As Bob and Steve Lawson stood side by side overlooking downtown from the 16th floor of the Truist Building, it gave the father and son time to reflect on all that Lawson Cos. accomplished throughout the past 50 years.

The company, started by Bob Lawson in 1972, relocated its corporate office in May from a 10,000-square-foot office on South Boulevard in Virginia Beach to almost double the size on Main Street in Norfolk. The move takes the real estate development, construction management and apartment property management firm back to the city where it started and where many of its projects were completed.

“We were within a stone’s throw of almost half a dozen properties that he’s been involved in,” Steve Lawson, chairman of the company board, said. “As we looked out over the horizon, we could pick out more and more properties we’ve been fortunate to be a part of — either build, renovate or manage.”

The patriarch of the family, now 82, is fully retired from the business he founded following a stint in the Navy and tour in Vietnam. Originally from Chattanooga, Tennessee, Bob Lawson comes from a generational family of builders and makers. Love brought the elder Lawson to Hampton Roads where he and his wife raised their five children.

Steve Lawson earned his Master of Business Administration from Duke University, his parents’ alma mater, worked his way up in the company and spent 17 years as president.

“I did not have a goal to go into the family business,” Steve Lawson said.

Enthralled by his father’s reputation in the business and community, he said he saw the magnitude of the opportunity, poured his heart and soul into it and hasn’t looked back since.

Carl Hardee, who joined Lawson Cos. 31 years ago, stepped into the role of president and CEO in 2016.

“Our mission is to positively impact people and that’s the purpose of why we’re in business,” Hardee said. “It’s very rewarding that we’re doing the right thing to help others.”

Hardee said the company went from doing one new development deal a year with 75 to 120 units to 1,300 apartments in their development pipeline and more than 700 apartments under construction throughout the state. To date, the company has built about 1,000 homes and close to 10,000 new apartments.

In the past two years, Lawson Cos.’ portfolio includes two local, state and national award-winning communities in Hampton Roads: Seaside Harbor Apartments in Virginia Beach and The Retreat at Harbor Pointe in Norfolk. On the management side, the company oversees slightly more than 4,600 apartments.

Steve Lawson and Hardee both emphasized that their 220 employees are the company.

“We get a lot of intrinsic satisfaction out of what we do,” Steve Lawson said. “We build things that you can touch, feel and see when they’re done.”

As a developer, Lawson Cos. also works to meet a major need in the region: affordable housing. Putting that puzzle together — from funding sources to tax credits and supply chain issues to cost pressures — is difficult but extremely satisfying when families move in, he said.

“The need for affordable housing, I don’t think, has ever been greater than it is right now,” Steve Lawson said. “Our goal is to try to make an impact.”

“And we hope our residents’ home experiences are the best they have,” Hardee said.

Sandra J. Pennecke, 757-652-5836, sandra.pennecke@insidebiz.com