From humble beginnings in a garage to becoming a fixture in Henderson, Nevada, B&H Construction’s story is one of grit, growth, and lasting partnership. Founded in 1992 by Don Blanchard and Ray Hoffman—whose initials give the company its name—B&H quickly outgrew its early space, moving from a modest office in the mid-’90s to its current headquarters, where it’s been rooted since 1999.
Today, Ray Hoffman’s son Nick works as a project manager, having worked his way up through the business. Nick Hoffman says that many of B&H’s people have been with the company for decades and have family members of their own working alongside them, which they take a great amount of joy in. “A lot of people don’t like to mix family and business, but it works for us,” he says.
Hoffman, along with current company president Mike Wichmann, purchased the business outright in 2021 as 50/50 co-owners, following Ray’s passing due to complications from COVID-19. Wichmann had shadowed and developed a relationship with Ray, which made the move to an even partnership make even more sense. Hoffman describes the present-day business as one that continues to thrive by offering the very best to its loyal clients.
Indeed, B&H Construction has made its name in commercial and residential construction projects. In recent years, the company has concerned itself with creating affordable housing for Nevada in areas across the state, including units for the Section 3 program, which invests federal money into distressed communities across the country.
The company’s non-profit work started about a decade ago; ever since, the home-building sector in the area has expanded greatly with even more money pouring into it. “We’ve solidified ourselves as a good contractor in the space,” Hoffman says. B&H has built many apartment buildings over this stretch, including housing for seniors, disabled veterans, and those in the community most in need of affordable housing.
One of the team’s biggest projects to date has been Visions Park, comprising 100 units of affordable and accessible housing for individuals who are blind, commissioned by the Blind Center of Nevada. The project is unique to Las Vegas and, indeed, to Nevada, in that most construction projects in and around the city need to meet a minimum threshold of five percent accessibility and two percent accessibility for hearing and/or visually impaired people. However, all units in Visions Park are accessible to that end, and the company is excited to be part of communities that go beyond minimum accessibility requirements. The Blind Center of Nevada hosted a hard hat walkthrough of the build in mid-June of this year, and Visions Park is slated to open in the second quarter of 2026.
A robust roster of contractors is a must for any construction outfit, and Wichmann says that since B&H has been around for over 30 years, it has been able to carefully tailor its subcontracting partners. Typically, the contractors B&H works with are responsive individuals with a track record of quality craftsmanship—in short, people who are fully involved and invested in their jobs. The company relies on these contractors heavily for specific aspects of the work, such as plumbing or electrical. Giving a wide array of subcontractors a fair chance to bid on a project and partner with the company has been integral to the team’s success, Wichmann says, and has seen the company build a lineup that remains reliable.
As with so many construction firms today, a strong workforce is all-important to ensuring success on operations. To this end, the company has always looked for motivated people who are willing to go the extra mile. Hoffman says that working here is more than just a job, and the best part of the work is completing projects and seeing how much the tenants enjoy moving into their new living space.
Everyone takes a lot of pride in the finished product, he says—and in the fact that it is not just about making money but about moving people into their new homes. He notes that 90 percent of the company’s projects over the past five years have been connected to affordable housing, whether for the state government or for non-profits in Nevada. This sector occupies most of the firm’s workforce and continues to grow, meaning that the future for B&H is very bright.
Another value that is always kept top of mind at B&H is measured growth. Wichmann explains that, in construction, there are many opportunities that allow for specific company growth, but it was the wish of founder Ray Hoffman to be involved in the daily oversight of the company’s projects so their needs could be met by him personally. While the opportunity for more revenue exists, Wichmann believes that B&H would lose the personal engagement it has with its clients and developers as a result. Keeping with the approach of personal communication and staying fully involved allows the business to remain proactive and true to its top priority. “We’re blessed to have these customers,” he says. “They trust us to deliver, and we do.”
Of course, affordable housing has become a hot issue in North America today, which has kept B&H very busy and promises to for the foreseeable future. Wichmann asserts that Las Vegas’ housing market is underserved by a rate of about 90,000 affordable housing units, a deficit that he says likely cannot be corrected in a short amount of time. Over the past year, the affordable housing community was able to put between 2500 and 3000 units into the Las Vegas valley, an amount that just is not sustainable as the cost of living and median home price continue to rise. Land availability within Las Vegas also remains a challenge, as it is not enough to simply build more units for people to live in; they must be constructed with an intelligent use of the available land.
As 2025 moves into its second half, the company will remain focused on affordable housing, especially since Las Vegas continues to grow in both population and number of buildings. There are no signs of that growth slowing down, Hoffman says, so B&H plans to stay in its lane with two projects slated to complete construction this year. A 32-unit apartment building for the Nevada Rural Housing Authority is slated for completion in December, while Eastern Land, phase two of a 60-unit apartment building for Neighborhood Housing Services of Southern Nevada (NHSSN), will be completed in October.
Another affordable housing rehabilitation project, comprising 100 units, will take the business through summer of 2026, as will the upcoming Visions Park. The company also has negotiations ongoing with several developers, including newcomers to the client roster, to provide preliminary estimates for new developments that may shake out in the next year. Affordable housing projects are keeping B&H Construction busy for the foreseeable future, and the company is ready to take on more challenges to keep providing quality living units and buildings for people in the Nevada area who are most in need of shelter.
