Lisa Chapman-Rosa has taken her small Richland company from $40,000 a year in jobs to completing nearly $22 million in projects annually. And after landing a $42 million project about a month ago, Total Site Services expects the upward trend to continue.

“I have to keep pinching myself,” Chapman-Rosa said. “It is our largest contract to date.”

Total Site Services and its joint venture partner, Garco Construction of Spokane, were the low bidders on a design-build project originally sent out for bid in late 2012. The finished project will be phase 3 of the Brigade Combat Team Complex at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma.

“We are so excited to be able to build a beautiful facility for our military personnel,” Chapman-Rosa said. The contract was awarded by the Department of Defense and the Army Corps of Engineers for the construction of barracks for 324 enlisted soldiers.

The three housing facilities will include information systems, anti-terrorism measures, fire protection, alarm systems, intrusion detection systems and energy monitoring control systems. The project also includes site development, utilities and connections, lighting, paving, walks, curbs and gutters, storm drainage, landscaping and signage.

Total Site Services and Garco officials recently traveled to a “teaming meeting” to launch the project’s start with representatives from all the involved groups walking through their vision of the project.

“The Corps hires a company to lead the meeting. It’s a great deal because we talk about potential pitfalls, conflict resolution and everything related to the project,” Chapman-Rosa said. “It’s a neat way to get to know your subs and U.S. Corps of Engineers staff on the other end of the emails.”

Chapman-Rosa opened Total Site Services in 2007 with “a handful of staff.” Today, she employs 21 full-time employees. The company also hires craft union workers.

“I had no idea it would grow like this. My dream was to build a legacy for my sons out at Hanford. I’ve been blessed by the team we put together at TSS,” Chapman-Rosa said. “My rule is to always hire people who are much smarter than me.”

She’s quick to credit the company’s success to her entire team. “I couldn’t be more proud of the work we’ve done. My team at TSS is the best; I’m nothing without them.”

One of Chapman-Rosa’s sons now works at TSS. “I hope my younger children will follow the same way,” she said.

Prior to winning the military housing contract, Total Site Services’ largest project was the $16 million operational readiness training center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

“The joint venture with Garco Construction out of Spokane has given us a resumé and portfolio of successfully completed jobs. We couldn’t have done it on our own,” Chapman-Rosa said. She anticipates more than 100 people, including subcontractors and 15 TSS staff members, will work on the barracks project.

The project’s design phase will last about six months, and the entire project about two years. The scope will incorporate sustainable design features and TSS has a goal to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, silver certification, a certification program for buildings that guides design, construction, operations and maintenance toward sustainability.

Total Site Services has achieved silver certification on five projects, and has earned two LEED Design Excellence awards in the past.

Past projects include an athletic complex, equipment storage buildings, multipurpose machine gun range, access corridors, barracks, aircraft hangars, barge moorage and other facilities.

Since graduating from the federal 8(a) program which helps small disadvantaged businesses compete in the marketplace, Total Site Services has worked with the cities of Richland and Pasco and the Sunnyside School District, among others.

“We’re branching out now for other municipalities. We’re bidding now ‘on the other side of the fence,’ as we started a civil division and are often bidding on that type of work,” Chapman-Rosa said.

Chapman-Rosa recently finished state and federal Department of Transportation certifications. The company is now certified with DOT as a disadvantaged business enterprise, or DBE, and a woman-owned disadvantaged business enterprise, or WDBE, company.

“We look forward to working on DOT transportation infrastructure, roadway and construction projects,” Chapman-Rosa said. “We also take pride in self-performing civil site work, concrete and carpentry on our projects.”

Being awarded the Joint Base Lewis-McChord contract is a dream come true, Chapman-Rosa said. “A project of this size truly is a feather in our cap and to be improving the lives of our military members is great,” she said. “We’re just really thankful. It was a great surprise. Both Garco and TSS are very excited to do a project for our military.”