What George Sollitt Construction Company does

The George Sollitt Construction Company is a 100% employee-owned general contractor founded in 1838 in Chicago and currently headquartered in Wood Dale, Illinois (incorporated 1935). The firm has operated continuously under an ESOP since November 30, 1976, with full 100% employee ownership achieved in 1984, eliminating any outside shareholders. Service lines span general contracting (fixed-price and cost-plus), agency construction management (typically fee-based as a percentage of construction cost), single-source design/build, pre-construction (cost estimating, value engineering, scheduling, constructability review), and LEED/sustainable construction delivery. The firm self-describes as 'Chicago's oldest construction company,' reporting 3,000+ completed projects, 1,500+ clients, and 10,000+ workers employed across job sites (a workforce figure that spans tradespeople and project workforce rather than direct corporate staff of 11-50).

The portfolio is concentrated in Chicagoland and Illinois, with a multi-decade client base across Illinois public-sector agencies (Illinois National Guard, Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, Capital Development Board, Public Building Commission of Chicago), Chicago municipal authorities (Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Housing Authority, Chicago Park District, Chicago Public Library, CDOT), and private developers. Notable recent and ongoing projects include the $109M Rosenwald Courts historic revival in Bronzeville, the 185,200 sq ft Kankakee Army Aviation Support Facility (2018 ENR Best of the Best), the 434-unit Trumbull Park Homes renovation for CHA, the LEED Platinum-targeted College of Lake County Student Services building, and large-scale industrial facilities such as the Southside Recycling plant. The firm has also maintained a 90+ year strategic partnership with the University of Notre Dame dating to 1929.

Revenue is recognized project-by-project through competitive bid and negotiated contracts, with bid intake routed through a BuildingConnected public platform and a dedicated [email protected] inbox. Technology is embedded in pre-construction estimating, project scheduling, BIM-driven coordination, sustainable systems integration, and digital bid management rather than offered as a standalone software product. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales into public owners and institutional developers, with no SaaS, licensing, or technology revenue streams.

Name

George Sollitt Construction Company

Legal name

The George Sollitt Construction Company

Website

https://sollitt.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1838

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The George Sollitt Construction Company is a 100% employee-owned ESOP general contractor founded in 1838, delivering general contracting, construction management, design/build, pre-construction, and LEED/sustainable construction services to Illinois public-sector, institutional, and private clients concentrated in Chicagoland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Wood Dale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. General Contracting: Fixed-price and cost-plus construction contracts for public agencies, institutions, and private developers across affordable housing, commercial industrial, education, healthcare, historical preservation, religious/non-profit, municipal/recreational, and LEED/sustainability projects. Revenue is recognized on a project basis at completion or per percentage-of-completion.
2. Construction Management: Agency construction management services, typically fee-based (percentage of construction cost), covering pre-construction planning, scheduling, supervision, and owner representation from concept through closeout.
3. Design/Build: Single-source design-and-build delivery combining architectural/engineering design partners with self-performed construction management, capturing both design fees and construction margin on integrated project awards.
4. Pre-Construction and Value Engineering: Front-end services (cost estimating, value engineering, scheduling, constructability review) frequently bundled with downstream construction awards; value engineering on the Hanover Park Fire Station #1 saved an additional $20,000 through optimized boiler sizing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Core offering

The George Sollitt Construction Company delivers end-to-end construction services as a 100% employee-owned (ESOP) general contractor for public agencies, institutions, and private developers across Illinois. Its service portfolio spans general contracting, construction management, design/build, pre-construction (cost estimating, value engineering, scheduling), and LEED/sustainable construction delivery for affordable housing, education, government/municipal, healthcare, historical preservation, commercial-industrial, and religious/non-profit projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• General Contracting

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,000+ projects completed across the firm's history
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments7 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

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and minor.

• University of Notre DameflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1929Multi-decade strategic partnership dating to 1929, when Ralph Shannon Sollitt moved to South Bend and secured the University of Notre Dame as a client. The football program's economics sustained Sollitt through the Great Depression, enabling one to two campus buildings constructed annually. Sollitt developed expertise in electric power generation while pursuing WPA work in Southern States, and the relationship expanded into adjacent capabilities while remaining a cornerstone of Sollitt's portfolio.
• Associated General Contractors of America (AGC)minorOthersIndustry association membership with deep historical ties - Sumner Sollitt served as AGC national president in 1927, and Sollitt has continued to participate in the Chicagoland AGC chapter (receiving the 2022 Project of the Year and 2017 Safety Recognition Award). The relationship provides industry advocacy, networking, and standards leadership rather than a commercial product integration.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Leopardo Companies: Hoffman Estates, Illinois-headquartered GC delivering healthcare, education, office, and municipal projects across Chicagoland; directly comparable in regional focus, public-sector work, and design-build/CM services.
• Pepper Construction: Chicago-based general contractor with overlapping education, healthcare, public-sector, and LEED-certified project portfolio; comparable size, regional concentration, and project delivery mix (general contracting, CM, design-build).
• McHugh Construction: Chicago-based general contractor delivering large-scale residential, mixed-use, hospitality, and institutional projects in Chicagoland; comparable regional concentration and project scale.
• Skender Construction: Chicago-based general contractor serving healthcare, higher education, senior living, and corporate clients with comparable design-build and CM services; similar size band and Chicagoland concentration.
• Power Construction Company: Chicago-based general contractor serving public agencies, higher education, healthcare, and commercial developers; directly comparable in geography, project scale, and delivery model.
• W.E. O'Neil Construction: Chicago-founded general contractor with strong public-sector, education, and commercial/industrial portfolio across the Midwest; comparable employee-owned culture and emphasis on repeat institutional clients.
• Bulley & Andrews: Chicago-based general contractor specializing in historic preservation, adaptive reuse, and institutional construction; directly comparable to Sollitt's Rosenwald/Merlo Library/Engine 109 portfolio of complex preservation and civic projects.
• Walsh Construction (Walsh Group): Chicago-headquartered general contractor and construction manager serving public, institutional, and commercial clients across the Midwest and nationally; comparable mid-to-large project delivery, public-sector prequalification, and LEED/sustainable construction capability.

Broad incumbents

• Turner Construction Company: National general contractor with strong Chicago operation serving institutional, healthcare, education, and government clients; comparable core offering but at substantially greater scale and national reach.
• Clark Construction Group: Large national general contractor with a significant Chicago presence delivering public buildings, education, healthcare, and civic infrastructure at much greater scale; comparable in capability but operates across a much wider geography and portfolio.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 George Sollitt Construction Company