Where Expertise Meets Luxury

UPA Construction Group
Written by Ryan Cartner

UPA Construction Group is a contracting company specializing in the development of multi-family residential communities, high-rises, resorts, and hotels. It is headquartered in Reno, Nevada and provides services in the United States and Canada.
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The company was established in 1999, through the merger of Union Pointe Construction and Amako Construction. At the time, both companies were considering a world-class ski resort project in the mountains of Solitude, Utah. This project was massive in scale, and would bring many unique construction challenges that both companies realized would be better managed by collaborating on the build.

The Solitude resort project consisted of a series of large structures totalling 307,500 square feet: a retail component to hold ground-level stores and restaurants; an inn with 176 condominium units; and a parking garage with a space for each condo. Despite the challenging nature of the work, the project was delivered on time to complete customer satisfaction. The success of this project demonstrated to both the Union Pointe and Amako leadership teams that they were a stronger company together, and UPA was officially formed as a result.

Today, with more than 25 years of experience in the construction industry, the company has built a stunning portfolio of high end luxury buildings, and a reputation for delivering quality projects on time and on budget. UPA has developed, over many years and hundreds of projects, the ability to effectively control costs and schedules with no sacrifice to quality or safety, exceeding customer expectations at every opportunity.

In order to manage the cost of a project, UPA experts begin engineering value into every component of it from the very start. Expertise developed over many years enables the company to accurately estimate expenses from the very beginning, and to carefully monitor them throughout the life of the project using sophisticated expense tracking software.

Software is also used to manage a project’s schedule. UPA understands that a client’s completion date must be treated as a high priority, and it is committed to delivering on time. Due to the complex nature of the large-scale projects UPA takes on, there is a need for great flexibility in terms of time management. Unexpected challenges do arise, but UPA has developed a keen ability to adapt to changing circumstances, and as a result, the company has a great track record of completing projects on time, and often ahead of schedule.

UPA’s capacity to meet these expectations consistently has helped it maintain a competitive edge in the construction marketplace, but the company’s most important differentiator is in the quality of its product. From the design phase through to completion, UPA implements a strict quality control policy that leverages more than two decades of experience toward recognizing problems before they occur and resolving them quickly when they do. A combination of experience and skill means on-budget, on-time delivery of top quality work from UPA construction. This consistently results in long-term customer relationships and repeat business.

The company’s commitment to quality means complete compliance with regulations and industry accepted best practices in all aspects of a project. In all construction work, but particularly with development at this scale, following proper safety procedures must be a primary concern. To this end, UPA has a dedicated team of on-site safety officers at every project ensuring all proper precautions are being taken, and as a result the company has maintained a safety rating above the industry average.

UPA has worked on hundreds of beautiful buildings, but many of its standout projects are hotels and resorts. The company’s very first project, the Solitude Village Ski Resort in Utah, is a stunning work of art, designed by Layton Davis Architects after a style common to Tuscany, Italy. Resort construction can be incredibly challenging; they are frequently very large and architecturally complex, and they present a wide array of unique hurdles that UPA is uniquely suited to overcoming. The Solitude Resort offered its own challenges, but the company was up to the task. The result is a beautiful Tuscan-inspired getaway for visitors to Solitude Mountain.

A similar style was chosen for the development of the Montelago Village Resort on 320 acre Las Vegas Lake in Nevada. The project included 177 luxury condominiums on 295,700 square feet, and a 50,000 square foot retail area. This stunning resort was built near the Las Vegas Strip, but provides an escape from the neon and the excitement. With an architectural style meant to echo the hills of Italy, this oasis offers a slower pace.

Teton Mountain Lodge is another gorgeous resort project located in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Five stories high, with 176 units covering 170,000 square feet, this structure is another example of the sheer scale of the projects UPA construction can manage. One mile from adventure hot-spot Grand Teton National Park, the building was designed in the style of the traditional log cabin to reflect the alpine charm of northern Wyoming.

These are only three of many major resort projects that UPA Construction has been involved in. Beyond resorts, the company has also worked on a number of high-rise projects. The 27-level Montana residential high-rise is located in downtown Calgary, Alberta, and is a key feature of the city’s skyline. In Richmond, British Columbia the Paloma Tower is a beautiful 16-story concrete modernist structure containing 154 residences. In 2011, the city of Richmond recognized the aesthetic value this building brings to the downtown core with a Lulu Urban Design Award.

Multi-family residential communities are another key project type for the company, and UPA has worked on many of these projects throughout the United States and Canada. Mira Vista is a beautiful collection of four four-level buildings containing 224 residential units in Westbank, British Columbia. In north Vancouver, the Avondale building consists of 44 luxury townhomes and 35 condos in a beautiful three-story building. UPA’s portfolio is full of stunning luxury residential projects, demonstrating the company’s capacity to deliver on very unique, architecturally demanding projects.

While resorts, high-rises, and large scale residential projects make up the majority of UPA’s portfolio, the company has also worked on a number of large-scale commercial projects. One standout example is the Medallion Business Center in Calgary, Alberta – a beautiful 95,000 square foot office with a view of the Rocky Mountains.

In developing these projects, UPA acts primarily as a general contractor, but it can also provide construction management and pre-construction services for design-build jobs. Working with the client from the earliest concept and design phases, UPA experts can help engineer cost out of – and value into – the project from the very beginning. In order to provide the best possible guidance, UPA employs a number of Leadership Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified professionals. LEED is a rating system for environmentally sustainable development, and UPA’s LEED experts can help customers incorporate energy efficient designs into their projects.

UPA Construction is a contracting company with more than a quarter century of experience building large-scale, high-end buildings throughout North America. The company has created many long-term repeat business relationships and a vast portfolio of impressive projects. Formed out of a strategic decision between two competitors to join strengths, UPA Construction continues to become stronger with every new project and every new challenge.

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