Baker Construction & Development Inc., of Spokane, is enjoying a recent flurry of construction activity, and Barry Baker, is president and CEO, says he's hopeful that activity indicates a shift in the economy.

Baker says he's confident the company's revenues this year will exceed its 2009 revenues by at least 10 percent, although they still will be far below levels achieved in 2008 and earlier years.

"At least it's heading in the right direction," Baker says.

The company recently has started to build a backlog of projects, thanks in large part to repeat customers, client referrals, and its own developments, he says, adding,"I can only speak for Baker Construction. We may be bucking the trend."

The company's current construction projects include:

•The $5 million, 26,000-square-foot Liberty Lake Health & Wellness Center that Baker Construction is developing at 1334 N. Whitman Lane.

•The $2.4 million Pillar Rock Plaza building at 8510 U.S. Highway 2 on the West Plains that will house the Spokane Military Entrance Processing Station.

•A $1 million, 6,100-square-foot office building at 1328 N. Stanford Lane in Liberty Lake that will house Liberty Lake Family Dentistry.

•A $1.9 million, 17,300-square-foot structure in Kennewick, Wash., that will house a pharmacy and retail store for the Camp Hill, Pa.-based Rite Aid Corp. chain.

•A $1.1 million, 7,100-square-foot medical office building in Yakima, Wash.

•A $600,000, 12,000-square-foot building in Kent, Wash., that will house a retail store for San Diego-based Petco Animal Supply Stores Inc.

•A $750,000 convenience store and fueling station in Bozeman, Mont., for Black Diamond, Wash.-based Cenex Zip Trip.

•Three jobs with a total value of $2 million to remodel Seattle-based Washington Federal Savings branches in Gallup, Artesia, and Ruidoso, N.M.

Although Baker Construction has reduced its staff to 50 employees, from 85 in 2008, Baker says employee loyalty is one of the keys to the company's success in hard times.

"We share profits when times are good, and they stick with you when times are bad," he says.

Baker says the company took pre-emptive actions to soften the blow of the recession. As early as 2007, Baker Construction's owners started reducing the company's debt and holding in reserve money it made. Then the company slashed overhead, including reducing the owners' salaries.

"We felt it coming, and we made sure we were well capitalized going in," he says of the recession.

Baker and his brother, Doug, a vice president, are majority owners of the company and lead its second generation of executives. Other part-owners are George Garber, executive vice president, and Reed Caudle, senior vice president of business and development, who've been with the company for 25 years and 10 years, respectively.

The Bakers' father and mother, John and Vera, entered the construction business in 1953 when they took on a line of prefabricated, corrugated metal buildings in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada. They moved the family business to Wenatchee, Wash., in the late 1950s .

In 1972, the couple moved their family here and bought Sceva Steel Buildings, of Spokane, and changed the company's name to Baker Steel Buildings. Baker and his brother, Doug, joined the company in 1977.

The company diversified beyond prefabricated buildings in the early 1980s to stay in business, Baker says.

"When someone asked if we could build a concrete building, I said, 'You bet,'" he says.

In 1998, Baker Construction built and moved into its current headquarters, a 20,000-square-foot, two-story building at 2711 E. Sprague.

Baker says he envisioned the development arm of the company as a means to provide revenue during economic downturns.

The company, along with investment groups that include its executives, also own and lease out commercial properties, including offices and warehouse buildings in Spokane area, the historic Schade Towers, east of downtown, and medical and office buildings under construction in Liberty Lake.

Today, about a third of Baker Construction's revenues are derived from the development side of the company, Baker says. The company is a licensed contractor in 14 states and Canada, but the company doesn't actively seek work outside of the Inland Northwest, he says. It nevertheless lands jobs outside this area through the relationships it establishes, he says.

Baker Construction built such a relationship with Washington Federal Savings when that Seattle-based bank looked to build a branch here, although those plans didn't materialize, he says.

"We got to know them and bid on a Las Vegas job," Baker says. That led to more work on branches in Idaho and New Mexico, he says.

Baker says the company encourages commitment to the community. He's member of several boards, including Greater Spokane Incorporated, the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Boy Scouts of America Inland Northwest Council, and the Better Business Bureau.

He was chairman of the Spokane Area Economic Development Council in 2001.

"That was like having two full-time jobs," he says. "I met a lot of people and built some relationships."

He says Spokane has become more diversified economically during the years he's lived and worked here.

"Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp., Fairchild Air Force Base, hospitals, and agriculture were the main economic drivers," he says. "Now, there are a lot more good businesses here."

Baker says he can't predict how quickly economic recovery will take place here.

"Five-year strategic plans are out the window," he says. "Planning one year out seems like a long time."

The Baker brothers both have children who are interested in careers in the construction industry.

Baker says he advises them to gain experience and independent perspective with other companies before they decide whether they want to be part of Baker Construction & Development. He says he also would like to leave opportunities open to other employees to advance to executive and ownership positions.

"We certainly have good young project managers coming up," he says.