McKinley Building Corp.

Mckinley “Ken” Dull is president of McKinley Building Corporation. Since founding Mckinley in 1992, Ken has grown the company to become Wilmington’s leading, locally-owned, commercial builder with over 300 projects to date. Ken graduated from North Carolina State University with a bachelor of science in civil engineering with a construction option. During his time at North Carolina State University, Ken interned with several engineering firms and was an active member of Lambda Chi Alpha. After college, he moved to Winston Salem and worked for Landmark Builders as a project manager and design engineer.

Ken is a certified professional engineer and has his North Carolina general contractor building license. In addition, Ken has served on numerous civic and professional boards including Cape Fear Rotary Club where he was a Rotarian for over 20 years and he received “Rotarian of the Year” in 2008. He was also chairman of the New Hanover County Planning Board and the City of Wilmington Planning Commission. Ken was a member and president of the Wilmington Contractors Association and served on the board of Wilmington Housing Authority/Housing & Economic Opportunities, RBC Bank, National Society of Professional Engineers, North Carolina Professional Engineers, Cape Fear Academy, and various committees with Cape Fear Country Club.

He has been a past recipient of the Council for Entrepreneurial Development’s annual “Outstanding Economic Impact” Award. His successful business philosophy is founded on “quality, value, and attention to details” and every day to engender “a high-performance culture” and “always expect the best from those around you.”

Ken has lived in Wilmington since 1987. He is married to Vicki Dull, executive director of the Harrelson Center in Wilmington. They have two daughters: Madison Elizabeth and Catherine Leigh. They are members of the First Baptist Church where Ken serves as a Deacon.

Inside and out, the detail of the work was superior.

W. Keith Betts

Executive Vice President, Crescent Bank

It was above and beyond our expectations. The Model we want to use for all future branches.

David Parker

Eastern North Carolina Regional President, Park Sterling Bank

I could not be more satisfied with the finished product.

John Best

Best Uniforms

I would highly recommend this company to any business with any type of commercial building needs.

Steve Anderson

The Offices at Mayfaire, LLC

My wife and I are really appreciative to McKinley Building Corporation for their assistance in helping us build our practice. I can say, without reservation, that if someone asks me about commercial contractors in the area, I would respond the same as my friend, “If I ever build more space, I won’t take bids, I’ll just call McKinley.”

Robby Adams, MD

Coastal Behavior Sciences

Inside and out, the detail of the work was superior.

W. Keith Betts

Executive Vice President, Crescent Bank

It was above and beyond our expectations. The Model we want to use for all future branches.

David Parker

Eastern North Carolina Regional President, Park Sterling Bank

I could not be more satisfied with the finished product.

John Best

Best Uniforms

I would highly recommend this company to any business with any type of commercial building needs.

Steve Anderson

The Offices at Mayfaire, LLC

My wife and I are really appreciative to McKinley Building Corporation for their assistance in helping us build our practice. I can say, without reservation, that if someone asks me about commercial contractors in the area, I would respond the same as my friend, “If I ever build more space, I won’t take bids, I’ll just call McKinley.”

Pete Avery is McKinley’s vice president of administration and has been with the company since April of 2004. After graduating from East Carolina University with a bachelor of science in urban and regional planning and a master’s in public administration, he gained experience in several positions. For nearly three years, he was the town planner of Wake Forest, NC, served as a senior planner for New Hanover County for over 14 years, and was the director of land development at Nick Garrett Development Inc. for five years.

Pete’s insight and dedication to the industry have been a direct result of his extensive experience of dealing with federal, state, and local governments and understanding how to navigate through them to get permits needed for practically any kind of construction project. His specialties include pre-construction services (design coordination and permitting), a service that many local general contractors do not offer. He knows that the importance of his role at the company relies heavily on ensuring that pre-construction tasks have been completed so that a building permit can be issued in a timely manner. He prides himself on his ability to clear hurdles early in the pre-construction process that otherwise would derail the start of construction if overlooked.

Pete stays extremely involved in local organizations such as Business Alliance for a Sound Economy (BASE) Wilmington and Wilmington Cape Fear Home Builders Association. He also actively supports The Harrelson Center and served one term on the Wilmington Planning Commission. He is currently serving on the New Hanover County Inspections Department Advisory Committee and the Cape Fear Community College Construction Management Technology Advisory Committee. His efforts to stay Involved reach far more than just committees, but local and foreign missions as well.

Matthew is our director of preconstruction services. He graduated from East Carolina University with a bachelor of science and a minor in business administration. His extensive knowledge led him to work for Bill Clark Homes, Mckee Homes, and H & H Homes. Matthew’s 10 years in construction and eight years in preconstruction have been crucial to the growth of McKinley’s business. Matthew makes a great effort to give back and participate in his community by working with the local YMCA and his church.

Utilizing the skills and experiences he acquired both in school and in his professional career, Matthew now prides himself in contributing to the strong communication between subcontractors and vendors to ensure the customer’s experience is as timely and cost-efficient as possible. He devotes himself daily to ensure his customers are getting the best prices possible along with the highest quality. Matthew believes that clear communication, hard work, being a team player, and paying close attention to detail are all skills that are critical to a strong organization.

Besides his accomplishments at work, he is most proud of his family and winning his football fantasy league back to back years in a row! When he’s not in the office or field, Matthew and his family are outside. They are avid campers, traveling all over the country to camp, hike, and kayak. They have been to 12 different states to camp, and plan on many more.

Ashley Nicole joined McKinley’s team as a project manager assistant in May of 2019. She entered the construction industry in 2005 and has learned everything to date by being hands-on in the field and office. One of her biggest accomplishments is not having a college degree, but gaining all of her knowledge and abilities from working in various industries of construction including commercial, federal, state and private construction.

Her role to help customers subcontract purchase orders, change orders, invoices, submittals and closeouts make her a valued member of the McKinley team. She feels that the business stays true to what Ken, the owner, values most, “Building on a strong foundation.” She believes firmly in the value of starting strong relationships with clients from the beginning to end, giving back to the community, and supporting local businesses’ dreams. This is clearly demonstrated outside of work with her dedication to the CREW and IMPACT Group. She is also a part of Goodworks, Friends of Felines and Carolina Coastal Community Hurricane Relief Fund.

Ashley is also a cat mom and aunt to Riley Rae. She loves all things fall such as camping, bonfires and the kickoff of the holiday season.

Brandon Lisk has been connected to the commercial pre-construction and commercial construction management industry for 23 years. He graduated from East Carolina University with a bachelor of science in industrial technology with a concentration in construction management. A licensed North Carolina general contractor, Brandon has successfully completed several projects for McKinley. Brandon possesses many strengths in his management, but an indispensable one is his ability to make the customer’s experience easier than they expected. Brandon is consistently recognized in the field for his high level of communication, specifically between the preconstruction and construction services.

Outside of work, Brandon enjoys spending time with his wife and two children. He’s especially keen to the rare occurrences that low humidity hits Wilmington, and he also enjoys watching football.

Chad Hodges joined the McKinley team as project manager, with nearly 20 years of construction experience. He has exceptional expertise in managing projects and schedules while maintaining client operations. His educational and professional background have contributed to his extensive knowledge and experience in all phases of a building construction project. Several notable projects Chad worked on include Live Oak Bank, Sawmill Apartments, and First Baptist Church Activity Center. Chad is OSHA certified and received his bachelor of science in construction management from East Carolina University.

Keri is McKinley’s controller with more than 25 years of experience in both public and private accounting. With her bachelor of business administration in accounting and CPA, Keri feels that her expertise is in keeping track of the finances and QuickBooks. Her attention to detail, accuracy, and organization are vital to keeping track of the finances for McKinley.

For the past eight months, she has worked with McKinley and seen first hand the solid reputation of professionalism and quality work they’ve done. She’s proud to work for a company made up of hard-working people that are always looking to do the best job they can. Her favorite part of the job is working for the construction industry itself and working on various projects with different deliverables and timelines.

If Keri had an extra hour in the day, she would spend it going to the beach, boating, reading and with her husband, son, dog, and cat.

Stephen Nunn has claimed the title of project manager at McKinley since 2016. Stephen holds a bachelor of science in industrial technology with a concentration in construction management and a minor in business from Appalachian State University. Stephen brings over 20 years in the construction industry to McKinley. His experience is primarily with construction management and cost engineering for various private, federal and state clients. He is also LEED-certified and an active member of the U.S. Green Building Council.

Stephen works with clients at every stage of the process. From the conception phase of a project to overseeing it until full completion – this is one of his favorite parts of the job. His specialty is having the ability to see the project through with the owner and making plans or conceptual ideas and providing clear pricing and budgets, that fit within the clients’ needs. He prides himself on maintaining project costs to the estimated budget and completing projects on time. Stephen felt a great deal of satisfaction after the NHRMC Parking Deck and Pedestrian bridge project was the most rewarding project he’s been a part of. Maintaining client relationships by managing their project as if it he were the owner, is a mindset that Stephen brings to work daily. He believes that McKinley provides a small, family relationship with expertise and ability to complete projects in the 50 plus million dollar range.

When he’s not on the job he enjoys fishing, golfing, boating, and spending time with his wife and three children. Being a former football player for App State, you can find him cheering his team on Saturdays during college football season.

Watson graduated from East Carolina University in 2001 with a bachelor of science in construction management. He joined the McKinley team in 2016 and brought 18 years of experience in the construction industry with ten plus years of experience holding roles as a project manager, assistant superintendent, assistant project manager, sales representative, and account executive. His primary role at McKinley is to lead the project team to achieve customer goals. He believes that building long-lasting relationships with customers is his most important role at the company because strong relationships with clients, subcontractors, and suppliers are what ultimately lead to a successful project.

In his free time, he enjoys being with his wife Amy and two children Emma and Thomas. Outside of work you can find Watson golfing, being outdoors, fishing and hunting.

Andrew is our expert in all things financial and new business-related. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Andrew brought his 12 years of commercial banking experience and two years of focus on commercial real estate to McKinley as our business development officer. He was named Wake Forest University Banking School Distinguished Graduate in 2018 and Eagle Scout of the Boy Scouts of America. Andrew has also dedicated his time to serving on many boards including Airlie Gardens, Step Up Wilmington Board of Directors, Wilmington Downtown Inc, Great Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame, Lower Cape Fear Hospice Board of Trustees, Wilmington Chamber of Commerce Leadership program and as a First Presbyterian Church Youth Basketball coach.

Andrew has always believed that the success of a business begins with a culture focused on ethics, people’s safety, and quality. He understands that McKinley is just that: a values-driven organization that gets to know the customer, their business and their needs to help them achieve success with their building project. Because of these key values, Andrew feels we’ve delivered over 300 successful projects on time and on budget.

Outside of work, you can find Andrew running half and full marathons and spending time with his wife, Mary Jane. He also enjoys cooking, golfing and any music as long as he’s at a concert.