Brothers Tom, Buck, and Dave Plant founded a construction company in 1947. They named it Plant Brothers Corporation and opened first offices at 1168 Battery Street in what used to be the produce district of San Francisco, now known as Levi’s Plaza. Their first job began a long history of tackling complex projects with the conversion of an old wooden barge into a duck-hunting lodge. The barge had been sunk and, without insurance, there was little hope of recovering it. Plant Brothers persevered and salvaged the vessel by digging tunnels in the mud at low tide and hand sawing off the pilings on which the barge was impaled. These rough beginnings formed the foundation for what would become the Plant Construction Company that exists today.
Early deliveries consisted of custom home construction, including some of the finest residences in Marin County and the first home on the Belvedere Lagoon development. The need for public schools also supported Plant through the early years up until the outbreak of the Korean War, when the company was selected by the Navy to reactivate and operate its Naval Reserve Shipyard in Alameda. For the following several years, Plant Brothers kept busy dry-docking and repairing naval vessels and merchant ships. They also won a bid from the San Francisco Port Authority to construct the San Francisco fireboat, “Phoenix,” which is still in service today. When the war was over, the yard was shut down and Plant Brothers once again turned their full attention to construction.
Tom Plant was selective about the commercial and industrial projects that the company took on and was unwavering in his commitment to exceptional quality and performance. His leadership generated solid references and word of mouth referrals that continued to grow the business. Plant became known for skillful delivery on complicated and sensitive conversions of historic industrial and warehouse buildings into high-end office and residential space. This set the company on a growth path that was bolstered by San Francisco’s new requirement that conversions include seismic upgrading. Northern California’s unique economy fueled hotel, retail, and restaurant construction and Plant developed deep expertise in these areas and grew operations beyond the Bay Area and into other states for national brands with multiple physical locations. The company maintained steady growth across management and skilled trades, and continued to build a reputation for precision and excellence on complicated and challenging projects.
Over the years management shifted from Tom Plant to his son, David Plant, and then to the current management group, a limited partnership of long-tenured Plant veterans. The name of the company has also evolved from Plant Brothers Corporation to Plant Builders Corporation to Plant Construction Company, and finally, Plant Construction Company, L.P. What has not changed is a commitment to providing the very finest construction services, performing consistently and efficiently, and on-schedule delivery while treating each client with a level of personal service that exceeds expectations. At Plant, if it’s worth building, it’s worth building well.