United Building Company

What United Building Company does

United Building Company is a Southern California general contractor specializing in affordable housing and multi-family residential construction. Founded in 1987 by Mark Walther and headquartered in Redondo Beach, California with a satellite office in Granada Hills, the firm serves property developers, nonprofits, and ownership groups across Los Angeles, Long Beach, Palm Springs, Altadena, North Hills, Glendale, Huntington Park, Lancaster, and other Southern California submarkets. Its primary customer segments are affordable housing developers and multi-family housing developers, with secondary work in market-rate housing and mixed-use developments. The company operates exclusively as a general contractor under negotiated Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) contracts, typically engaged during the conceptual or schematic design phase to provide constructability guidance, estimating, and feasibility analysis before continuing through construction. Notable projects include the 73-unit Thrive affordable housing community in Long Beach developed with Linc Housing, U.S. Bank, California Community Reinvestment Corporation, and the City of Long Beach.

The company's core technology stack includes Building Information Modeling (BIM) for virtual design and construction planning, company-wide Procore implementation for project management and document control, LEED-compliant green building methodology with multiple Platinum designations achieved, and Title 24 energy-efficient building systems. Proprietary process features center on a pre-construction planning process combining collaborative constructability reviews, BIM coordination, physical mock-ups, and comprehensive estimating/budgeting; a dedicated full-time compliance team trained in prevailing wage monitoring, MBE/WBE, local hire, ADA, UFAS, and Section 3 requirements; and formalized safety governance anchored by a Director of Safety (created 2022) and 'UBC Safety Center' at each job site.

United Building Company generates revenue on a project-based one-time contract model under GMP terms, with revenue recognized upon completion of construction milestones. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is determined per project based on scope, schedule, and complexity. The go-to-market motion is sales-led and relationship-driven, focused on early engagement with developers, architects, and ownership groups in the Southern California multi-family and affordable housing market. The privately held firm has no external private equity or venture capital ownership and is led by CEO Michelle Walther, CFO Sanjay Chand, EVP Mark Walther, and EVP of Construction Richard Spunt, supported by an Advisory Council whose combined construction experience exceeds 250 years.

Name

United Building Company

Legal name

United Building Company, Inc.

Website

https://unitedbuildingcompany.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

United Building Company is a Southern California general contractor specializing in affordable housing and multi-family residential construction under negotiated Guaranteed Maximum Price contracts for nonprofit and private developers across the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

General Construction Contracting

NAICS

New Multifamily Housing Construction (except For-Sale Builders) (236116), Residential Building Construction (2361), Construction of Buildings (236), Residential Building Construction (23611)

SIC

General Bldg Contractors - Residential Bldgs (1520)

akta.pro primary industry

Residential General Contracting (New Build) (IMAFAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Residential Green / High-Performance Home Construction (Net-Zero, Passive House) (IMAFABAH), Residential Luxury / High-End Home Construction (IMAFABAJ)

Keywords

• General contracting services
• Affordable housing construction
• Multi-family residential construction
• Pre-construction planning
• GMP contract construction

Headquarters

HQ city

Redondo Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. General Contracting Services: Construction contracting services under negotiated Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) contracts for multi-family residential, affordable housing, mixed-use, and market-rate housing developments. Revenue is project-based and earned upon completion of construction milestones.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

United Building Company is a Southern California general contractor that provides construction services for affordable housing, multi-family residential, mixed-use, and market-rate developments under negotiated Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) contracts. The company delivers end-to-end services spanning pre-construction planning, constructability reviews, BIM-enabled virtual design, value engineering, full general contracting, compliance management, and warranty services, primarily serving property developers, nonprofits, and ownership groups throughout the greater Los Angeles area.

Product overview

United Building Company is a Southern California general contracting company specializing in affordable housing and multi-family residential construction. The company provides end-to-end construction services including pre-construction, general contracting, value engineering, project scheduling, compliance management, and warranty services. Their portfolio encompasses affordable housing developments, mixed-use properties, market-rate housing, and rehabilitation projects throughout the greater Los Angeles area.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pre-Construction Planning Services Pre-construction services delivered during the conceptual or schematic design phase, including constructability reviews, Building Information Modeling (BIM), physical mock-ups, comprehensive estimating and budgeting, and exploration of innovative construction methods. Designed for property developers, architects, and ownership groups seeking early-stage constructability guidance, feasibility analysis, and conflict resolution prior to construction.
• General Contracting Services (Guaranteed Maximum Price Contracts) End-to-end general contracting services delivered under negotiated Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) contracts for multi-family residential, affordable housing, mixed-use, and market-rate housing developments. Includes project scheduling, subcontractor coordination, on-site management, quality control, and completion of construction milestones. Serves property developers and ownership groups building residential and mixed-use projects up to $50 million in Southern California.
• Compliance Management Services Full-time compliance management services covering prevailing wage monitoring and requirements for federal, state, City, and County of Los Angeles funded buildings, plus ADA and UFAS accessibility guidelines. Targeted at affordable housing developers and public-funded projects that must meet MBE/WBE, Local Hire, and Section 3 requirements.
• Sustainable (LEED) Building Construction Green building construction services applying Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building initiatives, energy efficient building components, and Title 24 energy-efficient building systems. UBC has achieved multiple LEED Platinum designations for completed buildings. Targeted at developers and owners seeking sustainable, energy-efficient construction outcomes.
• Value Engineering Services Construction value engineering embedded within UBC's general contracting engagements to optimize building value without compromising design vision, aimed at controlling costs for multi-family and affordable housing developers facing tight budget constraints.
• Warranty Services Warranty and post-construction services supporting completed building projects. Targeted at property developers and ownership groups seeking continued support after project completion.

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple LEED Platinum designations achieved for completed buildings
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 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

One partnership is on record.

• Linc HousingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 May 2026Linc Housing is a nonprofit affordable housing developer. United Building Company serves as general contractor for Linc Housing's Thrive project, a 73-unit affordable housing community in Long Beach's Zaferia neighborhood. The development targets families earning 30-60% of area median income with 25% of units designated for residents with disabilities.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• W.E. O'Neil Construction: SoCal-rooted general contractor with strong multifamily and affordable housing portfolio, similar pre-construction and GMP-led delivery model, and comparable scale to UBC.
• Bernards: Southern California general contractor with significant multifamily residential and mixed-use work, overlapping customer base of developers and ownership groups in the LA region.
• Related California: Affordable and mixed-income housing developer/builder in California with in-house construction capabilities; overlaps with UBC on nonprofit and public-private affordable housing pipeline.
• Snyder Langston: SoCal general contractor specializing in multifamily, mixed-use, and master-planned residential communities with strong developer relationships in the region.

Broad incumbents

• Swinerton: Large California-headquartered general contractor with deep multifamily and affordable housing practice; broader portfolio and balance sheet than UBC but competes on similar negotiated multifamily work in SoCal.
• Hunt Companies: National firm with a major affordable housing development and construction arm, directly competing with UBC on LIHTC-funded multifamily projects in California.
• Balfour Beatty US: National general contractor with active California multifamily and affordable housing projects; competes for larger institutional deals that UBC also targets when scaling up.

Regional players

• Standard Construction: Southern California multifamily and affordable housing general contractor with comparable project size, GMP delivery model, and developer client base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 United Building Company