Westward Alliance invests in construction startup

Private equity firm Westward Alliance LLC is investing in a construction startup.

This month, the company partnered with former DeWitt & Associates Inc. project manager Cody Ritter to launch Base Construction & Management LLC.

Ritter, who worked with DeWitt for eight years, said the company officially launched Sept. 1. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Serving as president, Ritter said the firm would function as the construction arm of Westward Alliance.

First on the docket is Base Construction’s headquarters at 620 W. Republic Road, a former Murney Associates, Realtors office owned by Westward Alliance owner Ryan O’Reilly, Ritter said. The firm expects to move in to the property by the end of the year after a “several hundred thousand” dollar renovation is complete, he said.

Base Construction, which would share profits with Westward Alliance, is a full-service construction management and general contracting firm targeting retail and commercial projects.

Also on Sept. 1, Westward Alliance closed on the purchase of the central U.S. territory rights of national brokerage firm Murphy Business & Financial Corp. Other recent investments include BYOPizza and Aviary Cafe and Creperie LLC, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.