Subcontractor Spotlight: BrightView

Lakeside Alliance is proud to spotlight BrightView, one of the nation’s leading commercial landscape companies. Founded in 1939, BrightView has built its reputation on developing large, complex projects. When it comes to the Obama Presidential Center, BrightView is responsible for all the planting of trees, shrubs and perennials on-site, and installing systems to support irrigation, water runoff and more. Check out our Q&A with James Wallace, BrightView’s Midwest regional manager for business development:

What sets BrightView apart from other landscape companies?

We’ve built some of the largest, most complex landscape projects across the country, such as the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and National Harbor in Washington, D.C. In 2021 and 2022, we created a ballpark in a cornfield in Dyersville, Iowa, for the Field of Dreams classic inspired by the 1989 film as the official field consultant of Major League Baseball. Since I started with the company back in 2006, we’ve expanded across the country, and customers will take us with them if we don’t have a presence in that market. Now, we are at the national level, with 250 offices across the country. The work we do motivates people really easily. When you’re working on these projects, you attract really good people.

How did BrightView get involved with the Center?

We've been chasing this project and coordinating with Lakeside Alliance since 2018, and were officially awarded the job in July 2022. We wanted this one! The magnitude of this scope of work is immense and that is what BrightView is known for.

What makes this project unique?

In addition to the planting, we’re doing all of the soil and soil accessories, stone embankments, fences and gates, playground equipment and miscellaneous metals. We set up a 30,000-gallon cistern for an irrigation system. A lot of the drainage over land and from the building will fill that cistern so in the future we can irrigate all of the plants, trees and everything else going into the project. In terms of the complexity, we’re bringing in over 16,000 cubic yards of soil, which is a lot, and around 1,400 trees and 3,800 shrubs. That’s a big undertaking for any company.

We conducted a number of contractor outreach meetings to find companies to work with us on this, and now we have 19 local, minority-owned businesses helping us do what needs to get done. We believe engaging small and underrepresented suppliers creates value and opportunity, as well as fosters deeper collaboration that delivers a stronger, more impactful finished product. That’s what really makes this so special – it’s on the leading edge of bringing local minority participation to such a major project. That is a really neat thing to be a part of.

What does it mean to you personally and for the business to participate in this project?

From a local standpoint, just getting our name in front of all the local companies we’re utilizing is a big deal in the market. And being on one of the largest projects in the Midwest is pretty incredible. Overall, it is a cutting edge project. There has never been a project this aggressive about bringing local people to the job site and putting them to work. It’s really important for BrightView to be a part of something like this, to be in the community and helping people. We have a large presence in the communities where we work and serve. This is a great opportunity to do that.

The BrightView Team:

BrightView’s Pre-Construction and Estimating Team: Shannon Kelly, Jeff Verzak, Ed Mauser

BrightView’s Construction Project Team: Mike Waichunas, Ed Mauser, Kurt Buxton, Lauren Rickets, Sandie Curcio, Alex Montero, Shelley Ryan, Dennis Pfaff

Brightview’s Construction Team Partners: K-G Design Build, Pam Self Landscape Architect, EVA Engineering, Tabitha Ventures, Professional Associated, Cardinal State Landscape, Semper-FI Landscape, Synergy Landscape, Urban Roots Landscape, Central Irrigation, Unity Fencing, Industrial Fencing, Air and Wellness Fencing, D5 Metals, Taj Development Site Furnishings, S-M Plow Site Furnishings, Twenty Eleven Concrete, Katelyn’s Cartage, and Commercial Material Solutions