The firms ranked on the 2024 ENR MidAtlantic Top Contractors list gave themselves a little bit of a financial cushion heading into the uncertainty of working in an election year.

“History shows that in the four-year presidential cycle, year four typically experiences a modest pullback in markets during the second half of the year as we prepare for the election,” says Camilo Garcia, business unit leader for the D.C./Baltimore offices at DPR Construction. DPR ranks No. 10 on this year’s list, recording $984.73 million in regional revenue.

Based on 2023 revenue billed in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia, this year’s ranking includes 60 firms that collected a combined $34.5 billion in regional revenue, up 9.5% from the top 60 firms on last year’s survey, which posted a collective $31.5 billion.

Chart by ENR

This year’s ranking saw most gains come from firms that placed in the Top 10. The 10 largest firms had $19.84 billion in collective regional revenue, up 10.7% from last year, when the top 10 firms collected a combined $17.92 billion in revenue. Last year’s top 10 saw a 12.49% boost from the $15.93 billion reported by the previous year’s top 10 firms.

This year, all but one firm in the top 10 reported more than $1 billion in revenue.

DPR remains hopeful despite a 16.7% revenue decline from last year’s $1.2 billion. Garcia expects to see “steady growth” in the health care, life science and mission-critical data center sectors. “We continue to be optimistic over the strength of our economy and our industry locally,” Garcia says. “We need C-suite leaders and the government to align on the importance of revitalizing our cities to create a hub of learning, industry and culture to drive innovation and development.”

Gilbane, in association with WarrenBuilds, is providing preconstruction and construction management services on Morgan State University’s Thurgood Marshall Hall Phase 3, a 12-story student housing facility.
Photo by Multivista, courtesy Gilbane Building Co.

Top Dogs

Order was restored in the top three slots this year as Whiting-Turner reclaimed its No. 1 position. Last year, Whiting-Turner fell from the top slot on the ranking for the first time since 2018. The Baltimore-based juggernaut increased its regional revenue by 24% this year, reporting $4.05 billion. The firm’s $3.27 billion in regional revenue on last year’s survey placed it behind HITT Contracting Inc. and Clark Construction Group.

With $3.61 billion in revenue, HITT remains second on the list for the second-straight year. Clark Group dipped two slots, to No. 3, with $3.34 billion. That was down 9.73% from the firm’s $3.70 billion in regional revenue last year. Clark, which was also No. 1 in 2018, enjoyed a 28.92% revenue increase last year from the previous year’s $2.87 billion. HITT’s $3.39 billion in revenue last year followed a 53.39% revenue increase from the $2.21 billion it logged the previous year.

Jumping four positions to No. 4 is Holder Construction, with $1.53 billion, up 54% from the firm’s $992 million last year.

Gilbane Building Co. improved one position to No. 5, with $1.45 billion, a 23% increase from last year’s $1.18 billion. Ted Holt, Gilbane senior vice president and MidAtlantic division leader, says the firm has focused on “strengthening our resiliency through healthy market diversification. The ensuing years since the pandemic have only reinforced this approach while highlighting the importance of adapting to new opportunities.”

He adds, “Leveraging Gilbane’s supply chain team and sophisticated procurement services, such as direct sourcing and close relationships with key industry suppliers, provides our clients with predictability regarding quality, cost and schedule.”

Chart by ENR

Healthy Markets

Holt says the health care market continues to perform pretty much as well as it did last year. This year 29 firms reported a combined $3.18 billion worth of health care work, down 1.2% from the $3.22 billion the top 29 firms in the sector posted last year, which was down 15.50% from the $3.87 billion in that sector on the previous year’s survey. This year Gilbane ranks No. 4 in the health care sector with revenue of $237.14 million.

“Nearly all the health care systems we are working with have either expanded behavioral health services, have been planning for improvements to emergency departments or [are] upgrading aging infrastructure systems,” Holt says.

Turner is positioned one slot higher in health care than Gilbane, with $249.31 million in sector revenue. Overall, Turner is No. 8, with $1.26 billion. The firm placed fourth last year with $1.3 billion in regional revenue.

Dave Kaminski, vice president and general manager in Turner’s Philadelphia office, points out that the education market is performing well. According to the survey, 31 firms reported $3.21 billion in education sector revenue, up 20.68% from the $2.66 billion performed by the top 31 firms last year.

The firm’s on this year’s ranking reported $4.78 billion worth of transportation work, up 33.68% from last year’s $3.17 billion. Turner recently broke ground on the $595-million Dulles International Airport Tier 2 East Concourse in northern Virginia.

“Being in the middle of an active election year, along with uncertainty regarding the Fed’s next step with interest rates, there are a few different directions the market could turn,” Kaminski says. “With that said, we have a strong backlog with work underway and are active with our clients for future work that has us in a great position moving forward.”