As a Sacramento native from a family of builders, Nils Blomquist knew he had found something special when he joined DPR’s Sacramento office in 2005.

BUILDING IS IN HIS BLOOD

From an early age, Blomquist had an interest in construction. He comes from a long line of builders, beginning with his grandfather who emigrated from Sweden and taught him about carpentry and furniture making. In high school Blomquist worked for a small general contractor during the summer, and went on to study environmental engineering at California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo in a program that also emphasized civil, mechanical, and chemical engineering.

“Early on I learned the value of being a true builder,” Blomquist said. “That’s why I love that we self-perform work—I don’t think I’d be at DPR if we didn’t.”

DIVERSE EXPERIENCE

Throughout his career, Blomquist says he is fortunate to have worked on a diverse array of projects in all five of DPR’s core markets: life sciences, advanced technology, higher education, corporate office, and healthcare. Always up for a challenge, Blomquist says his favorite projects are the complex ones.

“I’m passionate about complicated, technical projects that benefit people, like facilities that manufacture cancer medication, or environmentally responsible buildings that are highly energy efficient,” Blomquist said. “I like being able to take a long term view of our projects, taking into account total lifecycle cost—the choices that we make during construction can affect a building’s performance for decades.”

Blomquist is also motivated by DPR’s culture of empowerment and collaboration. “Our flat organizational structure is a perfect fit for integrated delivery methods, which I don’t think is the case for every construction company,” Blomquist explained. “I believe our culture allows us to be flexible to do what is right for the customer; it’s absolutely the right way to build.”

A SACRAMENTO PERSPECTIVE

Blomquist has spent most of his life living and working in the Sacramento region, and has a deep understanding of the local business climate. He anticipates upcoming projects will be in most DPR core markets. “There is strong demand in the Sacramento region for projects under $5 million, which allows our Special Services Group to excel through tenant improvements, ADA upgrades, and renovations for all of our clients,” Blomquist said.

The Sacramento office first opened in 1990 and was DPR’s second northern California office. With 94 employees, the average project size for the Sacramento office is $2 million, from clients that include Kaiser, NorthBay Healthcare, Los Rios Community College District and Genentech.