Gilford Corporation

What Gilford Corporation does

Gilford Corporation is a Beltsville, Maryland-based civil engineering and general contracting firm founded in 1984 by Henry Gilford. The company began as a civil engineering practice in 1984 and expanded into full-service general contracting in 1994; today it is a privately held, African American and Veteran-Owned commercial general contractor with 11–50 employees operating across the Washington/Baltimore metropolitan area and internationally for select federal clients. Its service portfolio spans general contracting, construction management (agency and at-risk), design/build, design-bid-build, pre-construction (cost estimating, value engineering, scheduling), site work, and interior fit-out, delivered across Federal, Commercial, Faith-Based, Non-Profit, Institutional, State/County, and Hospitality market sectors.

The firm's core differentiators are its portfolio of minority business certifications (DBE, SWaM, LDBE, MBE) and 40+ years of past-performance credentials on landmark projects including the Washington Monument restoration, the MLK Jr. National Memorial, the NIST Advanced Measurement Laboratory, the FAA's air traffic control facilities, and a 31-story Capital One headquarters tower at Tysons Corner — projects on which Gilford has frequently participated as a joint-venture partner to larger national contractors (Clark, Turner, Davis, Tompkins, Hamel, Kinsley, Centex, PN Hoffman). Revenue is earned project-by-project under fixed-price, cost-plus, or construction management fee structures, with project values historically ranging from approximately $8 million for fast-track renovations to portions of multi-billion-dollar federal campus developments pursued via joint venture.

Commercially, Gilford pursues work through competitive bidding on government RFPs and IDIQ contracts (notably FAA) and through direct engagement with commercial, institutional, and faith-based clients; its marketing is anchored on a project gallery website and reputation-driven referrals from repeat clients and joint-venture partners. The leadership team remains founder-controlled: Henry Gilford serves as CEO overseeing strategy, estimating, and business development, while Ollie Gilford serves as President managing day-to-day operations and external stakeholder relationships.

Name

Gilford Corporation

Legal name

Gilford Corporation

Website

https://gilfordcorp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Gilford Corporation is a Beltsville, Maryland-based African American and Veteran-Owned general contractor founded in 1984, providing design/build, construction management, and general contracting services to federal, commercial, institutional, and hospitality clients across the Washington/Baltimore region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Beltsville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. General Contracting Services: Gilford generates revenue through providing general contracting and construction management services for federal, commercial, faith-based, non-profit, institutional, state/county, and hospitality projects. Revenue is project-based, earned through fixed-price contracts, cost-plus contracts, or construction management fees on projects ranging from small renovations to major new construction valued at over $50 million.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Gilford Corporation is a general contracting and construction management firm that delivers commercial, institutional, federal, state/county, hospitality, faith-based, and non-profit construction projects. Its core work covers new construction, renovations, interior fit-outs, and site work for projects ranging from small renovations to facilities valued at over $50 million, delivered through design/build, design-bid-build, agency construction management, and construction management at-risk methods.

Product overview

Gilford Corporation is a small, African American and Veteran-Owned commercial general contracting firm that provides engineering and construction services. The company operates as a single unified service offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. Core offerings include General Contracting Services (the primary service), Construction Management Services, Design/Build Services, and Design-Bid-Build delivery methodologies. These are supported by service modules including Pre-Construction Services, Site Work Services, Interior Fit-Out Services, Contract Administration Services, Cost Management Services, and Quality Control and Assurance. The company serves Federal, Commercial, Faith-Based, Non-Profit, Institutional, State/County, and Hospitality market sectors throughout the Washington-Baltimore Metropolitan region and internationally. Project delivery approaches include design/build, design-bid-build, agency construction management, and construction management 'at-risk' services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• $500,000+ construction cost savings on $32 million CSC project
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• James G. Davis Construction CorporationmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Joint Venture partnership for Capital One Headquarters 31-story tower project at Tysons Corner. Gilford led site work efforts while Davis/Gilford team constructed the 940,550 sf base building. Also partnered on AARP Foundation Facility Modernizations and UNCF/Progression Place projects.
• McKissack and McKissack, Turner Construction, Tompkins BuildersmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011MTTG Joint Venture for the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial - a four-acre crescent-shaped memorial on the National Mall featuring sculptural likeness of Dr. King, granite Stone of Hope, and 450-foot inscription wall. Gilford provided logistics support for 1,600 metric tons of granite and 30-foot statue assembly.
• Clark ConstructionmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerClark Construction/Gilford Corporation Joint Venture served as General Contractor for NIST Advanced Measurement Laboratory (AML) - 536,507 sf, one of the most technologically advanced buildings in the world with stringent controls on particulate matter, temperature, vibration and humidity.
• Tompkins BuildersmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint Venture of Tompkins Builders and Gilford Corporation served as General Contractor for PGCC Center for Health Sciences - 112,071 sf building with laboratories, smart classrooms, auditorium, and campus-wide data center.
• Hamel BuilderscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint Venture of Gilford Corporation and Hamel Builders served as general contractors for Solea Condominiums - 86,000 sf LEED Gold mixed-use development with 62 condominiums, 3,600 sf ground floor retail, and two levels of below grade parking.
• Kinsley ConstructioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGilford/Kinsley Construction Joint Venture for MGM National Harbor Employment Center - adaptive reuse of abandoned elementary school for casino employment/training center and Prince George's Community College Dealer School.
• CentexcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCentex-Gilford Joint Venture completed projects at Dulles International Airport including Main Concourse Renovation, Baggage Tunnel Phase 1, Southeast Baggage Basement, and East Baggage Basement as part of MWAA's $3.5 billion expansion.
• PN Hoffman, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGilford Corporation and PN Hoffman, Inc. purchased the historic Mather Building for redevelopment as Mather Studios Loft Condominiums. Gilford Construction served as General Contractor for the 10-story, 78,400 sf gothic style building converted to 52 luxury loft condominiums.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Coakley & Williams Construction: DC-metro general contractor with strong federal and institutional portfolio, similar size and client mix to Gilford. Operates as a comparable mid-sized regional general contractor in the Washington/Baltimore corridor.
• Smoot Construction: Mid-Atlantic general contractor with significant federal, commercial, and institutional portfolio including airport and government work. Directly comparable to Gilford in size, geography, and federal/commercial segment mix.
• Grunley Construction: Mid-Atlantic general contractor specializing in historic preservation and government/ institutional renovation. Closely comparable to Gilford on projects like the Washington Monument restoration given shared federal-historic-rehabilitation niche.
• McKissack & McKissack: Minority-owned national construction program management firm. Co-member with Gilford in the MTTG JV on the MLK Memorial — directly comparable as a minority-certified prime with federal and civic-iconic project experience.
• Kinsley Construction: Mid-Atlantic general contractor with site work, adaptive reuse, and commercial building capabilities. JV partner with Gilford on the MGM National Harbor employment/training center, directly comparable in delivery scope.
• James G. Davis Construction Corporation: Mid-Atlantic commercial general contractor specializing in base-building and large tenant fit-outs. Gilford's JV partner on Capital One Headquarters, UNCF Progression Place, and AARP Foundation work, sharing a near-identical client mix in the DC metro.
• Hamel Builders: Mid-Atlantic commercial general contractor focused on mixed-use and multifamily/residential projects. JV partner with Gilford on Solea Condominiums, directly comparable in project scale and DC-metro operating footprint.
• Tompkins Builders: Washington, DC-based general contractor with strong institutional and federal portfolio. Gilford's JV partner on both PGCC Center for Health Sciences and the MLK Memorial, making it a close operational peer in size and segment focus.

Broad incumbents

• Turner Construction Company: National general contracting giant with extensive federal, commercial, and institutional book. JV partner with Gilford on the MLK Memorial, sharing the MTTG consortium — directly comparable in delivery model and federal/institutional client base.
• Clark Construction Group: Largest Mid-Atlantic general contractor with deep federal portfolio. Direct JV partner on the NIST Advanced Measurement Laboratory — one of the largest and most technically demanding projects Gilford has co-executed, making it the most directly comparable peer in scale and federal-mission focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Gilford Corporation