Twenty Years? For Real?
The license is dated April 14th, but we mark October 17th, 1989 as the true birthday of Wilkinson Design & Construction. At 5:04 pm, the San Andreas fault slipped a bit; by 5:10 pm our phone was ringing for estimates of the Loma Prieta earthquake damage.
"They" say timing is everything, and we could barely keep up in those first years, as the Oakland Firestorm raged through 3000 hillside homes just 24 months later. Many fellow San Francisco contractors sped across the Bay Bridge for the opportunity to build new homes. We stayed home and focused exclusively on remodeling.
Like most contractors, we have our share of stories. We gave an estimate to the production of the Nicholas Cage/Sean Connery film "The Rock" after a pyro-technic mishap scorched a few extra home fronts. For years, we worked for the country of Indonesia on both the North Beach neighborhood Consulate and the Consul General's residence in Pacific Heights. We added a 3-floor elevator to a West Portal home, excavated under several to install garages and have earthquake proofed more foundations and remodeled more kitchens and baths than we remember. Hills provide no end of creative solution opportunities for both building and parking; and rents being what they are in SF, most clients live-in during remodeling, adding family and pet safety to the check lists, and many stories not repeatable here!
Our first project manager is now the Chief Inspector for the City of San Francisco; another just built Todd Rungren's dream home on Kaui. One client, having been referred to us by an architect, turned out to be the brother of a long-lost New Jersey high school best friend. The similarities of Cape Cod to the Bay Area attracts a fair share of "expats" and we've built more than one project on the Cape for the friend or family member of a Bay Area client.
In late 2002; WDC went on the road; initially to Honesdale Pa and then to Harwich, MA. The Cape Cod years have been rewarding; offering a multitude of exciting projects and much recognition for our designs on both a local and national level (click here for more about awards). In 2007, WDC received a Remodeling Magazine "Big 50" award, acknowledging our year's of commitment to good design, professional business practices and community bridge building. However, we are most proud of this: in twenty years we've never not been paid, been to court or arbitration or had a liability claim. In our industry that's a miracle.
In early 2009, WDC reached for the stars again, and became a bi-coastal firm. Initiating a long-held plan to operate in both Cape Cod and the San Francisco Bay Area (and nudged by the current economy) the latter of half of 2009 found our team figuring out ways to get-it-done in the:
virtual/cellular/wi-fii/texting/facebook/twitter/linked-in office universe, since the majority of our revenue stream came from Bay Area projects administrated from world headquarters in Harwich Center, MA And lets pause here to reflect that: NONE OF THOSE VERBS EXISTED twenty years ago - in fact many of them weren't even words!
As we move into the new decade of 21st century (why were we worried about Y2K?) we're marveling at the changes and challenges of the last twenty years,and wondering what the next twenty will offer. No doubt a bunch of things still uninvented.
What we are sure about is our enduring gratitude for you, our clients and friends, who have trusted us for twenty years with your most precious physical asset - your home. You are the source of and inspiration for our longevity and success, and we thank you. For real.
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A CHP officer checks the damage to cars that fell when the upper deck of the Bay Bridge collapsed onto the lower deck on October 17, 1989 during the Loma Prieta earthquake.
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