Tarlton

What Tarlton does

Tarlton Corporation is a privately held, WBENC-Certified Women-owned general contracting and construction management firm headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1946 by Arthur Elsperman and partners, the company is now in its third generation of family-led ownership and operates across the U.S. Midwest with 501–1000 employees. Tarlton delivers preconstruction, design-build, general contracting, construction management, historic renovation, green building, and self-perform trade services (concrete, steel erection, millwright, excavation, carpentry) for clients in healthcare, education, life sciences, energy, industrial, institutional, commercial, civil, and water/wastewater markets.

The company pairs deep craft expertise — notably 78 years of concrete specialization certified by ASA, PTI, ICRI, and ACI — with a modern construction-technology stack including BIM (Revit, AutoCAD, BIM 360), laser scanning, robotic total station layout, Procore, Primavera P6, and digital takeoffs. Approximately 25%+ of work is self-performed through a 29,000-square-foot TEAM Facility equipment hub, providing cost and schedule control. Recent marquee projects include the $90M Block Inc. (Square/Cash App) 900 N. Tucker Historic Renovation, the $56.7M St. Louis Community College Transportation Center, the $50M Washington University School of Medicine NRB Parking Garage, the $33M St. Louis Children's Hospital renovation, and the $33.4M 4340 Duncan bioscience center.

Tarlton generates revenue through project-based fixed-price, GMP, and cost-plus contracts ranging from $934K to $90M+, with 80% of work sourced from returning enterprise and government clients. It is recognized on the ENR Top 400 Contractors, ENR Midwest Top Contractor (#52 in 2025, up from #59 in 2024), ENR Top 100 Green Contractor, St. Louis Business Journal Top 150 Privately Held, and 2nd-Largest Women-Owned Business in St. Louis. In March 2026 the firm completed a planned generational succession, with Sondra Rotty promoted to President/COO and Tracy Hart elevated to Executive Chair/CEO.

Name

Tarlton

Legal name

Tarlton Corporation

Website

https://tarltoncorp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Tarlton Corporation is a privately held, family-owned (third generation) WBENC-certified general contractor and construction manager founded in 1946, headquartered in St. Louis, serving healthcare, education, energy, industrial, institutional, life sciences, and commercial clients across the U.S. Midwest with design-build, construction management, concrete, and self-perform trade services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

General Construction Services

SIC

General Bldg Contractors - Nonresidential Bldgs (1540)

akta.pro primary industry

Self-Performing General Contractors (IMAFAAAI)

Keywords

• General contracting services
• Construction management
• Design-build construction
• Concrete construction
• Commercial construction

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Louis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. General Contracting & Construction Management: Traditional general contracting and construction management services for complex construction projects. Revenue earned through fixed-price contracts, GMP (Guaranteed Maximum Price), and cost-plus arrangements. Projects range from $100K to $90M+.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Tarlton is a general contractor and construction manager that delivers commercial, institutional, healthcare, education, industrial, energy, life-sciences, water and wastewater, and civil construction projects through preconstruction planning, design-build delivery, and full construction management. The firm self-performs more than 25% of its work with in-house crews covering concrete, millwright, steel erection, rigging, excavation, and finish carpentry, and is recognized for specialized concrete construction and historic renovation work in the U.S. Midwest.

Product overview

Tarlton is a general contractor, construction manager, and design-builder offering a comprehensive suite of construction services organized around a unified service delivery model. The core offerings include Planners & Builders, Preconstruction, Design-Build, Construction, Concrete Expertise, Self-Performance, Construction Technology, Historic Renovation, Green Building, and a Special Projects Group. These services work together as an integrated construction offering—the company emphasizes early preconstruction involvement, self-performance of concrete and specialty trades, and technology-driven planning and coordination. Tarlton serves diverse markets including Healthcare, Life Sciences, Energy, Education, Commercial, Industrial, Institutional, Civil, and Water & Wastewater.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Planners & Builders Construction planning service that anticipates risks, sequences construction phases, and accounts for design, permits, and certification from the earliest stages of a project.
• Preconstruction Preconstruction phase services delivering cost estimates, scheduling, value engineering, and constructability reviews to set projects up for success.
• Design-Build Unites design and construction under one roof providing single-source accountability, cost certainty, and seamless execution from concept to completion.
• Construction General contracting and construction management services with site-specific safety planning, quality control through QA/QC programs, and reliable schedule management.
• Concrete Expertise Specialty concrete construction and restoration services including deep foundations, structural concrete systems, tilt-up and precast construction, parking garages, and specialty structures, with crew certifications from ASA, PTI, ICRI, and ACI.
• Self-Performance Construction Self-performed construction capability covering cast-in-place concrete, demolition, equipment setting, excavation, finish carpentry, millwright work, rigging, steel erection, and welding; self-performs more than 25% of work annually for direct safety, quality, cost, and schedule control.
• Historic Renovation Restoration of historic structures with careful attention to detail, preserving original character and architectural integrity while operating within National Register of Historic Places requirements.
• Green Building Sustainable construction services driven by integrity, equity, innovation, and environmental stewardship, recognized as a LEED contractor with multiple LEED-certified projects and named Top 100 Green Contractor by ENR.
• Special Projects Group Flexible, fast-track construction services for smaller or ongoing projects customized across all industries, including facility upgrades, ongoing maintenance, critical environment projects, and full lifecycle support under MSAs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 80% of company work is with repeat clients
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Gilbane Building Company: National privately held construction manager and general contractor serving healthcare, education, life sciences, and commercial markets. Comparable in vertical mix and CM/GC delivery, but operates at significantly larger national scale.
• Mortenson Construction: National privately held general contractor with strong presence in healthcare, higher education, renewable energy, and civil. Comparable in vertical focus areas and private ownership, though operating at substantially larger scale.
• Walsh Group: Chicago-based national general contractor serving healthcare, education, transportation, and water infrastructure. Comparable in Midwest roots and vertical diversification, with substantially larger scale and bonding capacity.

Direct peers

• Clayco: St. Louis-headquartered national design-build firm serving commercial, industrial, healthcare, and institutional clients. Comparable in design-build delivery model and healthcare/industrial vertical mix, though operating at a larger national scale.
• Holder Construction: Atlanta-based privately held general contractor serving healthcare, higher education, data centers, and commercial markets. Comparable as a private GC focused on complex nonresidential construction with design-build delivery.
• Paric Corporation: St. Louis-based design-build general contractor serving commercial, healthcare, education, and multifamily. Comparable in private ownership, regional focus, and design-build delivery.
• BSI Constructors: St. Louis-based general contractor serving healthcare, education, commercial, and industrial markets. Comparable in regional Midwest focus and project types.
• McCarthy Building Companies: St. Louis-based, employee-owned general contractor and construction manager founded in 1864. Closely comparable to Tarlton in scale, regional Midwest focus, and verticals including healthcare, education, and energy. Both firms are private and headquartered in St. Louis.
• Alberici Corporation: St. Louis-based privately held general contractor serving industrial, energy, healthcare, and water markets. Directly comparable in regional Midwest presence and self-perform capabilities.
• Barton Malow: Midwest-based (Southfield, MI) employee-owned general contractor serving healthcare, education, energy, industrial, and sports markets. Comparable in vertical mix and self-perform capabilities, with similar employee-ownership structure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/tarltonbuilders
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/Tarltoncorp
• Facebookfacebook.com/337737200849
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/128614

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Tarlton