Our History
1957
Our Founder, E.J. “Jimmy” Zarelli
Merit Company was established in 1957 by one of Tacoma’s most notable civic leaders: The late E.J. “Jimmy” Zarelli. As Merit Company grew to prominence as one of the region’s premier commercial contractors, Jimmy passed his belief in attentive service and no-nonsense solutions down to his son Len. As Len joined his father in the early 1970s, Merit began to diversify into a much wider range of construction projects, including schools and commercial projects.
1967
Iconic Landmark
Fife’s original landmark restaurant, The Poodle Dog, was one of Merit’s first renovation projects and was also owned by our Founder, Jimmy Zarelli and his partner. The two partners worked the restaurant twelve hour days, seven days a week so that the place never closed. Jimmy’s dedication and drive were consistently modeled for his employees and expectations were high. Zarelli’s solid work ethic still lives on and can be felt through the employees at Merit today.
Image courtesy Tacoma Public Library, A45387-4
1980
A New Generation of Leadership
Len took over the helm of the business in the 1980’s, he also expanded Merit’s market presence into churches, restaurants, and financial institutions. As he made the decision to separate the real estate holdings from the construction entity, our name changed to Merit Construction Northwest.
1983
The “Team-Build” process is born
As the company grew, Merit expanded its services to include and perfect the “team-build” construction concept, a process which they pioneered during the construction of the Tacoma Dome in 1983. The Tacoma dome is Merit’s most notable example of the success of the “team-build” process
2014
A New Partner
Tammy Birklid becomes a Partner. Tammy joined Merit in 2007 and brought with her over 20 years’ experience in business management, cost accounting, human resources and financial controls within the construction industry. She began managing the day to day operations of the firm in 2012 and became a partner in 2014. Together with Len, Tammy continued to build on the foundation provided by Jimmy Zarelli.
2020
Women Owned Business
In January 2020, with Len’s blessing and continued support, Tammy became the sole owner of Merit Construction. Along with this change, Merit rebranded to more accurately depict who we are; in doing so it was critical to both honor our past and inspire our future. Tammy continues to build on the knowledge and experience she receives from Len and remains dedicated to living out Merit’s vision of building the future of our communities.
