What Blackwood Group does

Blackwood Group LLC is a Chicago-based general contracting and construction management firm founded in 2007 and led by co-founders José Duarte and Rafael Hernández. The company is structured as a privately held, 100% Latino-owned Illinois LLC headquartered at 1535 N Lawndale Ave in Chicago, and operates exclusively in the Chicagoland market across residential, commercial, mixed-use, and light industrial / warehousing sectors. Notable executed work spans affordable housing (Casa Yucatán 98 units, Casa Querétaro 45 units LEED Platinum, Irene McCoy 150-unit senior renovation, Albany Terrace 350 units, United Yards), institutional projects (UNO Veterans Memorial $44M, 180,000 sq ft LEED-Gold charter school campus), retail rollouts (20+ Dominos Pizza stores since 2013), and community facilities (BPNC Center, Yollocalli Arts Reach, Rayito de Sol 15,500 SF Spanish-immersion daycare), with select project values reaching $44–70M+.

The firm delivers an integrated suite of services — New Construction, Design-Build, Preservation & Renovation, Preconstruction & Value Engineering, Tenant Improvement, and Construction Management — packaged as a single offering rather than modular products. Core technical capabilities are concentrated in design-build delivery (single point of contact across design and construction), preconstruction and value engineering (early-phase budget and schedule collaboration), historic preservation on 100+ year-old Chicago structures, and LEED-certified sustainable construction. Revenue mechanics are project-based, quote-driven, and negotiated per engagement; no software, AI/ML, or platform technology is exposed in the data set. The company has no public revenue disclosures, no funding history, and no parent or subsidiary structure, operating as a founder-owned regional contractor whose go-to-market relies on direct project engagement with developers, property owners, housing authorities, and community organizations, supplemented by a subcontractor bidding list.

Name

Blackwood Group

Legal name

Blackwood Group LLC

Website

https://blackwoodgroupllc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Blackwood Group LLC is a 100% Latino-owned, Chicago-based general contractor and construction manager founded in 2007, delivering design-build, new construction, historic preservation, preconstruction, tenant improvement, and construction management services across residential, commercial, mixed-use, and light industrial sectors in the Chicagoland area.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. General Contracting: Prime construction services for commercial buildings, industrial buildings, medical office buildings, residential multi-unit buildings, apartments, and restaurants. Track record of staying on budget and delivering high quality projects.
2. Construction Management: As construction manager, coordinates construction oversight and reporting, safety and quality assurance, payment application processing, change management, FF&E facilitation, punch list coordination, and closeout and commissioning.
3. Design-Build Services: Single point of contact for both design and construction phases, creating successful partnerships and improving efficiency to save time and money for clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Blackwood Group LLC is a general contractor and construction management firm serving the Chicagoland area. The company delivers ground-up new construction, design-build, historic preservation and renovation, preconstruction and value engineering, tenant improvements, and construction management services for residential, commercial, mixed-use, institutional, and light industrial projects. It operates primarily through direct project engagements, competitive bidding, and developer partnerships.

Product overview

Blackwood Group is a construction company offering a comprehensive suite of construction services as a single integrated offering rather than separate modular products. The core services include New Construction, Design-Build, Preservation & Renovation, Preconstruction & Value Engineering, Tenant Improvement, and Construction Management. These services work together to provide clients with end-to-end construction solutions, from initial design and preconstruction planning through final construction and project closeout. The company serves diverse markets including residential, commercial, mixed-use, and light industrial/warehousing sectors across the Chicagoland area.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• New Construction Ground-up construction services for commercial buildings, industrial buildings, medical office buildings, residential multi-unit buildings, apartments, and restaurants, with a track record of staying on budget and delivering high-quality projects.
• Design-Build
• Preservation & Renovation
• Preconstruction & Value Engineering
• Tenant Improvement
• Construction Management

Quantifiable outcome

• Completed 20+ Dominos Pizza stores since 2013
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Celadon PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChicago-based experienced affordable housing developer partnering with Blackwood Group on the $70 million+ United Yards development in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. Celadon Partners and Blackwood Group serve as the primary development team for this Invest South/West initiative.
• SkendercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture contractor with Blackwood Group on the United Yards development project. Skender and Blackwood Group partnering as construction contractors for the six-story mixed-use building at 4703 S. Justine in Chicago.
• Back of the Yards WorkscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal minority-owned business consortium and developer leading the commercial development of the United Yards property. Blackwood Group partners with this local consortium as part of the United Yards development team.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Turner Construction: Largest general contractor in the U.S. with significant Chicago operations serving commercial, healthcare, and institutional clients — broad incumbent competing for the same institutional and design-build work.
• Gilbane Building Company: Large national construction manager with strong Chicago presence across education, healthcare, and public-sector projects — broad incumbent offering overlapping services including design-build and preconstruction.

Direct peers

• Skender: Chicago-based design-build general contractor and construction manager. Direct comparable in core service offering (design-build, construction management, preconstruction), and Blackwood's active JV partner on the United Yards development.
• Bulley & Andrews: Chicago-based general contractor renowned for historic preservation, renovation, and complex construction management — a strong peer given Blackwood's historic preservation specialty and Chicago focus.
• Walsh Construction: Major Chicago-based general contractor with extensive work in affordable housing, K-12 education, healthcare, and commercial projects — comparable in Chicago market presence and institutional client mix.
• F.H. Paschen: Chicago-based general contractor with strong public-sector and institutional client base, including transit, education, and affordable housing — directly comparable in Chicago institutional project mix.
• Pepper Construction: Midwest-headquartered (Chicago office) general contractor with design-build, construction management, and LEED-certified sustainable construction expertise — comparable in geographic and service profile.
• W.E. O'Neil Construction: Chicago-founded general contractor offering design-build, construction management, and preconstruction services across commercial, multifamily, healthcare, and hospitality — directly comparable in capability mix and Chicago market focus.
• McHugh Construction: Chicago-based general contractor serving residential, commercial, hospitality, and cultural sectors with design-build capabilities — overlapping peer in Chicago multifamily and mixed-use project mix.
• Power Construction: Large Chicago-based general contractor serving commercial, healthcare, education, and multifamily sectors with design-build and construction management capabilities — a direct peer in scale and service portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Blackwood-Group-LLC-100067510757711
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blackwood-group-llc

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 Blackwood Group