Wayne Contracting: Building Meaningful Spaces, Preserving Oklahoma’s Legacy, and the Prairie House

Oklahoma City has always been a place where builders, dreamers, and doers come together to create something lasting. For Wayne Contracting, a locally owned construction management and general contracting firm, that spirit of collaboration and community pride defines both their work and their purpose.

Founded and headquartered in Oklahoma City, Wayne Contracting has built a reputation for delivering projects grounded in clarity, craftsmanship, and trust. Their portfolio ranges from restaurant and office renovations to community - driven nonprofit facilities - projects that all share one goal: to build spaces that matter.

“OKC has been an incredible place to grow,” says company owner Jake Hugo. “There’s a strong sense of connection here. Every project is an opportunity to contribute to the city’s story and partner with people who care deeply about what they’re building.”

Projects That Reflect Purpose and Partnership

Wayne Contracting’s recent work showcases both range and intention. The Miller Architecture | Development office was an exercise in collaboration and precision, building for a client that shares the same respect for process and detail. “It was rewarding to construct a space that reflects the very creativity of the team that designed it,” says Hugo.

The Bar Serra restaurant, owned by the McNellie’s Group, designed by Fitzsimmons Architects, and located in the award-winning Phillips Murrah Building, blends design, function, and experience into a cohesive whole. From custom finishes to thoughtful detailing, the result is a space that feels both sophisticated and welcoming. “Restaurants are personal,” Hugo explains. “They’re meant to invite people in. Our job is to make that vision real in every sense - from the texture of the materials to the way the lighting feels on opening night.” Bar Serra is set to welcome its first guests this month.

The company’s work with the Neighborhood Services Organization (NSO) has been especially meaningful. Projects like the Palo Duro Shelter and the Carolyn Williams Center support housing for those in need. “Those projects remind us why we build,” Hugo says. “It’s about creating safe, dignified places that help people move forward.”

Preserving an Oklahoma Icon: The Prairie House

Among Wayne Contracting’s most inspiring current efforts is their collaboration with the Prairie House Preservation Society on the Master Plan with collaborating with Michael Hoffner of Hoffner Design Studio, Shane Hood of Align Design Group, and led by Lila Cohen from PHPS to restore and preserve architect Herb Greene’s legendary Prairie House in Norman. 

Completed in 1961, this extraordinary cedar-clad home is one of Oklahoma’s most significant mid-century works of organic architecture. With its sculptural form, fluid geometry, and deep connection to the surrounding landscape, the house rose out of the prairie, a poetic expression of Greene’s belief that architecture should be informed by its environment and reflect the history of its site. The Prairie House stands as both an artistic and cultural landmark, a symbol of imagination and an Indigenous-rooted sense of place.

Time and weather have left the wooden structure vulnerable, and without intervention, the masterpiece could be lost. The Prairie House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was recently named to Preservation Oklahoma’s 2025 Most Endangered Places list (https://preservationok.org/most-endangered-places-2025). The designation underscores both its cultural importance and the urgency for action.

The long-term plan envisions the Prairie House as a living educational and community resource, where people can experience the enduring vitality of Oklahoma’s organic architecture firsthand.

As part of the master planning team Wayne Contracting is bringing expertise in planning, sequencing, and constructability while helping ensure the restoration stays true to Greene’s original intent. Wayne Contracting has also stepped forward to support the Prairie House capital campaign, helping to spark community momentum and encouraging other Oklahoma businesses to join in. The first priority of the restoration focuses on protecting and stabilizing the structure is estimated at $130,000. 

“This isn’t just a restoration,” says Hugo. “It’s a chance to protect a piece of Oklahoma’s creative legacy and ensure it continues to inspire. Working with Lila, Michael, and Shane on the planning process has been a tremendous opportunity to bring preservation expertise and construction insight together.”

Across the state and country, support for the Prairie House is growing in a race against time to preserve a building that captures individual creativity, imagination, and connection to the land. With local leadership, design, and philanthropy aligning, the effort to save the Prairie House reminds us that the most meaningful spaces aren’t only built; they’re protected.

To learn more or to support the Prairie House capital campaign, visit prairiehouseok.org.

Building with Transparency and Intention

Wayne Contracting’s approach to building centers on partnership, purpose, and fairness. The company engages early in the design process, when creative decisions and budgets can have the most impact, helping clients and architects align expectations, explore options, and avoid surprises later in construction.

“Our goal is always to bring structure and clarity,” Hugo says. “We build with intention, we communicate openly, and we treat every project like it matters, because it does.”

These principles: own the outcome, build with purpose, and lead with fairness, have earned Wayne Contracting the trust of clients and collaborators across Oklahoma City.

Rooted in OKC, Building Toward the Future

As Oklahoma City continues to grow, Wayne Contracting remains committed to shaping its next chapter, one project, one partnership, and one meaningful space at a time. Whether restoring a historic landmark, crafting a new restaurant environment, or building facilities that serve the community, the company’s goal is simple: deliver projects that reflect trust, craft, and purpose.

“Oklahoma City has been good to us,” Hugo reflects. “We’ve been fortunate to work on projects that make a difference, to the people using them and to the community around them. Our hope is to keep contributing to that growth and to keep doing work we’re proud of.”

For Wayne Contracting, the story of building in Oklahoma City isn’t just about construction, it’s about stewardship of relationships, craftsmanship, and community. And with projects like the Prairie House master planning effort in Norman, that story is only beginning to unfold.