Faces of Loudoun: Sunny Raheja

From Immigrant Dreams to Reality: Raheja Construction Finds Development Success in Loudoun County

Raheja Construction brings FLEX space and Historically Underused Business Zone (HUBZone) properties to life in Loudoun County. Sunny Raheja, a licensed Class A General Contractor, presides over the construction firm and provides a full-service approach to project planning, design and implementation. The family-owned company has grown over the years from humble beginnings to a successful and esteemed construction business.

“Raheja Construction started in a very organic way. Around 2014, our family bought our first commercial real estate and started to get quotes from different contractors for the construction,” said Raheja. “My dad said ‘you go learn the business because we won’t pay those prices.’ So I started learning. Fast forward to 2018, I received my commercial class A general contractor license. We officially started the company in 2019.”

At the same time, Mr. Raheja was introduced to the Loudoun County Building and Development and Loudoun Economic Development teams and began what would become long and fruitful business relationships.

“The first property my family bought was a two-unit flex condo. It was a cold-dark shell which would require a full buildout. That’s when the first interaction with Loudoun County Building and Development came. I walked in with a request for support, and the director herself came out and explained the whole process to me. She provided the guidance for us to get permits, and three months later we were fully built out,” Raheja said.

Shortly after the project was completed, Mr. Raheja began leasing the property. The lease contracts came easily, which indicated an opportunity to meet a demand in the county.

“That $1 “For Lease” sign was the best investment we ever made. We leased the property so quickly that it was an inspiration to expand. There was clearly a lucrative business opportunity in Loudoun County,” said Raheja. “We were doing the property management, so we got into real estate to learn the ins and outs of that business, avoiding expensive fees this way. Then we did the same thing with contracting. We learned how the businesses ran, and here we are, ten years later, running a construction company.”

Mr. Raheja had an MBA and was no stranger to putting in long hours to accomplish a goal. “I’ve had companies before and I’ve worked for a number of companies in the past, so I had the business acumen. From a construction standpoint, I just needed to learn on site for a few years, shadow the engineering teams and take a few classes to pass licensing exams,” he said. “It was a three-step process. First, I got my residential license, then I got improvement licenses and then the full Class A license. It took about five years for me to get all of the licensing, and I was doing it all while I was a full-time dad running a company.”

Raheja Construction has been pleased with its decision to establish in Loudoun County. From easy leasing opportunities to winning high-profile contracts, the business continues to thrive.  “We started to bid on contracts, and we won a few really nice contracts that got us started,” said Raheja. “We did our first development in 2014, followed by another in 2015. Then our family bought another piece of land that we started work on in 2019. I don’t think we would have been able to finish what we finished in the same amount of time or for the same bottom line if it wasn’t for the support we received from Loudoun Economic Development and Loudoun County Building and Development.”

Raheja Construction currently manages two FLEX spaces in Loudoun County. FLEX spaces are versatile, multi-functional buildings that can be easily adapted to meet the needs of various businesses. The TKR Industrial Park is a 24,800 sq. ft. space with eight units, 110 parking spaces and 4.93 acres of land. This project currently has seven small business tenants. The second FLEX space, TSR Industrial Park, is a 37,500 sq. ft. space with 16 units, 162 parking spaces and 4.97 acres of land. This project has 13 small business tenants.

“We are also working on a third project that is very unique. It will be on a smaller piece of land that we acquired for our own office. We switched focus when we learned what we could do with that piece of land,” mentioned Raheja. “Our plan is to build a HUBZone office space there. There’s a shortage of good office space within Leesburg especially. Since this land is within a Historically Underutilized Business Zone, it will attract many companies and businesses that strive to do business with the federal government because there are incentives that come with it.”

At least 3% of federal contract dollars go to HUBZone-certified companies each year. The government limits competition for certain contracts to HUBZone-certified businesses and gives those businesses preferential consideration. Joining the HUBZone program entitles a business to compete for set-aside contracts. HUBZone-certified businesses get a 10% price evaluation preference in full and open contract competitions as well.

Raheja Construction has seen much success since its humble beginnings in 2014 and official establishment in 2019, with plans to continue pursuing the “American Dream” in Loudoun County.

“As an immigrant, everyone comes to the U.S. with a dream. Loudoun County made ours come true and has afforded us the opportunity to make other people’s dreams come true as well.  Fast forward ten years from our start, and we have now developed and currently manage the TKR Industrial Park and TSR Industrial Park that provide a safe place for people to work, grow and support their fellow citizens,” said Raheja.

“Since we met Chris Hunter with Loudoun Economic Development in 2014, many doors have opened. He got us in front of the right people, connected us with other professionals for advice and showed us the process. Getting the right person who understands the right process is a challenge sometimes,” said Raheja. “When the right people were here for us for our first project, we made a conscious decision that if this is the type of support we’re gonna get from a jurisdiction, we want to invest there.”

Along the way, Raheja Construction has made life-long friends, supporters, business partners and well-wishers. Raheja Construction is recognized as a certified 8(a) and HUBZone firm, a small and minority-owned business, as well as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) by the Commonwealth of Virginia.