Managing Regulatory, Vendor, and Financing Compliance as a Growing General Contractor

General Contractors have a lot to manage. Of course, project management and execution of construction/remodeling contracts is a major priority, but there is also marketing and sales management, human resource management, technology management, and financial management, each of which can command their own full-time position or department depending on the size of a company. Allan Dorney Construction has gone from a 3-employee general contracting operation to now having 18 full time employees over the last 4 years as demand for the Allan Dorney Way (Relationship, Problem Solving, and Follow through) has grown. In addition to all the previously mentioned areas, the need for regulatory/vendor compliance management has also grown.

The majority of Allan Dorney’s construction and remodeling projects are completed within a 50-mile radius of Minneapolis, MN. Minnesota’s construction industry is heavily regulated to ensure safety, environmental protection, and compliance with local zoning laws. While these regulations are essential, they can also create significant challenges for general contractors. Navigating the complex landscape of permits, codes, inspections, and changing legal requirements often leads to delays, increased costs, and administrative burdens.

In addition to the challenges of the regulations addressing general contractors, within Minneapolis there have been several legislative measures targeted towards multifamily property owners, such as rent increase limitations. These measures and their effects are well documented by the Minnesota Multi Housing Association https://www.mmha.com. The effect on general contractors is that this large target market now has much tighter budgets, due to the limits on return on investment in the Minneapolis metro area due to these regulations. Rather than competition from other general contractors being the biggest threat to losing a job, the feasibility of the job even happening is now the largest threat.

Other recent changes affecting the entirety of Minnesota construction is the expansion of laws regarding misclassification of employees vs. subcontractors and practices regarding signing contracts for work to be covered by insurance claims. At Allan Dorney Construction, we can see how all the changes (some might say crackdowns) could cause a shake up in the industry, however we are confident that companies with diligent compliance and attention to detail in paperwork will be rising above. We believe a number of the regulations, though tedious, are aimed at enforcing best practices which we have previously implemented.

In recent years, especially as it’s been more difficult for large investment firms to pour more funding into the Twin Cities, Allan Dorney has also been able to become eligible for projects of alternative funding sources. This is where the list of regulators grows from simply governmental law to vendor and financial institution compliance and grant compliance. Most contractors are accustomed to providing their insurance certificates, but the list of requirements can quickly grow to include sworn constructions statements, affidavits, responsible contractor verification forms, and more. Allan Dorney separates itself in not only successfully navigating our own internal team through these forms and qualifications but assisting our sub-contractor partners through the process as well. One way we have opened our company up to more opportunities is through obtaining an SBE CERT, meaning we are a certified small business entity in Hennepin County, the city of St. Paul, and surrounding areas. By taking the time and having documentation to support our claim as a responsible, fully licensed, fully insured, general contractor with a history of following through and doing things the right way, we have been able to seize certain opportunities only available through government funding and to certified construction companies. In addition to an SBE certification (Hennepin County) Allan Dorney Construction maintains a UEI (Federal projects) and NPI (MN health/disability accommodation projects) as well as a lead SAFE certification.

Even though compliance takes time and money away from all the other aspects of general contracting, we at Allan Dorney Construction have found that it pays to do things right and we have adopted several recordkeeping best practices to protect our company’s sustainability in our ever changing, ever demanding regulatory environment here in Minnesota.

Contact: Allan Dorney Construction MN, Inc.