Remodel gives new life to old Burgan’s buildings

Ruby Suites, an “upscale serviced residence” and restaurant project that blossomed from the former Burgan’s Furniture buildings three blocks north of the Division Street bridge, is scheduled to open later this month.

The one-bedroom apartments – 30 finished, plus another 16 under construction – are intended primarily for long-term business travelers. Amenities include linen, laundries and furnished kitchens. Tenants will have access to a fitness center, conference room and rooftop deck.

Rates depend on length of stay, but will be less expensive than standard hotels, and include weekly housekeeping.

Two restaurants – Caruso’s sandwich and pizza and possibly a Mexican grill – should open by early summer. A lounge with live entertainment is envisioned for the basement of the south building.

Developer Jerry Dicker purchased the former store and warehouse seven years ago for $2.4 million. Bernardo | Wills Architects designed the conversion, and DCI handled the engineering.

Jared Mauer, vice president of Mauer Construction, oversaw the Ruby Suites project.

Mauer, who was 17 when his father, Jerry, started the family business, also worked on Dicker’s Hotel Ruby, Ruby2 and Bing Crosby Theater renovations.

During a recent interview, Mauer discussed some challenges encountered during the Ruby Suites project, and one of the advantages of befriending a general contractor.

S-R: Where did you grow up?

Mauer: In the Valley.

S-R: What were your interests back then?

Mauer: Veterinary medicine. I started volunteering for vets when I was 13 or 14. I thought that would be my career, so I focused on that my first two years at Eastern. But I also worked for my dad to pay for school, and eventually switched to mechanical engineering. I’d finished classes and was taking a break before doing an internship when my dad got very busy, and I quit school to run one of his projects.

S-R: Are most of your jobs local?

Mauer: Yes, but we’ve done a lot of tenant improvement work for Macy’s from southern Oregon up to Seattle and over to Wyoming.

S-R: How much impact did the recession have on your business?

Mauer: A ton. Fortunately, my dad had invested in some apartments on the lower South Hill, and those kept a core group of us busy until things started to pick up again.

S-R: Did you ever think the business might fail?

Mauer: I’m sure we did, but nobody ever said anything.

S-R: Did other contractors you knew go out of business?

Mauer: Oh, yeah. Lots. Bidding was cutthroat, but luckily we don’t bid projects. We negotiate based on existing relationships with clients.

S-R: How has business been lately?

Mauer: For us it’s great, and that’s what I hear from everyone else.

S-R: How has your family’s business evolved during the past 20 years?

Mauer: Both the type and scope of projects. Ruby Suites is the biggest we’ve ever done.

S-R: What’s a typical workday?

Mauer: I wake up around 5:30 or 6 – we have little kids – then it’s emails, paperwork, billing, timecards, and any drawing I have to do. When I show up here, work has already started. I have a great foreman, but there’s always a lot of questions, and I check to make sure everybody is on schedule. I’m usually home by 5 or 6, then on the computer, sometimes emailing at 11 at night.

S-R: Five days a week?

Mauer: Six. Sometimes seven. But if I’m working on Sunday, I’m not 9-to-5’ing it. I’m checking emails and doing drawings between playing with the kids.

S-R: That’s a lot of hours.

Mauer: Yeah. And when I show up on site at 8 o’clock, people tease me, saying, “Oh, slept in, did we?”

S-R: What do you like most about your job?

Mauer: Being part of the creative process, and seeing things physically come together.

S- R: What do you like least?

Mauer: Finding out something bad about an employee or a sub, and having to confront them.

S-R: What about this project is most satisfying?

Mauer: I’m really proud of the way the lobby turned out. Our cabinet shop did a great job with the conference table and all the wood details. I’m also proud of the way we gave these two buildings new life. We brought in 1,200 yards of concrete and 130 tons of steel to reinforce them and change their configuration.

S-R: What are you and your employees typically responsible for?

Mauer: We manage the overall project. On this one we also did all the structural steel and cut 3,200 holes for all the systems.

S-R: What do you sub out?

Mauer: Electrical, plumbing, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), flooring, painting, the roof, concrete, and fabrication of the structural steel.

S-R: Where there surprises?

Mauer: A lot of the structural issues were not what we assumed before we started taking everything apart. Those problems added 10 to 15 percent to the cost. But I’m pretty proud of that number, because there were so many surprises.

S-R: Are there public misconceptions about what general contractors do?

Mauer: Have you heard the term “suitcase contractor”? There are those out there, but we’re more hands-on. We even get involved with the design process to make sure it’s something we can build.

S-R: When someone discovers what you do, what questions do they ask?

Mauer: Lots of friends ask me to inspect homes they’re thinking about buying.

S-R: Do you?

Mauer: Absolutely. I love doing that.

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