Dakota Durden
Hear how a local Comfort family has influenced the Building of Kendall county across the generations. Learn about Grit Co. and what sets their work apart in the Texas Hill Country. Meet Dakota Durden.
As a humble product of a teacher and an engineer Dakota’s roots are in construction, design, and agriculture. A small-town guy from Comfort, Texas, he spent his youth growing a deep regard for, and relationship with, the Texas Hill Country and the folks here. With most of Dakota’s family in ranching, farming, and engineering, he gained an affiliation for ‘ranch-engineering,’ elemental materials, appreciation for humble and effective design, and above all, a passion for the work. He began building things as a child with his parents and grandparents and started framing custom homes at age twelve.
While attending Texas A&M’s construction science and business schools for college, Dakota gained a love of leadership when he resurrected the AGC (Assoc. General Contractors) Student Chapter there. Starting with a base membership of 6, he graduated after leading the group to over 200 students, gaining sizeable contributions for the department, and becoming the largest student-run organization in the College of Architecture.
After graduating Texas A&M in 2008, Dakota returned to the San Antonio region where he was blessed with exposure to tough projects. Albeit a painful four years, his experience through that time that is one of the reasons he’s been able to tough it out these years growing GRIT Co.
In 2012, Dakota started the firm, focused on commercial construction and design, and by 2015 the team was placing over $55 million in volume. In 2017, he bought out all shares to become the sole owner and CEO, and more importantly to pivot towards the diverse firm GRIT Co. is today. Shortly after, Dakota ventured into luxury homes. He built the Creative division of GRIT Co. to support design efforts for both commercial and residential projects, and to stand up on its own providing a variety of very cool design services like digital art, websites, brands, advertising, and marketing. After recognizing a demand for qualified high-end wood scopes services, the millworks shop, and self-performance teams were added. Having their very own custom shop elevates GRIT Co. with an unparalleled ability to design custom work, and provide superb, high-quality craftsmanship. The flexibility to design and build at this level, at times on the fly, is a resource set that almost no other design and construction firm can offer.
