Services Consulting CEO Michael E. McKelvy Number of employees 2,000 | Revenue $4 billion (2007) Founded 1873 Founder William Gilbane | |
 | ||
Industry Construction Management, General Contracting Number of locations 25+ Offices in the US
Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Michigan, Illinois, California, Washington, Oregon, Texas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina Key people Thomas F. Gilbane, Jr. (Chairman )
William J. Gilbane, Jr. (COO)
Robert V. Gilbane (President of Development) Michael E. McKelvy (CEO) Products Preconstruction Consulting
Logistics Headquarters Providence, Rhode Island, United States Profiles | ||
Gilbane building company
Gilbane, Inc., based in Boston, Mass, is a family-owned, national construction and real estate development company. Forbes ranked Gilbane as the 108th largest privately held company in the United States in 2006 with estimated revenues of $2.83 billion.
Contents
- Gilbane building company
- Notable Projects
- Allegations of Gilbane Public Ethics Violations and Improper Bidding
- References
Gilbane Building Company is one of the nation’s oldest builders. The company was founded in 1873 by William H. Gilbane and his brother Thomas as a family-run carpentry and general contracting shop in Providence, Rhode Island. Originally known as William H. Gilbane and Brother, the firm quickly developed, building some of the homes in Providence. New projects soon followed, including churches, hospitals and other public buildings that are still in use today. Today, fourth and fifth-generation members of the family lead the company, which has more than 50 offices worldwide. Paul J. Choquette, Jr., son of third-generation family member Virginia Gilbane Choquette, is vice chairman of Gilbane Inc. Thomas F. Gilbane, Jr. is chairman and CEO, and William J. Gilbane, Jr. is vice chairman of Gilbane Building Company. Robert V. Gilbane is chairman and CEO of Gilbane Development Company. Michael McKelvy is CEO of Gilbane Building Company.
Gilbane has been family owned and operated throughout its entire history. The Harvard Business Review says customers prefer family run companies.
In the early 1900s, William H. Gilbane took control of the company and steered it through the lean times of the Great Depression. In the 1930s, his sons Thomas F. Gilbane and William J. Gilbane joined the company and made Gilbane’s reputation as a pioneer in construction management — first with major defense projects during World War II, and then with the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, which opened on time and budget in Washington, D.C. on July 4, 1976. In 1970 Gilbane expanded its services and formed the development of a sister company known as Gilbane Development Company.
Leadership
Gilbane Building Company named Michael McKelvy its new president and chief operating officer in 2015. McKelvy went on to be named CEO in 2016. He is the first non-family member to hold those positions since the company’s founding in 1873.[2]
Notable Projects
During the past two decades, Gilbane has completed a number of notable public projects including:
- Lake Placid Winter Olympics Facilities, Lake Placid, NY
- Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington D.C. The Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Fund (VVMF), incorporated in 1979, was a nonprofit organization created to establish a national memorial, in Washington, DC, to honor and recognize American veterans of the Vietnam War. On July 1, 1980, the government, by a unanimous joint resolution of Congress, authorized the VVMF to establish the memorial on two acres of national park land in Constitution Gardens near the Lincoln Memorial in 1982.
- Smithsonian Institution's National Air & Space Museum, Washington D.C.
- The National Archives, College Park, MD
- US Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the Department of Energy, New Orleans, LA
- O'Hare International Airport, Terminal 5, Chicago, IL
- Union Station Restoration, Washington D.C.
- U. S. Department of Justice, Washington D.C.
- World War II Memorial, Washington D.C. A memorial built in 2004 to commemorate service to World War II veterans on The Mall in Washington DC. The memorial includes two entry arches, a wall of commemorative stars, a water feature, lighting and engraved stone to honor those who have served.
- US Capitol Visitors Center, Washington D.C.
- George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, TX
- Prudential Center, "The Rock" New Jersey Devils Arena, Newark, NJ
Family Business Magazine ranks Gilbane as the 64th largest family business in the United States.
Engineering News Record ranked Gilbane Building Company as the 5th largest construction manager in the United States in 2007.
Allegations of Gilbane Public Ethics Violations and Improper Bidding
Over the last 15 years, Gilbane Building Company has been involved in a number of cases involving allegations of government ethics violations or improper bidding for public work. In four of these cases, public officials were charged with accepting improper gifts from Gilbane while the firm was either performing work for their agency or pursuing a contract for work with the agency. As a company, Gilbane itself has only been charged in a couple of these cases, and one was dismissed on a technicality. However, government officials in California, Arizona, Connecticut and Ohio have been terminated, caused to resign, and/or faced civil penalties in connection with ethics scandals involving Gilbane. And in one instance, a former Gilbane executive admitted to lavishing public school district officials with gifts, avoiding felony charges only by agreeing to a plea deal. This trail of public corruption raises serious questions about Gilbane and its methods of procuring public works jobs. The cases include:
According to one press outlet, “Amigable’s expense reports to Gilbane Building Co. show that he brought various Sweetwater officials to [a San Diego fine-dining establishment] at least 18 times, spending more than $8,000 on the officials in the months leading up to Gilbane being unanimously awarded a three year $7.5 million contract.”
According to the San Diego County District Attorney’s office, other gifts Amigable produced for Sweetwater officials while working for Gilbane in 2006 and 2007 included dinner and drinks at various restaurants; as well as tickets to a San Diego Chargers football game, to two different showings of the musical “Jersey Boys” at the San Diego Civic Center, and to the Rose Bowl football game. The latter allegedly also came with a two-night’s stay for two officials at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles.
By pleading guilty, Amigable avoided felony charges of offering a bribe and obtaining a thing of value to influence a member of a legislative body. He was sentenced to three-year’s probation, a $1,000 fine and 100 hours of community service. In 2014, the Sweetwater school district filed a lawsuit seeking the return of $26 million in taxpayer funds paid to a joint venture of Gilbane and SGI Construction pursuant to construction contracts awarded around the time of Amigable’s alleged illicit gifts. In February 2016, a California appeals court denied the motion of Gilbane and SGI to dismiss the case on the ground that the gifts constituted protected free speech and ruled that the school district has “demonstrated a probability of prevailing” on its claim.