Photo courtesy of Maria Kuchar.

aunching a new construction project can be daunting. A designer needs to offer a blueprint that meets the client’s needs, and then the project owner needs to find a builder that can make the design a reality. The future owner can end up acting as a go-between and may not always be sure what to do.

This is where Anchorage-based Kuchar Construction comes in. “We do design-build, or design-assist, where we’re working directly with a client from inception with a design team,” co-owner Mike Kuchar says. “Sometimes we’re part of that three-legged stool, other times the design team falls under our umbrella.”

This was the market niche Kuchar and his wife Maria, the majority owner, sought to fill when they launched the company in 2010. Kuchar, who holds a degree in construction management from Michigan State University, had been working in construction in Alaska and saw a need for a company focused on service as much as design and building, with the customer at the heart of the project from day one. “We work real early on with a lot of our clients,” he explains.

The son of a cabinetmaker, Kuchar grew up understanding the importance of a detail-centric work ethic. “I knew I could do a vanilla project just as well as anyone else,” he says. “But I knew I could also do high-end, custom, detail-oriented projects.”

To that end, Kuchar Construction found itself on a big job during its first year in business. The Association of Village Council Presidents in Bethel needed a new building, and Kuchar was brought in to provide construction management for the design-build project. “It was about an $18 million job, around 33,000 square feet and, with the exception of some of the specialty subs, it was 100 percent local and Alaska Native hire,” Kuchar recalls, noting that two of the men hired for that first job are still with his company.

This project set Kuchar Construction on the path it has remained on since: helping nonprofits build quality facilities at affordable cost. “I’ve always had a soft spot for nonprofits, startups, and religious organizations,” Kuchar says, pointing to the Eagle River Nature Center, Brother Francis Shelter, and Bean’s Cafe as some mission-driven organizations the company has worked with.

In one instance, the couple’s penchant for assisting nonprofits landed close to home. As members of St. Andrew Catholic Church in Eagle River, they saw firsthand the extensive damage that the church sustained during the 2018 earthquake. There was heavy sheetrock loss, parts of the building structure were exposed, and cracks opened in the concrete slab, among other damage. The Kuchars offered to perform the repair work.

The job lasted throughout much of 2020. An Amish company in Ohio performed work on the trusses held together by mortise and tenon. Two workers from the company flew to Anchorage to oversee the installation—it’s little known, but some Amish believers are allowed to fly.

“Me and Maria still have a relationship with the two that came up,” Kuchar says.

Sustained friendships are part of what has made Kuchar Construction successful. According to Maria Kuchar, most of their work comes from repeat clients, referrals, and word-of-mouth.

“A lot of the same people call us back,” she says.

One of those happy customers is Andrew Mitton, managing member of The Eureka Space, LLC. Kuchar Construction provided a facelift and remodel for the company’s offices, modernizing the space and increasing its efficiency.

“Kuchar Construction is one of those rare gems in their industry. Great communication. Great collaborator. Trustworthy. And a top-notch team. We couldn’t be happier with their services,” Mitton says.

As part of this job, Kuchar Construction installed DIRTT panels. DIRTT, which stands for Doing It Right This Time, creates modern prefabricated interior walls and other solid surface materials. It’s proven to be a popular solution for Alaska interiors. “The fact that you can take a wall apart is pretty impressive,” Kuchar says. “If you decide you want a flat screen monitor on a wall in your conference room but you didn’t plan for it at the time, we can open the wall up, run power and data to that location, put it back on, put your TV on it, and you’re ready to go.”

Whether it’s new construction, remodels, or DIRTT installation, Kuchar Construction has one overriding objective. “The main thing that we still do today, that I thought we would do from day one, that’s take care of people,” Kuchar says, summarizing his business philosophy. “Service and relationships are our niche.”