The father hoped that the company he built would be handed over to his children. It is not easy for construction companies to build a solid reputation regardless of whether it has been around for 20 or even 30 years.
Fortunately for him, his son observed the operation of the company rather naturally. He soon began expressing his interest in the field after learning computer-aided design during high school.
Just as the patriarch studied architecture in South Korea, the son also majored in architectural design at Southern California Institute of Architecture. They had compatible dreams. For the last 10 years, the father and son are dreaming of an even bigger future as a company’s founder and manager, respectively.
Cal-City Construction Inc., located on Norwalk Boulevard in Cerritos, is a company founded in 1985 by Woo-sung Lim, 63, who was also the 36th chairman of the L.A. Korean Chamber of Commerce.
Having entered its 33rd year, Cal-City Construction is aiming to generate a revenue of $50 million. That is excluding its subsidiary firm, which only focuses on government-funded projects. As the construction business has taken off in recent years, Cal-City is also taking on a number of prominent projects.
“We’re actively involved in building apartments, condos, storage properties and more in Downtown L.A. and Koreatown,” Lim said. “We also work a lot with the Vietnamese community, so we’ve been asked to work there as well. As online businesses are trending nowadays, building storage properties has also been one of the hottest businesses. We’re currently building a 67,000 square foot storage room in Torrance and another 170,000 square foot one in Chino Hills. Libraries in L.A. and UC Riverside dormitory are also what we’ve been working on. Hyundai Motor’s testing facilities in Northern California has just finished.”
Lim’s son James, 35, has helped his father as a manager to seek various deals with companies looking to build storage spaces. Lim hinted that Cal-City is now looking to enter the Chinese community.
“The storage property in Chino Hills is an exclusive deal that I was able to negotiate successfully,” said James. “It will be a tilt-up construction. Work has become fun now that I was able to strike a deal and was recognized for it.”
Tilt-up construction is a methodology that architects use to built components of the property first and then assembling the pieces together afterward.
Lim founded Cal-City only four years after he moved to L.A. from Korea. His first office was in L.A. Koreatown on West Washington and La Brea.
“Architects flourished during the 80s,” Lim said. “We also built many shopping centers and apartments in Koreatown. We also took part in building the San Pedro Wholesale Mart, which is the symbol of the Korean-run jobber market. However, the riots in 1992 really stunted the growth of the real estate market in Koreatown. Personally, I had to sell a 32-unit apartment we built for only $500,000 after spending $2.4 million to build it.”
Nonetheless, the L.A. riots gave Lim a chance to shift his attention to the peripheral areas of the city. He realized that diversifying his stream of income was the only way to survive.
It is tricky for construction companies to take on government-funded projects, but Lim was able to sign the contracts thanks to the trust he has built with his clients.
“As I built on my experience, I was able to expand the business into building libraries, community center, and L.A. city housing. I’ve been recognized enough now to build U.S. Army bases.”
Government-funded projects do not offer big revenues, but it does provide stability. That is also how Cal-City was able to rebound from the riots.
The mortgage crisis in 2007 made life even harder for construction companies, but Lim attributes his resilience to the credit he has built with the government. During his time as the L.A. Korean Chamber of Commerce, he held a seminar to share his knowledge about taking in government projects.
Lim now hopes that his son could inherit the business. He not only wants James to grow the business exponentially, but also wishes that Cal-City can establish itself as a Christian corporation.
A deacon at Sarang Community Church of Southern California, Lim is a devout Christian. He has been the chairman of the church’s body that has offered scholarships to students for eight years.
James admitted that he understands the importance of working with people after seeing his father leading the employees for decades.
Having learned how construction works for seven to eight years since graduating college, James has developed a wide network of clients. Since two years ago, he has familiarized himself with office work and has established his own presence within Cal-City.
Aside from James, Lim also has a 30-year-old daughter Janet, who is a CFO of an online apparel business.
Son stresses “change,” father considers “reality”
A dream grows amid arguments and convincing
James is dreaming big. His aspiration surpasses his dad’s, which is to strengthen the brand of Cal-City.
“I’d like to run a real estate developer company one day,” James said. “A developer could find a land and build a building that we want to build. However, buying a land is not something you could do on loans. You have to invest your own capital. I believe that it’s something Cal-City can do if I continue to grow it in a right way.”
That has been the biggest conflict between Lim and James. A change is a necessity if Cal-City is considering its long-term plans, said James.
“James wants the company to invest more in human resources,” said Lim. “He wants the new employees to have more benefits and to be provided with a clearer vision of the company.”
In addition, James wants Cal-City to use time-lapse cameras to record every aspect of its constructions. However, Lim remains cautious about investing heavily.
James also does not simply ignore the reality.
“This is an ongoing conflict I’m facing with my father,” James said. “Through this process, I get a better understanding of my father and the company. It makes me work harder. It reminds me to realize how much I want to improve this business.”
It is not just conflicts that the father and son deal with. At times, James sees a side of his father which he has never seen before.
Lim said, “I’m proud to see my son when I see him working through piles of paperwork.”
James added: “I used to feel pressured about meeting my father’s expectations. I once stress myself with how I’m going to overcome my father’s wealth of experience. Now, I’m surprised by how generous he is and I’ve come to respect him.”
The father and son relieve their stress together by playing golf. They compete fiercely against one another.
“We often start with a bet,” James said, laughing. “But we always never follow up after the game is over. We end up talking so much about family and business, and the outcome of the game becomes negligible in the end.”
By Moonho Kim
