Mill Construction Co.

For three generations and 70 years, Mill Construction has provided quality construction services to businesses and residents throughout the Salinas Valley, California, and Arizona.

After years of learning his craft from a Salinas-based contractor named Ernest Lunt and getting his own contractor’s license, Thomas H. “Tommy” Mill founded Mill Construction in 1949. With an initial focus on custom residential homes and cabinets, the company thrived in the post-WWII era and Tommy was able to purchase the property on Clark Street where the business is still bustling today. Keeping it in the family, Thomas. D “Tom” Mill, Tommy’s eldest son, grew up with the ambition to become an architect.

After receiving an Associate degree in Architecture from Hartnell College in 1951, Tom moved to the University of California, Berkeley, where he discovered his true passion – engineering. After graduation and many years of experience gained in the bay area, Tom was ready to join his father back in Salinas and take over the reigns of Mill Construction in 1966. Under Tom’s leadership, the focus of the business shifted from residential to commercial and industrial buildings. The third generation of the Mill family became involved in the business when Tom’s second son, Ernie, joined the Mill Construction team in 1985.

After earning his degree from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and working for several years building high-rise structures for Pacific Construction in Hawaii, Ernie and his wife decided to return home to Salinas before the birth of their first child. Even having to prove himself in the family business, Ernie quickly moved into a managerial position and became President after his father’s retirement in 1995. The turn of the century brought about even greater growth for Mill Construction, as many grower/shipper clients needed facilities built in their winter growing region, Yuma, Arizona.

To accommodate this business, Mill Construction permanently established an office in Yuma in 2004, which still handles all types of commercial and residential projects throughout southwestern Arizona. Looking back to their roots, Mill Construction has again begun to build custom residential homes throughout the Salinas Valley. Whether commercial or residential, the basic principles of business established by Tommy — quality, integrity, and service — are key to the many years of future success and the many satisfied clients that Mill Construction will continue to serve.