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After leaving an indelible mark on numerous projects and people, Hoffman Construction Executive Vice President Bart Eberwein has retired. He spent 32 years at the company spearheading sustainability efforts, business partnerships and professional mentorships.

鈥淚 think his legacy, as you look back, is seen in a lot of firms where they are today,鈥� O’Neill Construction Group President Maurice Rahming said.

Rahming worked with Eberwein for over a decade to help bring attention to minority-owned firms.

鈥淵ou can see the imprints of what he advocates for permeate through the industry,鈥� Rahming added.

The construction industry for a long time had a blind spot, Eberwein said, and members of the BIPOC (black, Indigenous people of color) community were underrepresented.

鈥淲e still have a long, long way to go,鈥� he said, but added that he is proud of the work that unions, company leaders, Hoffman project managers and superintendents have done to make diversity, equity and inclusion a key indicator in a project’s success.

Faye Burch is the designer of equity programs, coordinator of DMWESB (disadvantaged, minority-owned, woman-owned and emerging small business) and SDV (service-disabled and veteran) programs, and principal at F M Burch and Associates Inc. She worked with Eberwein for over 20 years.

鈥淏art and I tackled some really tough problems together that would have been insurmountable and have done a lot to open up Hoffman to work with minority women businesses,鈥� she said.

Eberwein would always have ideas because he touched the industry in so many places, Burch said.

Over the years, he worked with the American Institute of Architects and the Architecture Foundation of Oregon. At times the efforts seemed 鈥渟emi-masochistic,鈥� Eberwein said, because of the countless hours spent participating in board meetings, calling donors and arguing into the night about 鈥淚 forget what.鈥�

Looking back, the challenges and drama of erecting a building forged solid friendships.

鈥淎rchitects are, by nature, nostalgic about the future,鈥� Eberwein said. 鈥淭hey see things fully formed and lived in and useful. And society is better for it.鈥�

The Seattle Central Library is one of his favorite Hoffman projects. It is an incredibly beautiful urban sculpture that elevates learning, exploration and discovery, he said.

OHSU’s Doernbecher Children’s Hospital is another Hoffman project that Eberwein considers an architectural marvel. The building was constructed over a canyon.

鈥淏ob Frasca (late founding partner of ZGF Architects) reared back and threw a Hail Mary pass and Hoffman caught it,鈥� he said.

But Eberwein can’t forget the project that changed the trajectory for Hoffman Construction, which was founded in Portland in 1922. It was the early 1990s and the firm was chosen to perform a small, $12 million cafeteria expansion for a large, California-based tech company. Along the way, the client asked Hoffman if it could do something bigger 鈥� like a giant factory 鈥� because it wasn’t happy with the customer service and performance provided by its previous contracting partner.

That opened the door to Hoffman constructing many advanced technology, high-performance buildings as well as data centers.

鈥淚t makes the highlight reel because of this seminal lesson,鈥� Eberwein said. 鈥淔irst you work on building the relationship, then you get to build the buildings.鈥�

Another career highlight for Eberwein was when then-Hoffman Construction President and CEO Wayne Drinkward challenged his employees to respond to the Phil and Penny Knight challenge in 2013 to put OHSU at the forefront of cancer research, Eberwein said. The Knights pledged to donate $500 million to the Knight Cancer Institute if OHSU could raise an additional $500 million.

Hoffman is a large company, and a lot of people have been touched by cancer in some way, Eberwein said. All of Hoffman’s employees stepped up to participate, and the company matched their contributions; Drinkward then matched that. Around $4 million went to OHSU to help revolutionize early cancer detection and treatment.

During the challenge, Eberwein’s son was battling leukemia and was able to overcome it.

鈥淲e got to live our values and be part of the war on cancer,鈥� Eberwein said.

Outside of the office, Eberwein has served on boards for the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, the Oregon Symphony, the Oregon Arts Commission, and Literary Arts. He plans to continue his community involvement.

Also, Eberwein was appointed by Canada as an honorary consul. He will work to enhance the trade relationship between Oregon and Canada.