Ed Walker, co-owner and president of Walker Construction Inc., will retire on Jan. 1 following a 32-year career with the company.

Walker, 56, is a born-and-raised Spokanite and a fourth-generation contractor. Walker Construction was established in 1983 by his father, brother, and uncles, and is an offshoot of a company founded by his great-grandfather and grandfather in the 1930s, named Hazen & Clark.

Walker attended the University of Puget Sound before transferring to Washington State University, where he graduated with dual degrees in construction management and business administration. He joined his father’s company in 1992 and has been a co-owner since then. He became president of the company in 2019.

Walker Construction is headquartered at 1800 E. Trent and employs about 110 people. The company has between 30 and 35 projects annually and around $120 million in annual revenue.

The Journal recently interviewed Ed Walker about his career, accomplishments, and future plans.

You’ve been with Walker Construction your entire career. Did you ever think of doing anything else?

Maybe I thought about it when I got out of high school. I went off to school and was thinking of an engineering career of some sort, but then I came back after my first year at the University of Puget Sound and interned for my father, and it just clicked. I got a taste of what construction really is from the office and field side, and I worked in the field during the summers to pay for college and other things.

I could see all the interactions my father was having with the owners we work with and the architects, as well as in the field and all the different dynamics, and it felt like it has all the elements that I enjoy.

So I guess it’s considered destiny, my family business, and being born and raised in this city and industry. 

Why are you retiring now at 56?

I’m hoping to improve my sleep patterns significantly. I’ve described this as not necessarily stepping away, but I’m stepping aside. The intent is to allow me to continue to nurture some of the relationships I still have and shepherd some projects through that are spinning about in the office. I’ll still have a presence and involvement in the industry but step away from the day-to-day grind. And I’m sure I’ll do some traveling with my wife.

What’s neat about this industry is you have a physical, tangible legacy behind you. I can see where we have impacted people’s lives, just by driving around town and saying, 'we did that.'

Will there be a fifth generation of Walkers taking over? 

I have one son who is still in high school and one in college. They haven’t expressed any interest in joining the family business. My oldest is in the engineering program at the University of Washington and my youngest is interested in the medical field. I don’t anticipate a fifth generation of Walkers will take over the business.

Looking back at your 32 years in construction, what have been some of the highlights of your career?  

Several come to mind. The Fox Theater certainly bubbles up to the top. We did the renovation of that space, and it was just such a special project. It was without a question one of the most challenging projects and one of the most scrutinized projects I’ve ever been involved with, just because it is a community icon. It was such a joy to be a part of that team, and every time I go into the theater, I just feel prideful of what we accomplished there.

I look at the work that we did for Rockwood Retirement Communities on the South Hill and the Summit Tower. That was really a game-changing project for our company. It basically put Walker Construction on the map as a contractor that could handle any size and scope of a project. Before, I think we were considered more of a second-tier contractor that had limited capacities. But after completing that project, it catapulted us into the discussions of any size project in Spokane.

Some smaller projects are the Rotary Fountain at Riverfront Park, which is a neat one to be involved in. Doing the renovation of my church, Hamblen Park Presbyterian, is significant on a personal level. We have completed over 115 projects on Gonzaga University’s campus. That’s a wonderful relationship I’m really proud of. I’ve had a very blessed career for sure.

What have been some of the setbacks for the company or industry as a whole?

There are some things in the industry that I’m not going to miss, like the unexplainable and uncontrolled escalation in the materials market that happens every now and then. It’s tough for owners to hear that their project costs are going up because of some factor that nobody is in control of. Those are the conversations I’m not going to miss. It’s hard to have those conversations when something is one price one week and it goes up 40% the following week. There hasn’t been a change in design, but you’re still trying to navigate a budget that hasn't changed.

I’ve gone through a couple of waves like that in my career, and those have always been the most challenging conversations I’ve had. The other challenging part of the industry is that there aren't as many people entering the trades as there seem to be leaving the trades. We’ve lost a lot of expertise, experience, and skills over the years. People just aged out or stayed home after COVID-19 or whatever it might be. Trying to fill those voids as an industry has been challenging.

Who were your mentors in your career? 

I would say my dad is my mentor. If I’m any kind of person, be it a husband, a father, or a contractor, it’s because of my parents and my dad. My dad was just an icon to me. Coming back (from college) and hearing his stories around the dinner table growing up, following him around at job sites, and interning with him for a summer, allowed me to see how he handled situations and people. I certainly give him all the credit for who I’ve become in this industry. He just taught me that you need to be transparent, truthful, and honest in your dealings with people.  

What stories did he tell? 

Some of his fondest memories go back to Spokane’s greatest party, which was Expo '74. He built a couple of the pavilions for the Philippine and Australian contingencies that came through. It was just a fun interaction and the people he worked with from the Philippines and Australia became lifelong friends. It was one of those dynamic relationships that transcended building and became something personal. They became dear friends and traveled to the Philippines and Australia several times.

Is there anything else you’d like people to know? 

For me, two years ago, I lost both my parents within eight months of each other. Even though it’s something that everybody goes through and knows is inevitable, it’s one of those things that resets your thinking of how you want to spend the last one-third of your life. So discussions for my retirement started back then to determine what it will look like here in a few years.

It takes time for the right mix of people to step in. My current partners, Justin Paine and Brent Davidson, will step into new roles. We also have two new people coming in. The pieces are in place to keep the machine rolling.