Mortenson opens new office near D.C.

Golden Valley-based Mortenson Construction is expanding its footprint in the Washington, D.C., area with the opening of an office in McLean, Virginia.

The new office, which opened April 1, is part of a larger effort by the company to expand its relationships with federal clients, such as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI.

Construction executive Brad Hunley will lead the new office in northern Virginia, about 9 miles from the nation’s capital. About 25 to 30 people work there, said Mark Ruffino, vice president and general manager of Mortenson’s federal business.

Mortenson previously had a smaller office with a couple of employees in Ashburn, Virginia.

“This is a major expansion for us, with a greater depth of team members living and working in the Washington, D.C., area than we have had in the past,” Ruffino said Wednesday in an interview.

Mortenson has done federal government work for decades and is currently overseeing 17 such projects nationwide. Its current projects include the $1.25 billion, 707,000-square-foot National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, Kansas.

Other recent projects include the Jefferson Lab Technology and Engineering Development Facility in Newport News, Virginia, and the FBI Academy Dormitory Renovation in Quantico, Virginia.

About 25 percent of Mortenson’s current federal projects are in Washington or surrounding area.

Increasingly, federal construction is making the transition from “boots on the ground” buildings, like military barracks and maintenance facilities, to special ops and simulation training centers, Ruffino said.

Besides its Golden Valley base and the new McLean office, Mortenson has operations in Chicago, Denver, Iowa City, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Portland, San Antonio, Seattle and Canada.

Engineering News-Record ranks Mortenson as the 18th-largest contractor in the United States. The company’s revenue in 2015 exceeded $3.5 billion.