National construction and real estate development company
Gilbane, Inc. (Gilbane) is a national construction and real estate development company based in Providence, Rhode Island. It is the parent organization of Gilbane Building Company and Gilbane Development Company. Gilbane, Inc. is a sixth-generation, family-owned business.[1]
History
Formerly known as William Gilbane and Brother, the company was founded in 1870 by William H. Gilbane and his brother, Thomas, as a carpentry and general contracting shop in Providence, Rhode Island.[2] Gilbane, Inc. remains headquartered in Providence. In 2017, Gilbane, Inc. completed a $10-million renovation of its headquarters.[3]
Operations
Gilbane Building Company
Gilbane Building Company is an American privately held construction and facility management company, with its headquarters in Providence, Rhode Island and more than 45 office locations in the US and abroad. It was founded as a family business in 1870 and officially incorporated in 1908,[4][5] Gilbane has active participation from the fourth, fifth, and sixth generations of the Gilbane family.[6] Gilbane Building Company and Gilbane Development Company are the primary entities under Gilbane, Inc.[7]
Gilbane Building Company, originally known as William H. Gilbane and Brother, was founded in 1870 by William H. Gilbane and his brother, Thomas, as a carpentry and general contracting shop in Providence, Rhode Island.[8] The company first focused on building homes and later expanded to churches, hospitals and other buildings. William H. Gilbane’s sons, William J. Gilbane and Thomas F. Gilbane, joined the company as president and vice president in the late 1930s. In 1943, Gilbane was awarded the Army-Navy “E” Award by Under-Secretary of the Navy, James Forrestal.[9]
Gilbane expanded its services and formed the development of its sister company, Gilbane Development Company, in 1970. Gilbane Development Company concentrates on real estate development, financing, construction, operations, and management.[10] In that same year, William J. Gilbane Jr. and Thomas F. Gilbane Jr. joined Gilbane Construction Company.[11][12] In 2010, Gilbane acquired two separate companies: Innovative Technical Solutions, Inc. (ITSI),[13] a California-based engineering and construction company on August 4,[14] and W.G. Mills Inc.,[15] a construction management company based in Florida on November 15.[16] In 2014, William J. Gilbane Jr. became vice chair and director of Gilbane, Inc.[17] In 2015, Gilbane Building Company named Michael McKelvy its president and chief operating officer.[18] McKelvy was appointed CEO in 2016, succeeding Thomas F. Gilbane Jr., who remained at the company as chairman.[19]
In 2016, Gilbane was named one of the top corporate charitable contributors by the Boston Business Journal.[20] In 2018, Gilbane completed improvements to Fenway Park.[21] In 2020, William J. Gilbane III was named to the Gilbane Inc. board of directors.[22] In 2022, fifth-generation Gilbane family members, Daniel M. Gilbane and Paul J. Choquette III, were named to new leadership positions with the company with Gilbane named as Managing Director and President and Choquette as Regional President.[23] In 2022, Tom Laird was named CEO and president by Gilbane Building Company.[24]
As of June 2022, Gilbane has more than 45 offices within the United States and internationally.[25] Family Business Magazine ranked Gilbane as the 78th largest family business in the United States in 2009[26] and according to Forbes, Gilbane was ranked 63rd in America's largest private companies.[27]
Notable projects from Gilbane Inc.'s subsidiary, Gilbane Building Company, include the 1964 New York World's Fair,[28] the 1980 Winter Olympics facilities in Lake Placid, New York,[29] the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C.,[30][31] and the Fenway Park clubhouse improvements in Boston.[32]
Gilbane Development Company
Notable projects of Gilbane’s other subsidiary, Gilbane Development Company, include facilities in Campustown for Iowa State University students[33] and the first “purpose-built” student housing, 257 Thayer, in Providence, Rhode Island.[34]
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