What Watts Construction does

Watts Construction, Inc. is a privately held commercial construction management firm headquartered in St. George, Utah. Founded in 1968 by Richard Watts and family-controlled for most of its history, the company provides design-build, preconstruction, design-bid-build, and construction management services to clients across the Intermountain West, including Southern Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. Its client base spans commercial developers, government and public agencies (municipal and county), industrial manufacturers, senior living operators, healthcare providers, hospitality groups, and retail tenants.

The firm operates with a single-point-of-responsibility delivery model that emphasizes early client involvement, preconstruction planning, and integrated design-build workflows. Core services are Design-Build, Preconstruction (preliminary budgets, scheduling, design guidance), Design-Bid-Build, and negotiated Construction Management. Operational technology is conventional for the trade — project delivery is enabled by the Smartbid bid management platform for subcontractor engagement, while design coordination relies on long-term partnerships with regional architecture firms such as Desert Edge Architecture, Simpson Coulter Studio, and MRW Design. Project sizes range from small retail build-outs (~12,000 sq ft) to large civic facilities (~300,000+ sq ft), with award-winning work including the Washington County Administration Building & Parking Structure and the Washington City Community Center.

The business model is professional services revenue, project-based, earned through competitive bids (via the Smartbid bid room) or negotiated contracts. Pricing is project-specific with no standard published tiers; each engagement is priced on scope, complexity, and delivery method. Distribution relies on direct client relationships, repeat clients, architect and designer referrals, and a regional bid list. The firm is family-founded and remains privately held, with no disclosed institutional investors, venture backing, or external capital. Leadership transitioned in December 2023 from Doug Watts (founder's son, CEO since 2010) to Chris Boudrero, the first non-family CEO. In May 2025, the company broke ground on a new 11,514 sq ft headquarters on Mall Drive in St. George.

Name

Watts Construction

Legal name

Watts Construction, Inc.

Website

https://wattsconst.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Watts Construction is a privately held commercial construction management firm founded in 1968 and headquartered in St. George, Utah. It delivers design-build, preconstruction, and construction management services to government, commercial, industrial, hospitality, healthcare, and senior living clients across the Intermountain West.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Construction Services

NAICS

Commercial and Institutional Building Construction (23622), Nonresidential Building Construction (2362), Industrial Building Construction (23621)

SIC

General Bldg Contractors - Nonresidential Bldgs (1540)

akta.pro primary industry

Construction Management (Agency/Owner’s Rep) (IMAFAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Office & Corporate Building Construction (IMAFACAA)

Keywords

• Commercial construction management
• Design-build services
• Preconstruction planning
• General contracting
• Construction consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Utah

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Construction Management Services: Watts Construction generates revenue through construction management and general contracting services. They offer services through various delivery methods including design-build, design-bid-build, and construction management. Revenue is project-based, earned through successful delivery of construction projects for clients across multiple sectors including commercial, hospitality, industrial, public/civic, and senior living. Projects range from small commercial build-outs to large-scale public facilities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Watts Construction is a commercial general contractor and construction manager that delivers projects through multiple delivery methods including design-build, design-bid-build, construction management, and preconstruction services. The firm executes commercial, hospitality, civic, industrial, healthcare, retail, and senior living construction projects for private developers, municipalities, and corporations across the Intermountain West (Southern Utah, Nevada, Arizona).

Product overview

Watts Construction is a commercial construction management company offering a unified portfolio of construction services through multiple delivery methods. The core offerings include Design-Build services (collaborative approach from vision to completion), Preconstruction Services (preliminary budgets, scheduling, and early-stage guidance), Design-Bid-Build services (traditional bidding after design completion), and Construction Management (negotiated projects with full preconstruction support). The company specializes in commercial, hospitality, civic, senior living, and industrial construction projects across Southern Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. Founded in 1968 and headquartered in St. George, Utah since 1984, the company has over 50 years of experience managing projects of varying complexity.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Design-Build Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Over half a million square feet built for a single client (Genpak) across 30+ projects spanning 25+ years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Desert Edge ArchitecturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term strategic design partner on multiple projects including State Bank of Southern Utah branches, Merrill Road Office Building, and crisis stabilization facilities. Collaborates as design-build team member with shared project delivery responsibility.
• Simpson Coulter StudiocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitecture firm partner on flagship Washington County Administration Building & Parking Structure project. Worked collaboratively as design-build team awarded AGC Overall Building Project of the Year.
• MRW DesigncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign partner on Washington County Crisis Stabilization Center and Children's Justice Center expansion projects. Collaborative design-build relationship delivering community-focused healthcare facilities.
• Associated General Contractors of Utah (AGC)minorOthersIndustry association membership with active participation. CEO Chris Boudrero serves in industry leadership. Hosted ribbon cutting for AGC's newly remodeled Southern Utah office. Sponsors AGC Block Kids Competition.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Okland Construction: Utah-based commercial general contractor founded in 1918; operates across the Intermountain West with overlapping civic, hospitality, healthcare, and industrial exposure, comparable in delivery methods and client profile to Watts.
• Layton Construction: Salt Lake City-based commercial GC/CM with large-scale civic, healthcare, hospitality, and industrial work across the Western US; competes for many of the same public-works and design-build projects as Watts in Southern Utah.
• Jacobsen Construction: Salt Lake City-based commercial builder focused on healthcare, higher education, civic, and corporate office projects in the Western US; comparable design-build execution and client overlap with Watts' institutional portfolio.
• Wadman Corporation: Utah-founded general contractor with deep commercial, civic, and institutional building work across the Intermountain West; similar project size band and design-build execution profile to Watts.
• Kitchell Corporation: Phoenix-based commercial builder/CM with Southwest regional presence in healthcare, civic, hospitality, and industrial; directly comparable given both Arizona/Western U.S. project overlap and full design-build / CM service mix.
• Big-D Construction: SLC-headquartered commercial GC/CM with national reach and strong Intermountain West presence in commercial, industrial, and institutional building construction; comparable service mix and delivery-method portfolio to Watts.

Broad incumbents

• McCarthy Building Companies: Large national commercial GC/CM with strong healthcare, education, civic, and industrial practices; broader scale and geographic reach than Watts but competes for similar Western U.S. design-build and CM projects.
• Sundt Construction: Southwest-anchored commercial GC/CM with civil and industrial diversification; overlapping in commercial building work across Arizona, Nevada, and Utah, providing a direct comparability lens on Western regional construction economics.
• Clark Construction Group: National commercial builder with extensive civic, hospitality, healthcare, and institutional work; broad incumbent benchmark for design-build delivery methods and project-mix profile comparable to Watts' larger institutional jobs.

Regional players

• R&O Construction: Las Vegas-headquartered commercial GC serving Nevada and adjacent markets with comparable hospitality, civic, and commercial building work; relevant as a regional peer operating in one of Watts' core geographic markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Wattsconst
• Facebookfacebook.com/wattsconst
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/watts-construction-company
• Instagraminstagram.com/wattsconstructioninc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Watts Construction