Company History

Back in 2003, four friends, Tim Smith, Dave Brogan, Ross Grier, and Brian Forth, with years of experience in building, woodworking and timber framing became interested in the idea of starting a worker’s cooperative.
In 2004, that idea became Bellingham Bay Builders.

How It All Got Started

2004
Bellingham Bay Builders Founded
Bellingham Bay Builders

The four of us shared all the functions of running the business, made decisions democratically, and divided losses and profits according to the hours each worked. Founded as a timber framing contractor, Bellingham Bay Builders, was grounded in a centuries old tradition of handed down knowledge and rigorous attention to detail. With challenging installations on inaccessible islands in the San Juan Islands and as far away as Japan, we developed a robust operational system that is the foundation of our modern project management system today. With our many years in the building trades, tradition of fine craftsmanship, and rigorous project management; it was an obvious step to start offering full service general contracting.

2006
Workers’ Cooperative
Workers’ Cooperative

In 2006, we extended our services to start offering full service general contracting in addition to our timber framing. It proved to be a popular move. Our schedule quickly filled with interesting and challenging projects from historically accurate remodels to commercial TI’s to new homes. With all the extra work Bellingham Bay Builders doubled in size, and uniquely, welcomed in one of its first employee’s as its first non-founding owner.

As a values-based company and a workers’ cooperative, Bellingham Bay Builders was founded to be more than the sum of its owners. It was founded to support its owners and future owners in their creative journey into building excellence and be an everlasting example of a business model that treats all its staff with the dignity and respect that we all deserve.

2007
LEED Accredited

Starting in early 2007, following the passions of its owners, we joined with a young highly effective local non-profit, Sustainable Connections, (an excellent advocate for local, living economies) in support of their new Green Building and Smart Growth Program. In so many ways it spoke to our hearts and continues to, to this day.

Around this same time we decided to make an active effort to deepen our understanding and application of building science while making better high performance buildings. By sending two staff members, Dave Brogan and Dave Ghan, through the US Green Building Council’s rigorous LEED Accredited Professional training and credentialing process we quickly updated our best practices for “typical” buildings and identified ways to push the high performance envelope. Just a year and a half later as the great recession came crashing in, we started construction on our first LEED for Homes gold-certified project. Building beautiful homes with attention to energy efficiency, durability, and healthy indoor environments proved to make better spaces and as a bonus seemed to be recession-proof. Bellingham Bay Builders continued to grow responsibly; hiring more future owners and strengthening partnerships with the excellent local design community.

2010
High Performance Building

In 2010, through a dynamic revisioning process, we reaffirmed our commitment to our cooperative structure and our focus on values before profit. The benefits of our cooperative structure continue to be many; for the company, its families, and especially its clients. During this process, with a consensus driven approach, we retooled our Mission Statement and Guiding Principles

The following year brought two important changes and continued growth. First with the awarding of a state grant of a blower door and other energy auditing tools as well as the opportunity to send, Jeff Mack, through the Building Performance Institute’s Building Analyst training. We were and are delighted to be able to offer comprehensive building envelope testing and whole house energy efficiency assessments. In combination with our work and passion for high performance building, the testing equipment has given us the ability to test the effectiveness of envelope assemblies and our air sealing efforts. Secondly, and notably one of the most rewarding, was moving our office and home base into the Alley District neighborhood of Downtown Bellingham. Besides eliminating many wasted hours driving between our old county office and our typical Bellingham projects, it placed us in the heart of the community we love and call home.

2014
Net Zero Home

In the intervening years we have continued to responsibly grow to serve our clients’ needs, take on more interesting and challenging projects, further develop our project management systems, and support our staff in their personal development goals. In 2014, we were very excited to start our first net zero energy custom home, inspired by the principles of the passive house movement. We will be closely monitoring the performance of this house over the next couple years and will be incorporating many of the tricks we learn into our future practices.

2019
Passive House
Twin Peaks Passive House

In collaboration with [bundle] design, we became the first to build a certified Passive House in Whatcom County. Known as the Twin Peaks Passive House + ADU, these structures were designed and built to remain resilient in the face of natural disasters. This home’s journey began with a desire to design and build a house that meets the rigorous standards of Passive House. Before beginning the design/construction process, the homeowners had already spent countless hours researching ways to minimize their carbon footprint.

2020
Covid-19

Like much of the world, our company faced significant challenges and changes during the Covid-19 pandemic. We were fortunate to resume work after a brief two-week shutdown, allowing us to keep our crew employed through a difficult time. Though nothing felt “business as usual,” we adapted — implementing social distancing, temperature checks, and participating in countless video calls — and continued doing what we love most: building energy-efficient, durable, and comfortable homes for our clients.

A hard lesson learned during the pandemic was just how deeply we rely on our connections — with our employees, our clients, our industry partners, and our community. The disruptions to those relationships reinforced our guiding principles and reminded us that our work is about more than just construction; it’s about building community, both within our company and beyond it.

2021
BTC Fund
BTC Fund

During 2020, we participated in a panel discussion on the Building Bellingham Podcast with Chuckanut Builders & A1 Design Build about construction during the pandemic. The discussion quickly pivoted to equity, diversity and inclusion, specifically in the local building trades. As a group, the conversation continued even after the panel ended and eventually these discussions led to the creation of the Building Diversity Endowment.

Through this endowment, at Bellingham Technical College, funds will be made available to full-time, BIPOC students who reside in Whatcom or Skagit Counties and are working toward a degree in clean energy, welding, HVAC, AutoCAD or as an electrician. We were grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the effort that went into creating this endowment and are thankful for the continued partnerships with A1 Design Build and Chuckanut Builders. We are heartened and inspired by our fellow community members that continue to push for equity and recognize that there is still much work to be done.

2022
New Office

In 2022, we took ownership of the Red Cross building on King Street in the Sunnyland neighborhood and transformed it into our new home base. What began as an interior renovation aimed to provide a more collaborative work environment evolved into a complete reimagining of the space—designed to meet the needs of our growing team today and well into the future. The front exterior also received a major upgrade, blending modern aesthetics with enhanced durability to withstand the demands of our Pacific Northwest climate. The result is a space that reflects who we are as a company—functional, resilient, and built to last—and one we’re excited to call home for many years to come.

2024
Turning 20
Turning 20

2024 marked a remarkable milestone—20 years in business as a worker-owned cooperative. From our humble beginnings with a group of four friends and big ambitions, we’ve grown into a respected name in the construction industry in Whatcom County, known for our craftsmanship, collaboration, and commitment to doing business differently. As a worker’s cooperative, every member has a voice and a stake in the success of our company, fostering a culture of shared responsibility, pride, and purpose. Over two decades, we’ve built more than just homes and buildings—we’ve built a community grounded in fairness, transparency, and respect for both people and the planet. We’re proud of how far we’ve come and excited for the decades of cooperative growth and innovation ahead.