and 16.ÔÇ£The third floor is a corridor, but it will house a coffee shop and breakfast buffet,ÔÇØ says Don Lloyd, project manager for Dargan Construction, main contractor for North Beach Plantation. ÔÇ£The 14th floor has a full-service restaurant, with its kitchen upstairs; and the 16th is occupied by a penthouse condominium unit.ÔÇØ The Towers themselves represented a pretty straightforward high-rise construction project; the challenge was the connectors. The lower one was built from the ground and then formed the supporting structure for the higher levels. ÔÇ£We expect North Beach Towers will be the last large condominium development in the area for a while,ÔÇØ Lloyd says. ÔÇ£Myrtle Beach is a young town; it was founded around 100 years ago, but it has been a vacation destination for only 60 or 70 years. Some old-time residents saw an opportunity and built mom & pop motels. Later, those two- and three-story lodgings were torn down and replaced with 10- to 25-story developments. We donÔÇÖt see any more condominium developments on the market now; thereÔÇÖs a lot of availability in the current downturn.ÔÇØ But things donÔÇÖt stop, they just go on changing. Hotels and government projects are now being built, and Dargan is involved with them, too.ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖre building the Hampton Inn, and weÔÇÖve just finished the Hilton Garden Inn. Hotels are the next phase in Myrtle BeachÔÇÖs development,ÔÇØ Lloyd says. ÔÇ£With the slowdown in the economy, a lot of general contractors are looking for work, which means costs are falling, also. The hotel groups see the opportunity for lower costs in construction.ÔÇØ A competitive market is challenging for everyone. The company was founded by Archie Shaw Dargan in September 1953, and Harold Cushman Jr. joined him in 1955. It began as a small, family-run residential construction company. It switched from residential to commercial construction in the late 1950s and grew steadily from then on. Revenues over the past six years have been in the region of $800 million. ItÔÇÖs as much a part of Myrtle Beach as the seagulls; all its work has been in the area, and it isnÔÇÖt likely to change in the near future. And it expects to see itself continue as the major construction company in its home market. ÔÇ£Mr. Dargan and Mr. Cushman have strong relationships with the developers that have been responsible for the areaÔÇÖs growth,ÔÇØ says Lloyd. ÔÇ£We pride ourselves on providing a quality product and good value. We exceed expectations and have been known to provide support outside of the warranty period, because those relationships are important to us. Our reward has been a continuous flow of work.ÔÇØ But a growing area like Myrtle Beach will attract attention from outsiders, who will come in prepared to be very competitive in order to get the business. ÔÇ£The developers, whether from here or further away, know weÔÇÖre not going anywhere. It becomes a tougher sale when other contractors come in, but weÔÇÖre known by the architects and developers, and they usually are interested to speak to us,ÔÇØ he says. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖve been able to sell ourselves pretty well, and when the outside contractors pull out, after a year or two, or maybe three or four years, weÔÇÖre still here, providing the support that is needed.ÔÇØ Change orders in contracts have been a curse on the construction industry, seemingly forever pushing development costs beyond original budgets and causing all manner of inconvenience. Dargan seeks to avoid even the possibility.ÔÇ£We try to be involved from the outset of design development,ÔÇØ says Lloyd. ÔÇ£Working directly with the developer and architect allows us to participate in value engineering as well as help ensure the design is complete to allow for more accurate pricing. This also lets us negotiate with the subcontractors that are familiar with us and our expectations. This advantage leads to better and more accurate pricing before the contract is signed. We have consistently brought our projects in on budget, or even under, giving our clients confidence in our team.ÔÇØ In a tight and competitive market, such a commitment from a well-capitalized and established contracting firm is a valuable asset to any developer, whether of hotels, condominiums or resorts. Dargan Construction will be part of the Myrtle Beach landscape for some time to come. ÔÇô Editorial research by Steven Shah┬á