Penta-up demand good for new contractor

After years of building their reputations on the Strip, Jeff Ehret and his two business partners decided to roll the dice.

It helped that the three founders of Penta Building Group Inc. knew how to play the construction game in Las Vegas before leaving their jobs at industry giant Perini Building Co.

Ehret found himself between construction projects early last year, at the same time when colleagues Ken Alber and Blake Anderson were wrapping up their own major undertakings.

Having built their careers at the same company, although never all three on the same project, they found the timing perfect to take a gamble on a new venture. Within months of discussing the idea, they had an office and were seeking clients.

"There was a lot of personal risk, not knowing where our next check would come from," Alber said.

But a flip through their Rolodex gave them an idea of where to look for it. Among them, they have worked on the Stratosphere, the Sands Expo and Convention Center, Caesars Palace, Bally's, Paris Las Vegas, Aladdin, Polo Towers, Tropicana and Luxor. Off the Strip, they have overseen projects for the Hard Rock Hotel, Fremont Street Experience, the former Showboat and the Hyatt Regency Lake Las Vegas.

"As for rolling the dice, ... yeah, we had some built-in advantages and relations that worked out," Ehret said. "We like to think we have an edge because we've worked with all the owners on the Strip.

"We're in a service industry. We all have relationships with a lot of owners in town. We already have the advantage of knowing how they operate and what their requirements are."

"So far, so good," a more pithy Alber said of their start, which saw the company acquire more than $100 million in contracts within the first six months of their second quarter 2000 start. They plan to "burn off" half of that business in 2001, their first full year of operation. The company has nine projects under way and more in planning phases.

For Ehret, who has overseen projects with his international former employer in such exotic locales as Zambia, Morocco, Venezuela, Tukmenistan and Haiti, presiding over a locally owned and operated company was a chance to "set roots" and raise a major construction enterprise from the ground up.

"Las Vegas will always be the hub of our business and, in town, the majority of our work will be on the Strip," Ehret said.

A little more than a year old, the company employs about two dozen staff members at its offices south of the airport and about 60 trades workers at its project sites.

"It all came about pretty quickly," Ehret said.

Although the fledgling company and its founders have set their roots in Las Vegas and built their reputations on the city's famous boulevard, the company is already expanding beyond the borders of the state. The company is about half through a contract with one of its first clients, Con-Way Transportation Services, which is building nine freight terminals nationwide.

"Really what we're hoping to do is offer a broader array of services. We feel we have the ability to do large projects," Ehret said.

Penta already has large projects under way, such as its contract to build the first phase of the new Hilton Grand Vacations time share property under development adjacent to Circus Circus and across from the Wet n' Wild water park. Alber is managing the project, which recently required 4,700 yards concrete.

The 10-acre parcel, which Hilton acquired for $19 million, is part of a larger tract that was once the site of the old El Rancho resort (not the one on the east side of Las Vegas Boulevard that was demolished last year). Despite its frontage on two of the city's busiest streets, Sahara Avenue and the Strip, the acreage has sat undeveloped for years.

Penta is building the first of four phases as well as common areas for the time share, which will have 1,200 units upon completion. The first phase includes a 26-story building with 283 units and all of the property's public areas, including a parking garage.

Ehret said the property will reflect a "subtle, Babylonian theme" and will feature landscaping, a swimming pool, fountains and a snack bar. Each of the one- to three-bedroom units features a kitchen, washer and dryer, and living areas.

Apart from new construction, the Penta principals expect they will have a steady diet of renovation and annexation work, such as its contract for the new Elemis Spa at the Aladdin hotel, a job Anderson is overseeing. The 35,000-square-foot, Moroccan-themed project, owned by The Steiner Group, began in June and is due for completion by the end of the year. It will include treatment rooms, a hair salon, workout rooms, a wellness center and relaxation rooms.

"All the major hotel operators are always updating their standards, seeing what works and doesn't work," Anderson said, pointing out that hotel renovations follow a fairly regular schedule.

That's good news for a company like Penta, which expects to stay busy updating the properties its founders help to build.

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