Newly Rebranded Skyline Construction Is Revitalizing San Diego's Workplaces

San Diego’s commercial construction landscape is evolving, as is one of its general contractors in the commercial interiors space. This month, Prevost Construction changed its name to Skyline Construction, aligning the San Diego-based firm with its parent company to create a unified presence across all of its locations in Southern California, Northern California, Washington and Illinois.

This strategic move offers owners and tenants a seamless experience while enhancing access to Skyline’s extensive resources and expertise, said Rene Olivo, Skyline’s president for California.

“Skyline Construction is known as the contractor of choice for tenant improvement projects,” Olivo said. “Our team acquired Prevost back in 2022. The name change signifies the final step in our planned transition, consolidating under one brand to offer a higher level of client service, innovation and expertise throughout Southern California.”

Skyline’s portfolio spans industries such as law, technology and finance, along with hospitality, life sciences and senior living. The company has built a reputation for delivering sophisticated tenant improvement projects across the country.

Olivo and Skyline Project Executives Dominic Tate and Dustin Johnson walked Bisnow through what they are seeing in the San Diego market, the approach they take to commercial interior projects and the company’s plans for expansion.

Tenants Taking The Lead

The life sciences sector is still in a downturn following the pandemic gold rush. While San Diego remains a biotech hub, vacancy rates for lab space have risen, and developers are shying away from speculative projects. This has inspired building owners to invest in strategic upgrades to attract and retain tenants.

“We’re seeing developers go the extra mile to create spaces to attract tenants,” Tate said. “Tenants have the pick of the market and are taking the lead on what they want.” 

The commercial office market is seeing the same dynamic.

“The high turnover is giving landlords the opportunity to revitalize their assets,” Johnson said. “They are building out new amenity spaces, refreshing lobbies and updating bathrooms to create environments that feel fresh, modern and attractive to tenants.”  

With plenty of empty office spaces, tenants can take their time and heavily negotiate the specifics of their lease. Much of today’s market movement is being driven by lease expirations.

Preconstruction Expertise

One of the key advantages for owners is Skyline’s early engagement in the preconstruction process, which helps streamline decision-making and maximize tenant improvement allowances, Tate said.

Skyline collaborates closely with tenants and their brokers to provide detailed cost analyses, enabling informed financial decisions well before lease expiration. This approach supports both expansion opportunities and the consolidation or restacking of existing space.

By involving Skyline early, tenants can draw on the team’s preconstruction expertise, proprietary software, historical database and strategic guidance to make informed financial decisions while negotiating tenant improvement allowances with their landlord, Olivo said.

Skyline generates quick cost profiles based on square footage and a tenant’s stated preferences for interiors ranging from technical wet and dry labs to law firms and creative spaces, Tate said.

“This helps clients hone their upfront budgets and negotiate the right terms with more information at their fingertips,” Johnson said. “We include what the cost drivers are. The recommendation serves as a menu of options, helping clients prioritize what’s really important in their office transition.” 

Expansion Mode 

With its established offices across California, Washington and Illinois, Skyline is expanding its footprint. Expansion plans are in the works to bring forth new offices in Downtown San Diego and Orange County.

“We’re in hiring mode as we’re seeing real momentum in the market,” Olivo said. “We expect San Diego and the Bay Area to exit the downturn earlier than other U.S. regions.”

Skyline isn’t waiting for the market to dictate its next move, he said. Instead, it is investing now — in talent, technology and infrastructure — to stay ahead of the curve.

“We’re making strategic investments today so that when the market fully rebounds, we’re in position,” he said.

Employee-Owned Advantage

A key component of Skyline’s success is its ownership structure, namely, the fact that the company is owned by its employees, Johnson said. 

“This translates directly to the customer services our clients receive,” he said. “Everyone is working towards a common goal rather than just coming to work to collect a paycheck.”

The structure fosters collaboration, innovation, long-term thinking and a focus on client satisfaction across all levels of the organization. It also helps Skyline attract and retain the industry’s best talent, he said.

“Everyone is invested in the success of our client's projects and is willing to help out,” Olivo said. “The employee-ownership model empowers teams in the field to think critically and find creative solutions to complex construction challenges. It’s not just coming from the top. Everyone rolls up their sleeves to get the job done.”

This article was produced in collaboration between Skyline Construction and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.