Clark Construction executives buy out iconic Washington firm

WASHINGTON — Bethesda-based Clark Construction Group LLC, one of the Washington region’s most prolific commercial builders, has been sold to its existing management team.

Current owners have purchased Clark Enterprise Inc.’s stake in Clark Construction, giving the Clark Construction executive team 100 percent ownership. Clark Construction’s owners include Dan Montgomery, Peter Forster, Robert Moser and a dozen other executives, all of whom have been with the firm for more than three decades.

The sale took place late last month. Clark Enterprises declined to disclose the financial terms.

Clark Construction has annual revenue of more than $4 billion, and is one of the largest commercial and civil contractors in the country.

“This type of ownership succession has been a cornerstone of the privately-held construction company’s 100-year history, resulting in a successful and seamless transition to the next generation of owners/executives,” Clark Enterprises and Clark Construction said in an emailed statement to WTOP. “Both CEI and CCG are pleased that this transaction honors Jim Clark’s legacy.”

Founder A. James “Jim” Clark, who took over what became Clark Construction in the late 1960s, died of congestive heart failure last March at the age of 87. Predecessor companies date back to 1906.

Clark Construction, whose projects reach coast to coast, has been behind some of the Washington region’s largest construction projects, including more than two dozen Metro stations, Nationals Park, Washington Harbour, the World Bank building, FedEx Field, Verizon Center and, one of the largest projects ever in D.C. at the time, L’Enfant Plaza.

Current projects include Metro’s phase 2 construction of the Silver Line, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and projects at The Wharf.

The company has grown to more than 4,200 employees across the U.S.

Clark Enterprises retains a wide-ranging portfolio as an investment management company with stakes in real estate and private equity.

Read more about Clark Construction’s history here.

Jeff Clabaugh

Jeff Clabaugh has spent 20 years covering the Washington region's economy and financial markets for WTOP as part of a partnership with the Washington Business Journal, and officially joined the WTOP newsroom staff in January 2016.

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