2021 AUGUST 21 ISSUE BRIAN KILCUP TAKES ON VILLAGE’S PROJECTS

A construction company owned by long-time Corrales resident Brian Kilcup is working on yet another project here after converting the old Corrales Valley Fire Station into the new Planning and Zoning Office and Animal Control station. Based in Albuquerque, Kilcup’s FacilityBuild firm is nearing completion on plans for a new gymnasium at the recreation center, a two-phase project that could begin next spring. A former chairman for the Corrales Bicycle, Pedestrian Advisory Commission, Kilcup sat down for a Corrales Comment interview July 26 after a brisk bike ride through the Bosque Preserve.

He built his home along Rivera Lane in 1987 about a decade after he started a company that removed asbestos from buildings around New Mexico, the Southwest and even beyond. That business, Keers Remediation, employed 160 people at one time, and that success opened opportunities that led to formation of FacilityBuild. “Our clients were pleased, so they wanted us to replace what we had taken down,” he explained.  “That took on a life of its own.”

The construction firm specializes in commercial projects. “We decided the best way to enter the market —because there were a lot of commercial constructions already operating here— was  to establish a niche, to offer design and build construction.” Among other things, that means his firm has architects and engineers on staff. “Our teams work together: we have an architect, a cost-estimator and a project manager who work together collaboratively. “I think that’s what initially attracted the Village of Corrales.”

His first project here was the Main Fire Station’s building for a kitchen and fitness room. The fire chief had become discouraged when another firm’s cost estimates for the proposed structure were much higher than anticipated. “They had hired an architect and engineering company that  turned in plans that were way over their budget.  So they were completely discouraged, so they called us in to look over those plans to see what we could do. We designed the basics for what they wanted to their budget, and we constructed it in 2017, I think. 

“The Village liked it so much that they just recently asked us to come back and complete the second phase, which is a dormitory above the new kitchen and exercise area so that the fire-rescue personnel could sleep overnight. During the COVID pandemic, that was really important to them. They need to stay sequestered, because if they get sick, who do we have to respond to emergencies?”