The Weitz Company
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The Weitz Company is an Architecture/Engineering/Construction firm based in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The company was founded in 1855 by Charles H. Weitz. The company is the sixth oldest Architecture/Engineering/Construction firm in the United States. The company remained in the Weitz family until becoming employee-owned in 1995. In 2012 the company was purchased by Orascom Construction. The company operates in the United States.[1]
History[edit]
The Weitz Company was founded by German immigrant and entrepreneur Charles H. Weitz in 1855. Charles Weitz Contractors was the original name of the company. Among the first contracts awarded to Wertz were the construction of a saloon and saddlery as well as installing windows in the Savery House in Des Moines. In 1878 the company branched out into the coal mining industry for a brief period when construction demand was at a low. Throughout the end of the 19th century the company built many noteworthy projects in Des Moines including the Yonkers Department Store. Charles Weitz died in 1906. At which time the company was taken over by his 3 sons, and reorganized into Charles Weitz' Sons General Contractors. The brothers built the Des Moines City Hall in 1908, The Lexington Apartments in 1910, and The Hubbell Building in 1913 all in the city of Des Moines. In 1929 the company was incorporated under the name The Weitz Company, Inc. In the 1930s the company won a federal contract to build post offices in 42 states. During World War II the company built a defense plant in Iowa.
After the war the company began to diversify into different kinds of construction projects. Such as retail, retirement community's, educational buildings, and mixed use structures. In 1948 the Des Moines Register Building was built by Weitz. In 1952 the company opened a branch office in Denver, Colorado. In 1960 Weitz went international building a grain silo in Pakistan. Weitz's international endeavor was however short lived. Beginning in 1964 Weitz built Lakeview Village in Lenexa, Kansas. The community designed for senior citizens would establish Weitz as a major builder of retirement communities. In 1971 the company formed Life Care Servaces, a developer and manager for senior care facility's. In 1978 the company opened new offices in Phoenix, Arizona and West Palm Beach, Florida. During the 1980s the company expanded to a national level opening additional offices in Nebraska, Minnesota, and Massachusetts. The company nearly doubled its business with the acquisition of Al Cohen Construction in 1986. In 1995 company management lead an employee buyout from the Weitz family. Thus Weitz became an employee owned company. In 1998 the company formed Weitz Golf International LLC, to work with designers on the design and construction of golf courses. In 2012 the company was acquired by Orsacom Construction of Cairo, Egypt.[1][2]
Selected projects[edit]
Projects built by The Weitz Company include[3]
- Des Moines City Hall, Des Moines, IA, 1908
- Camp Dodge, Johnston, IA, 1917
- Hotel Fort Des Moines, Des Moines, IA, 1919
- Hofmann Building, Ottumwa, IA, 1941
- Des Moines Art Center Expansion, Des Moines, IA, 1968
- Des Moines Civic Center, Des Moines, IA, 1979
- 1801 California Street, Denver, CO, 1982
- HUB Tower, Des Moines, IA, 1986
- Fox Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 1987 (project taken over by Weitz mid-construction with the acquisition of Al Cohen in 1986)
- Prairie Meadows Race Track, Altoona, IA, 1989
- Paradise Valley Mall Expansion, Phoenix, AZ, 1989-1991
- Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, IA, 2005 (joint venture with Turner Construction)
- Spanish River High School Auditorium, Boca Raton, FL, 2007
- Palm Beach Lakes High School Auditorium, West Palm Beach, FL, 2008
- 44 Monroe, Phoenix, AZ, 2008
- Werner Park, Papillion, NE, 2011
- Iowa State University Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering Building, Ames, IA, 2014
- Drake University STEM Buildings, Des Moines, IA, 2017
- San Francisco International Airport Superbay Hangar, San Francisco, CA, 2019
- Daniel K. Inouye International Airport Consolidated Rental Car Facility, Honolulu, HI, early 2022
- Kansas City International Airport (new terminal) Kansas City, MO, late 2022
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Weitz Commercial & Industrial General Contracting". Weitz. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
- ↑ "The Weitz Company | OC". www.orascom.com. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
- ↑ "Projects Archive". Weitz. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
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