General Info

Founded in 1855, The Weitz Company is the oldest construction firms west of the Mississippi. Descended from a small carpentry shop founded in 1855 by an entrepreneurial German immigrant, the company grew up not just with the construction industry, but with the nation as well. It predates the Civil War, the telegraph in Iowa, dynamite, and the transcontinental railroad. The company built the first high-rise west of Chicago in 1908. During the Great Depression, Weitz became a leader in federal projects, building post offices in 42 states. In 1960, the company went international by building grain storage in East Pakistan and other developing countries. In 1964, it built its first retirement community, Lakeview Village in Lenexa, Kansas. With that project, Weitz began developing the specialty systems and processes that today position the company as the leading retirement and continuing-care builder in the United States. Weitz opened offices in Phoenix and West Palm Beach, Fla., between 1980 and 1985.