T.F. Harper & Associates

What T.F. Harper & Associates does

T.F. Harper & Associates LP is a privately held Texas construction contractor founded in 1974 and headquartered in Buda near Austin, with a second office in Rowlett serving the Dallas-Fort Worth market. The firm operates two related service lines: a General Construction division delivering Job Order Contracting (JOC), Design-Build, and new building construction under delivery methods including Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) with open-book subcontractor cost transparency; and a Parks & Playground division supplying commercial-grade playground equipment, splash pads, shade canopies, sports courts, dog parks, and site amenities paired with professional installation, maintenance, and emergency repair services.

The company's primary customers are Texas municipalities and independent school districts, supplemented by a small set of commercial accounts such as Hyatt Lost Pines and Mercedes-Benz. Projects are won primarily through competitive public procurement — JOC task orders, Design-Bid-Build, Design-Build, and CMAR bids — and span parks, playgrounds, splash pads, school site improvements, secure vestibules, athletic facilities, and small commercial structures. Splash pad installations range from approximately $100,000 for basic flow-through systems to over $500,000 for custom recirculating parks, with project-based pricing and recurring maintenance contracts layered on top.

T.F. Harper earns revenue as a professional services contractor with pay-as-you-go billing on individual task orders and multi-year CMAR Guaranteed Maximum Price contracts in which unused contingency is returned to the owner. Marketing is conducted through educational blog content, organic social media, and an extensive project portfolio targeting government decision-makers, with a dedicated Project Bids page as the bottom-of-funnel channel. The firm employs 11-50 people across its two offices and has no disclosed funding rounds, institutional investors, parent company, or AI/ML capability.

Name

T.F. Harper & Associates

Legal name

T.F. Harper & Associates LP

Website

https://tfharper.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

T.F. Harper & Associates is a Texas-based Design-Build general contractor founded in 1974, serving municipalities and school districts across Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth with parks, playgrounds, splash pads, and JOC construction services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Construction Services

NAICS

Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413), Landscape Architectural Services (541320)

SIC

General Bldg Contractors - Nonresidential Bldgs (1540), Construction - Special Trade Contractors (1700)

akta.pro primary industry

Post, Footing & Foundation Work for Outdoor Structures (HSAIAJAL)

Keywords

• Municipal construction services
• Parks and playground installation
• Job order contracting
• Design-build construction
• School district construction

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Construction Contracting Services: Professional services revenue from construction projects for municipalities, school districts, and commercial properties. Includes new building construction, design-build, and job order contracting. Revenue is project-based, typically earned through competitive bidding processes or pre-established JOC contracts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

T.F. Harper & Associates is a Texas-based Design-Build General Contractor providing construction contracting services for municipalities, school districts, and commercial clients. The company delivers parks, playgrounds, splash pads, shade structures, sports courts, recreation centers, and new building construction through Job Order Contracting (JOC), Design-Build, Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR), and Design-Bid-Build delivery methods across the Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth markets.

Product overview

T.F. Harper & Associates operates as a full-service construction firm offering two distinct service portfolios. The General Construction division provides Job Order Contracting (JOC), Design-Build, and New Building Construction services primarily for government, educational, and institutional clients. The Parks & Playground division offers a comprehensive suite including commercial playground equipment, shade structures, splash pads, sports courts, and dog parks, paired with professional installation and maintenance services. The company serves the Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan areas in Texas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Job Order Contracting (JOC) A competitively bid, indefinite-delivery construction contracting method that enables rapid project execution through pre-negotiated unit prices for frequently needed construction tasks, primarily used by municipalities and school districts for ongoing and emergency work.
• Design-Build Construction An integrated construction delivery method providing both design and construction services under a single contract, streamlining project delivery for government, educational, and institutional clients.
• Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) A delivery method offering open-book cost transparency through Guaranteed Maximum Price contracts, where the CMAR fee, contingency reserves, and subcontractor costs are fully visible to the owner and unspent funds typically return to the client.
• New Building Construction Ground-up construction services for new commercial, municipal, and institutional facilities including site development, structural construction, and finish work.
• Parks & Playground Products and Installation Commercial-grade playground equipment, shade canopies, splash pads, sports courts, dog parks, site amenities, and related products paired with professional installation, maintenance, and repair services for municipal parks, school districts, and community facilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• JOC contractor mobilization within 24-48 hours after storm damage
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• GameTime: A leading US commercial playground and recreation equipment manufacturer that also offers turnkey installation and park planning services. Direct overlap with T.F. Harper's parks and playground equipment + installation business across municipal and school-district customers.
• Landscape Structures: Designer and manufacturer of commercial playground equipment and park amenities with deep public-sector expertise. Directly comparable to T.F. Harper's playground equipment, splash pads, and park-amenity installation scope for cities and ISDs.
• PlayCore: A recreation-industry company that pairs park/recreation planning and design with equipment supply and installation. Closely tracks T.F. Harper's combined 'planning + products + install' offering for public-sector park clients.
• Kompan: Global playground and outdoor fitness equipment manufacturer with a North American commercial installation footprint. Comparable to T.F. Harper's specialty park-equipment supply and install lines targeting municipalities and schools.
• Miracle Recreation Equipment: Manufacturer and installer of commercial playground, fitness, and park equipment serving municipalities, schools, and developers. Closely matches T.F. Harper's parks-and-playground equipment-supply-plus-installation line of business.
• BCI Burke: Commercial playground, site furniture, and outdoor recreation equipment company with full turnkey installation services for parks and schools. Directly comparable to T.F. Harper's playground and park amenity offering.

Regional players

• SpawGlass Contractors: Texas-headquartered general contractor with strong public-sector, K-12, and parks-and-recreation projects across the state. Directly comparable geographic and customer overlap with T.F. Harper's Texas municipal/ISD construction work.
• Alpha Building Corporation: Texas-based design-build general contractor serving K-12, higher education, municipal, and commercial clients. Comparable to T.F. Harper on design-build delivery for Texas public-sector construction.

Broad incumbents

• Sundt Construction: Large, established employee-owned general contractor with significant Texas building and public-sector work. Overlaps T.F. Harper's general construction scope but operates across multiple states and broader end markets.
• Big-D Construction: Large US commercial general contractor with public-sector and institutional building work in Texas via offices statewide. Comparable on design-build for schools and municipalities but at significantly greater scale than T.F. Harper.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/tfharper
• Facebookfacebook.com/TFHALP
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tf-harper-assoc
• Instagraminstagram.com/tfharperassoc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about T.F. Harper & Associates