J.W. Elmer Construction Co. has found its niche, and owner Rob Elmer says he’s about as busy as he wants to be.

The company specializes in commercial remodels, historical renovations, churches, medical offices, and multifamily housing, while focusing on jobs in the $1 million to $3 million range, Elmer says.

“We’re a small company, but we’re not just doing tenant improvements,” he says.

Current projects include the $1 million-plus, six-unit Arthur Street Townhouses, at 704 S. Arthur, on the lower South Hill, and a $3.1 million, three-story addition for the Delta Gamma sorority on the Washington State University campus in Pullman.

Elmer says the company’s annual revenue has been trending upward in the last five years. The company reported for the Journal’s annual list of leading contractors that its annual revenue increased steadily from $4.4 million in 2012 to $5.7 million in 2016. Contract revenue spiked to $8.3 million in 2015, due largely to a number of renovations projects for a national medical client.

Elmer says the company’s revenue this year is on pace to top its 2016 revenue by about 30 percent.

“The last few years have been some of the best,” he says.

Besides Elmer, J.W. Elmer Construction has four employees consisting of two project managers who work primarily in the office, and two field superintendents who spend most of their workdays on job sites.

Three of the staff members are longtime employees with the company, and J.W. Elmer Construction is looking to hire a project superintendent to replace one who’s planning to focus on residential construction with another company.

“I’d like to have a couple of more people, especially in the office to give me a break,” Elmer says, adding, however, that he isn’t looking to grow the company much bigger.

“We’ve got a niche we’re comfortable in,” he says. “I don’t see a need to jump into a larger arena and try to compete for larger jobs.”

Elmer says J.W. Elmer Construction hires subcontractors for about 85 percent of its work today.

One of the biggest challenges the industry faces is finding qualified and skilled employees, he says.

“If subcontractors are struggling, it affects us,” he says. “Our schedule is set by project owners.”

J.W. Elmer Construction is licensed for contractor work in Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon.

“Were getting ready to do a job in Newport, Ore., for Fresenius Medical Care,” Elmer says.

The company also has a Fresenius remodel project scheduled this year in the Western Washington city of Shelton.

Fresenius operates a chain of 2,200 Fresenius Kidney Care dialysis centers throughout North America, including eight centers in the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene area.

“We do a lot of remodeling and new facilities with them,” Elmer says. “We did seven projects with them (in the last two years) and have two scheduled this year.”

J.W. Elmer Construction is based in a 2,600-square-foot office building it erected in 2007 at 3022 E. Boone. The company also has a 4,500-square-foot shop and equipment storage building adjacent to the office building.

Elmer, 38, bought the company four years ago from his father, Jim Elmer, who then retired. The elder Elmer founded James W. Elmer Construction Co. in 1991.

The younger Elmer, who like his father has a bachelor’s degree in construction management, began working full time for the company in 2002 after having worked summers there while growing up.

As the new owner, Elmer shortened the company name, to J.W. Elmer Construction and focused on what he calls midsized jobs rather than larger construction projects beyond the $5 million range.

Elmer says the company is a member of the Inland Pacific chapter of the Associated Builders & Contractors open-shop construction industry trade group. However, his workload prevents him from being as active in the organization as his father, who served as president of the national organization in 2010.

Looking forward, Elmer says the project pipeline is flush with job prospects.

“The phone keeps ringing,” he says. “At least for the next couple of years, we’re going to be busy. I haven’t seen signs of it slowing up.”

One project in the J.W. Elmer Construction pipeline for next spring is a 1,000-square-foot expansion of Indian Trail Animal Hospital, at the northeast corner of Indian Trail and Barnes Road, in northwest Spokane.

J.W. Elmer Construction built the current 6,000-square-foot Indian Trail Animal Hospital facility in 2015.

Elmer declines to disclose other projects that are lining up for the near future.