Gettysburg Commercial Corporation

As current co-owners of Gettysburg Commercial Corporation (GCC), Dale Hodges and Dave Andrews – president and executive vice president, respectively – bring more than 50 years of combined professional experience to the company. The Florida-based and -focused full-service general contracting company focuses on commercial tenant improvement with office facilities as its strong suit. After 21 years in business, GCC has developed an impressive reputation for consistent performance and excellence client service, which the company strives to uphold and enhance every day.

GCC was originally established in 1992 as Gettysburg Construction Company as an affiliate of Lincoln Property Company (LPC). In 1995 the company separated from LPC, thus changing its name to its current designation. “We started out just servicing the LPC account,” recalls Dale. “Later we began working for other companies and we collectively decided for all involved it would be best to separate, but it was a friendly breakup, as they are still one of our largest clients.”

In 2012 Dale and Dave became sole owners of GCC; the pair has since grown the company significantly. Even though ownership has changed and the company has expanded, GCC’s longstanding relationships with clients still remain. “Our commitment to our clients remains unchanged,” says Nancy Johnson, office manager for GCC. “I was part of the team for two years, from 1996 to 1998, returning in 2012, and the clients we had then are still the same that we have now.”

Building Repeat Business

From one location in Orlando, Fla., GCC services the central portion of the state with an 11-person team, including project managers, superintendents, an assistant project manager and an office manager. According to Dale, on average approximately 85 percent of company’s business is related to tenant improvement projects for asset/property managers, while the remaining 15 percent is construction management and build-to-suit for standalone buildings such as restaurants and retail outlets.

“We really only operate in the commercial, government and retail sectors,” shares Dale. “We build a lot of repeat business through our interior tenant improvement services. We’ll be on a job at one facility and the property manager will want us to work in their other buildings because they know we’ll do a quality job. We often have a lot of word-of-mouth referrals.”

GCC’s reputation has recently earned the company several large contracts, including Fortune 500 companies, government projects, insurance firms, as well as law offices. “We recently completed a two-floor build-out for a large insurance firm,” details Dave. “We’re currently working on a large office facility for a major shipping company in Orlando, revamping server rooms, as well as office space.”

That is not all that the GCC team has under its sleeve. “There’s a high-profile law firm downtown in the SunTrust Building, where we’re completing nearly two floors of office space for over $1 million,” reveals Dale. “We had to demo out the previous tenant to complete the interior.”

The majority of GCC’s work occurs on occupied indoor spaces, making it extremely important for the company’s crews to know exactly how to do a job without being a nuisance. “We know we’re doing a good job if they don’t hear us, see us or smell us,” explains Dale. “Our clients have been using us for a long time, because we’re very conscious of the other tenants. There aren’t too many in this industry that can work in conditions like this.”

Dale says it’s also important for the company’s subcontractors to have the same cautious mindset. “Since we subcontract the majority of our work, we only work with a certain group we know and trust,” he notes. “We don’t solicit bids from every subcontractor that comes down the street. We’re pretty exclusive about who we use.”

Award-winning Performance

GCC has won numerous awards through the years, including seven Golden Brick awards through the Downtown Orlando Partnership. “We won Best Interior Project in Orlando in May 2013 for a large project, which was the 18th and 19th floors of the SunTrust Building,” says Nancy. “We were recognized for our work and contributing to the success of commerce in downtown Orlando.”

The company’s highly regarded performance has also won GCC a large Department of Defense job projected to break ground in 2013. “We’ve been working on more design-build projects than ever before,” says Dale. “We see this becoming a major part of future projects.”

Dale admits the company has a plan of slow and steady growth for the upcoming years. “The tenant market we’re in has helped us survive the slow economy, because we’re on both ends of the transaction,” he says. “When a tenant is looking to expand, or when they’re looking to size back, we’re there. We do both of those types of projects.”

Dale says the next step for GCC is to purchase its own facility, as the company is currently residing in a leased space. “We’ve also set our sights onto expanding into Tampa, but it’s not in the near future,” Dale reveals. “In the end, it’s all about customer service. Doing the job right the first time and completing it on or ahead of schedule is what makes us who we are.” Gettysburg Commercial Corporation continues to build on a solid reputation of trusted tenant improvement service through strong client relationships.

For more information about Gettysburg Commercial Corporation, please visit: www.gccfla.com.