During my tenure serving on the board at Mariners Christian School, we approved a $20M capital project to redesign our industrial concrete tilt-up building into a state of the art learning facility. Our goal was to provide more learning space, abundant natural light, and increased security.
When I first laid eyes on the plan, it was explained to me that the first step was to build a fire wall and elevator at a price tag that exceeded any amount ever raised in the history of the school. I wondered how we’d ever raise the money to get started, let alone finish this gargantuan project.
By the grace of God and the generosity of our family community, we were able to finish phase 1 of this project, albeit very much delayed, which didn’t significantly impact school operations, but certainly was stressful for the school team behind the scenes.
Then started the search for the right firm to build Phase 2, which was substantially more structurally intensive. And, we needed to complete the work during a single summer if possible.
2 of the 3 firms returned with 12-24 month construction timelines. We weren’t willing to put students in temporary trailers and needed a more creative solution.
Enter Mark Bogh, who came highly recommended by a member of our esteemed all-parent volunteer construction committee. Mark and his team build schools. They’ve built hundreds of schools. Mark’s values are in lock-step with our school’s mission and values. In preparation for our first meeting, he laid out a few options which clearly demonstrated that he’d studied our plans in great detail. He’d even gone so far as to talk to our neighbors about using their land for contingency purposes. One of his options was to complete the project in 6 months.
Now, if you’ve ever been through the bid process, which I have, you know that these types of promises are totally suspect and usually off-base. But there’s something about Mark and his team that immediately set you at ease. He knows his stuff, he’s laid out contingencies, he has his own team, he knows the city.
Covid worked in our favor as our kids went to remote learning on March 13, 2020, and within 2 weeks, it was clear that we weren’t headed back anytime soon. The board agreed and we moved quickly to take advantage of the unexpected windfall of time. Mark’s team went to work, shifting all materials sourcing from China to Mexico and Canada. The teams predicted that China’s shutdown would become a long-term problem; they were right.
Mark led his team through the typical ups and downs of a large construction project and wad undeterred by the Covid impacts. Overall, the project was 3 weeks delayed mainly because the city’s inspectors
About Mark Bogh
Mark Bogh is President of Bogh Engineering, a construction and engineering company focused on public works projects, particularly in educational facilities. He started his career at the City of Redlands, then to IWA Engineers, an firm that worked on a multitude of projects for Universal Studios and Knott’s Berry Farm. He quickly rose the ranks to become President of IWA, but felt a different calling.
Mark decided to go back to his roots and build schools with his dad, so he joined Bogh Engineering, growing the firm from $1M in gross revenues to $60M over 20 years. The firm’s key distinction is most of its key tradespeople are full-time employees. This allows them to quickly shift gears and place people where needed in order to finish school construction projects that are inherently designed around very tight deadlines.
Mark remains very involved with his community church and ministries throughout Southern California.
