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BOWA Design Build has shifted ownership to its workforce, marking a major change for the McLean-based luxury remodeling company founded by two University of Virginia friends with a combined $10,000 investment.
The firm established an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, or ESOP, alongside direct employee share ownership. It also became a Benefit Corporation, formally expanding its corporate responsibilities beyond financial performance to include employees, clients, business partners, the community and the environment.
Co-founder Larry Weinberg remains CEO, working with President David Brandt and the existing leadership team.
“From the beginning, BOWA was built by people who think and act like owners,” Weinberg said. He described employee ownership as a way to preserve the company’s independence while recognizing its obligations to clients, partners and the community.
From Two Founders to Nearly 100 Employees
Weinberg and co-founder Josh Baker met at the University of Virginia. After brief careers as an accountant and chemist, respectively, they moved to Northern Virginia in 1987 and worked as laborers and carpenters on remodeling crews.
They launched BOWA in January 1988, each contributing $5,000. By the end of that year, the company had hired four employees, completed 27 contracts and generated nearly $310,000 in revenue.
As the business developed, BOWA built its model around managing the full remodeling experience rather than concentrating only on construction. Its design-build structure places architecture, design and construction under one team and contract, creating a single point of responsibility throughout a project.
The company now employs nearly 100 people. Brandt joined BOWA in 1989 and became an owner in 2001. Jim Thomas, who joined in 1988 and worked in project management, serves as chief knowledge officer overseeing human resources, information technology, training and staff development.
Lauren Magee, AIA, is vice president of architecture and design. Colin Sonnenday, executive vice president of CDB Production, has more than 25 years of residential remodeling experience in the Washington region. Several projects under his direction have appeared in Architectural Digest, Fine Homebuilding and Home and Design Magazine.
Designer Kelli Blaisdell brings a fine-arts background as well as experience designing congressional offices on Capitol Hill and historic residences in Virginia’s Hunt Country. Other longtime employees include production executives with more than 35 years of experience and project supervisors who have worked at BOWA for over three decades.
Large Renovations Across the Washington Region
BOWA handles kitchen and primary-suite renovations, additions, basements, outdoor living areas, pool houses, historic preservation, custom homes and full-house or condominium remodels.
Its model is primarily aimed at complicated, large-scale luxury projects requiring full-time, on-site management. According to the company, that level of service generally makes financial sense for projects costing at least $200,000.
Past work includes the renovation of a dated McLean home, where the company opened the main living spaces, redesigned the kitchen and added an outdoor area. In Great Falls, BOWA expanded and reconfigured a traditional colonial while retaining its architectural character.
The firm has also renovated a Washington condominium, a project requiring high-rise logistics and building coordination, and restored a deteriorating McLean house dating to 1910 while updating it for modern use.
BOWA operates from locations at 7900 Westpark Drive in McLean and 201 East Washington Street in Middleburg. Its service area covers Northern Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
Repeat Business Drives the Company
BOWA says returning customers and referrals account for 80% to 90% of its projects. The company offers continuing customer support after construction, including warranty service and responses to later questions.
It also reports that 95% of surveyed clients gave a rating of 9 or 10 when asked whether they would recommend the firm. Customers cited its budget and schedule guarantees and warranty program among the reasons for those ratings.
Over nearly four decades, BOWA has received more than 270 honors for its business operations, design and construction. Those distinctions include National Remodeler of the Year from Professional Remodeler, Best Remodeling Firm from Bethesda Magazine and Largest Whole House Remodeler from Qualified Remodeler. The company has also been recognized as a best place to work.
For Weinberg, transferring ownership to employees formally reflects a culture the company says it has cultivated since its early years.
“We believe business can be both profitable and principled,” he said.