Building Nashville in 2024: An Interview with Andrew Eshelman, Founder & President of Eshelman Construction

Interviewer/Writer: Emma Tarp

From 2022 to 2023, Eshelman Construction saw a remarkable 100% increase in revenue year over year, and the commercial contractor is on track to achieve 50% growth in 2024. In line with its growth trajectory, Eshelman Construction has made some strategic additions to its team, including three high-level professionals, one executive and two management leads.

Eshelman Construction completed several impressive projects in 2023, demonstrating the company's versatility and expertise across various sectors, from hospitality and retail to residential construction. Its pipeline for Q2 2024 is equally impressive, reflecting a diverse portfolio that includes ground-up construction, hospitality, and adaptive reuse projects that meet the evolving needs of the Nashville community.

We recently sat down with Andrew Eshelman, the Founder and President of Eshelman Construction, to discuss the latest wins and what's next in 2024 and beyond.

Emma Tarp (ET): "At Eshelman Construction, you have seen an insane level of growth from 2022 to 2023 with a 100% increase in revenue. I would love to hear about some wins from that past year and how you think you were able to achieve that level of growth."

Andrew Eshelman (AE): "My main role in the company is managing business development. It's taken the past seven years to really get that ball rolling because when I first started, potential clients were asking, 'Ok, what have you done?' and I would say, 'Well, with this company, I did this, this, and this…' and they're like, 'No, no, no, no. What have you done on your own?' But I was just starting out."

"Obviously, trust is always important, but having that resume and a lot of referrals that we can point back to really helps legitimize us. I don't think that it was like, 'Oh, we just had 100% revenue growth in one year.' I think of it more like a four or five-year process. You reap what you sow, and we've been planting the seeds for years now, and all of a sudden, the seeds are sprouting, and everything's blooming at once."

ET: “You’ve brought on three new team members in the past year. What value do you think these new additions to your team are offering your clients and your process?”

AE: "Since we've bootstrapped this business, it's not like I could just go and hire 10 people and then hit the ground running with business development and backfill the schedule. We've had to hire people as we need them. We're very fortunate that we've hired three people in the last year, year and half."

"There's Brandon Schmidt, our executive vice president; he's done a great job streamlining our operations and internal processes and procedures. Then, we hired Cary Tisdale, our senior project manager, and Micah Estes, our superintendent. Micah and Cary combined have probably 40-plus years of construction experience. They've been doing it for a long time, longer than I have. They know the Nashville market really well; they know all the vendors, they know the subcontractors, and they know the building inspectors."

"It's been cool for me to be able to learn from them, asking, 'How have you guys done this in the past?' or 'How did you address this with other companies?' And they'll also come to me, asking, 'How do you want us to handle this? Here's how we did it at our old company, but I don't think that makes sense. Is there a way that we can do this that is more efficient?' It's great being able to bounce ideas off each other, it's very collaborative. It feels amazing to be able to give our clients the experience base and network of all of us combined."

ET: "There seem to be some common themes about your industry being very relationally based. Have you noticed any patterns in your feedback from the people you work with, whether they're clients or different contractors or partners, about what it's like to work with you and what's helped you reach this level of success over the past seven years?"

AE: "Reputation is very, very important, and that's something that we all take seriously. Here's the thing, though: we're not perfect. Nobody is perfect. And it's a very imperfect business. You're dealing with so many different vendors and so many subcontractors. It's inevitable that something is going to go wrong, and it's not about what happened— it's about how we are going to make it right and fix it."

"I think that we've done a good job of owning it if we legitimately screw up. If there's an impact on the budget, there have been cases where we've eaten the additional cost because it's the right thing to do. It sounds simple, but doing the right thing and treating people the way I would want to be treated. At the end of the day, these are partnerships, and how we treat each other matters."

ET: “You’ve done some really exciting projects in the past year. Barrel Proof and n o t e Nashville are some memorable examples. Could you tell me about one or two recent projects that you’re particularly proud of and feel like exciting additions to your portfolio?”

AE: "Yeah, absolutely. n o t e is a big one, it's a really special project to me. It had a lot of moving parts, and we managed the project from beginning to end. We put the deal together, managed the various partners, found the building, came up with the concept, drafted designs, got financing, and then actually built it and turned it over to property management."

"It was a logistically difficult project. Adaptive reuse is a niche that we've gotten into for better or worse. They're cool projects, but they're also difficult. In this case, the building was built in 1901, and it had a bunch of structural issues. There was groundwater coming up from the basement, and there were constant leaks we were chasing down. And then, being downtown on a zero-lot-line, there was nowhere to store equipment or materials. You could only bring in the material as you needed it. We had to bring in one truckload, build all that before we could bring in the next truckload."

ET: “And you were recently up for a second ULI Award for n o t e, as well, right?”

AE: "Yeah! Obviously, we wanted to win, but the nomination itself was a big deal. Since we've turned it over to the property manager, we've received incredible feedback on n o t e. The people that have stayed there have really loved it. You're close to everything, you're right downtown. And there are so many cool features with the exposed brick, the original historic windows, and everything else we preserved."

"Honestly, we spent a lot of time, effort, and money to preserve and restore those original elements of the building, and I think that the pictures speak for themselves. When I was in the middle of it, I was swearing and banging my head against the wall, but now that we're on the other side, I'm really proud of how it turned out, and I think it's a stellar representation of the kind of work that we do."

ET: “You’ve reached a point in your business where you’re able to start saying no to projects that aren't the right fit and curate your resume in a certain direction. Are there any exciting projects on deck for the rest of 2024 and beyond? What are you prioritizing as you take on new clients and projects?”

AE: "One of my primary focuses going forward— and one of the reasons that I started the company to begin with— is real estate development and leveraging the construction company for that. Obviously, we're still a construction company for hire, and we will build your projects. But real estate development is a passion of mine and a priority for the future of Eshelman Construction."

"We've got a couple of fun projects in the pipeline that we're not ready to talk about quite yet. Generally, we're working with local groups here in Nashville that are doing cool, boutique type of projects. A lot of adaptive reuse, a lot of mixed-use neighborhood-oriented projects. You know, part residential / part retail or part restaurant. We're really trying to focus on those kinds of engagements going forward and finding the right clients that are a good fit for the kind of work we excel at and like to do. But, of course, regardless of project type, the most important thing to us is building relationships and collaborating with the kinds of people with whom we can have successful working partnerships."

If you are building in the greater Nashville area and looking for a reliable, full-service construction partner, Eshelman Construction is here to help. Contact us today to share your vision and learn more about how we can bring it to life.