Lena Forsythe started Osage Hills Construction as a two-person residential remodeling operation in Bartlesville twelve years ago. The company has since grown into a mid-sized commercial contracting firm handling projects for retailers, medical offices, and small municipal buildings across northern Oklahoma, a shift Forsythe has said required rethinking the business almost from scratch.
Forsythe, who worked as a project manager for a larger construction firm before starting her own company, has said the decision to eventually move from residential remodeling into commercial contracting came from recognizing that the region's commercial construction needs were being served largely by firms based outside the immediate area, leaving an opening for a locally rooted contractor who understood the region's specific permitting and zoning requirements.
Making the Jump to Commercial Work
The transition from residential to commercial contracting required Osage Hills Construction to build entirely new capabilities, from bonding and insurance requirements specific to larger commercial projects to relationships with subcontractors experienced in commercial-scale electrical, plumbing, and HVAC work. Forsythe has described the first few commercial projects as financially thin, undertaken partly to build a portfolio and reputation rather than for strong profit margins.
That early investment, she has said, paid off as word spread among local business owners and municipal officials that a regional contractor could handle commercial-scale work without requiring clients to bring in a firm from Tulsa or Oklahoma City. Osage Hills Construction has since completed projects ranging from retail buildouts to renovations of small municipal facilities across Bartlesville and neighboring communities.
Building a Team for Sustained Growth
As the company has grown, Forsythe has focused heavily on developing project managers from within her own crew rather than hiring experienced commercial managers from outside the region, a strategy she has said reflects both a scarcity of available commercial construction talent locally and a preference for training people who already understand the community and its specific building needs.
Looking ahead, Forsythe has said she expects continued demand for commercial construction and renovation work across northern Oklahoma's smaller cities, particularly as some retailers and healthcare providers look to expand their footprint beyond the region's larger metro areas. She has described her long-term goal as building a company that can reliably handle mid-sized commercial projects without requiring clients to look elsewhere.
