Mc Gowan Builders Inc.: Bringing a Family of Expertise to the Skyline

Mc Gowan Builders Inc. (MGB) was founded in 2001 by brothers Patrick and Martin Mc Gowan, and has since grown to construct facilities and projects for some of the most prominent firms and organizations in the nation. With almost 60 employees spanning four offices, MGB has more than established itself as a full-service general contractor and construction manager showcasing internal resources that lead to standout facilities.

“We are known for doing very unique projects,” asserts Patrick J. Mc Gowan, president and CEO of MGB. “We do everything except for single-family homes and we love tackling the more difficult and challenging projects. We do commercial work, industrial, institutional, educational, office and large-scale retail work for stores like Walmart.

“Our headquarters are in East Rutherford, N.J., but we have an office in Manhattan as well as offices in Chicago and Miami,” continues Patrick. “We work primarily from Boston and are active all the way down throughout the state of Florida. We’re currently working in Florida on some new TD Bank branches in Miami, as well as some new PNC Bank branches in Pensacola and Jacksonville as well.” In total, MGB has worked in almost every state along both the East Cast and in the Gulf States.

Building Relationships in More than a New York Minute

JPMorgan Chase, the Noguchi Museum, H&R Block, Macy’s, Jones Land LaSalle, Staples, Loehmann’s – these are just some of the additional organizations that have repeatedly relied on MGB’s experience and expertise in all major sectors. The company maintains licensed architects, engineers, estimators, CPAs, project managers, superintendents, artisan and laborers to handle all phases of a project. MGB goes above and beyond to search out challenging projects and to establish repeat clientele. Patrick explains:

“We are more competitive working on projects that require a certain amount of finesse and experience to complete. Anybody can build a building on an empty lot, but it’s a very different business when you have to navigate Manhattan building codes, excavating to build several stories underground and several stories on an existing structure, on a small site in an urban environment that requires you to schedule your material deliveries and coordinate with neighbors on construction times. It gets complicated. We’re not your typical cookie-cutter firm. Anybody can do the cookie-cutter jobs.

“We do this well especially for retail and healthcare projects,” continues Patrick. “We do work for Bloomingdales in Manhattan for renovations that have to allow the store to remain open. So we will come in, for example, to renovate the Donna Karan area and we will schedule our material deliveries afterhours and put up a temporary wall to section off the area we need to work in and we will do all of the work during regular hours.”

Similarly, projects at healthcare facilities require special attention and scheduling so as not to interfere with operations. “We have a lot of experience working on renovations and additions from neonatal facilities to nursing stations, and everything in between, that have to be scheduled and coordinated with staff to make sure those facilities stay open and functioning,” explains Patrick.

Further exhibiting its versatility, the firm is currently finishing work on one of the only synagogues to be built in Manhattan in the last 20 years, which is also the largest synagogue in the five boroughs. “We’re finishing work up at the Lincoln Square Synagogue to open in a few months,” says Patrick.

The new center is estimated to have cost roughly $30 million and provides 62,000 square feet of space for worship, education, administration and a 7,000-square foot ballroom to host events. This project is the culmination of 24 years of work to build a new synagogue to serve the area’s residents. The site recently hosted a special ceremony to commemorate the placing of the final steel beam atop the structure. Not only was MGB hired as the general contractor, having to work closely with city agencies to coordinate and obtain the requisite permitting, the company was also responsible for scheduling material delivery schedules, street closures and coordinating with neighbors before even breaking ground.

One final example is MGB’s a total renovation and addition to Braddock’s Bar and Restaurant in North Bergen, N.J. The project totaled over $1 million and included a complete replacement of the existing structure’s roof, a 300-square foot kitchen extension, plus new kitchen equipment complete with a new fire and sprinkler and security system. The firm also reinforced the existing foundation, replacing the primary support beam with a 60-foot steel beam, upon which rests the entire weight of the new roof, to create a column-free dining room. “It was a very unusual,” states Patrick.

Looking Forward to the Next 10

The firm has celebrated its 10-year anniversary in July 2011, and though MGB has experienced the pinch of the slowly recovering economy, spirits remain high. “We’re doing pretty well,” asserts Patrick, “We’ve had to work hard to get through some months, but we have a few large-scale projects to complete and very solid relationships to rely on so we’re hoping to grow this year.” Always incorporating new, environmentally responsible, energy-efficient construction operations, MGC is carving an additional niche for itself through a LEED-certified portfolio featuring numerous commercial and institutional facilities; this includes the company’s own headquarters, which includes a 122 Kw solar photovoltaic system to offset the majority of the buildings’ energy usage.

MGB does the type of comprehensive work that garners the satisfaction of its clients, and the company’s successful delivery of each project as a testimony to the skill, professionalism and integrity of the firm’s executive, management, field and support personnel. With Manhattan real estate on the up and up and a network of firmly established relationships, Mc Gowan Builders Inc. is sure to find further success working for life-long clients.