The built environment continues to change, and so do the challenges facing our clients. Cost, workforce availability, supply chain management, new technologies and long-term asset performance are all influencing how projects are planned and delivered.
We sat down with Ed Broderick, CEO of Gilbane, to talk about what he is seeing across the industry, how Gilbane is responding and what he believes will matter most in the years ahead.
Q: What are you seeing across construction and real estate right now?
A: Some sectors are seeing tremendous demand while others are much more selective. Conditions also vary significantly from one geography to another.
What is consistent is the complexity our clients are navigating. Cost, workforce availability, procurement, financing and schedule are increasingly interconnected.
That makes early decisions incredibly important.
The more visibility clients have into those issues at the beginning, the more options they have to manage risk, protect the schedule and make informed decisions about where to invest.
Q: Gilbane’s strategy advances an integrated platform across development, construction and management. Why is that important now?
A: The built environment is becoming increasingly complex. Our clients are navigating tighter timelines, evolving technologies, workforce pressures, capital constraints, and higher expectations for long-term performance.
What we hear from them is clear. They want trusted partners who can help them make better decisions, reduce risk, and deliver with greater certainty.
That is where we can bring a lot of value.
By connecting our development, construction and management expertise, we can reduce friction, improve coordination and help clients make better decisions. Our integrated platform aligns the full strength of Gilbane around each client’s needs.
Q: How does Gilbane operate through its integrated platform and its distinct business offerings?
A: The strength of the model is that we do both.
Gilbane Building and Gilbane Development are strong businesses with deep expertise, experienced leadership and clear accountability for their results. Many of our clients engage us for a specific need, whether that is construction, development, property or facilities management, or another area of expertise, and we will remain best-in-class in each of those individual capabilities.
But some projects, opportunities, and decisions benefit from more than one lens.
Our ability to bring development, construction and management expertise together helps us look at those decisions from different angles.
Adam Jelen, who leads Gilbane Building, James Patchett, who leads Gilbane Development, and I spend considerable time thinking about how our businesses reinforce one another to create more value for clients. Across the Gilbane enterprise, we have the depth and flexibility to meet clients where they are and bring in the right expertise when it can make a difference.
Q: Gilbane’s strategy builds on a strong foundation. What will drive the company’s next phase of growth?
A: It starts with what has always been Gilbane’s strength: the trust our clients place in us and our people.
Over our 155+ years, that trust has been earned project after project, across advanced manufacturing, health care, housing, education, infrastructure and public-private partnerships.
As we grow, we are connecting more capabilities across Gilbane so clients can reach the full strength of our expertise wherever they need it. That’s what our integrated platform is built to do.
Q: How will technology and AI shape the future of Gilbane and the industry?
A: Technology and AI have tremendous potential to give us new ways to support our clients and advance the industry.
At Gilbane, we are taking a pragmatic, value-led approach that starts with the outcomes we want to deliver for our customers. We are focused on helping clients make better decisions earlier, reduce risk, and deliver stronger results across the full project lifecycle, from preconstruction and site planning through project execution, health and safety, turnover, and long-term performance.
This includes building a digital project lifecycle platform that brings together project data, institutional knowledge, field intelligence, and operational insight. That clearer view of cost, schedule, quality, safety, and performance helps our teams and clients make decisions before they become expensive to change. It improves predictability, reduces fragmentation, and creates measurable value.
The opportunity is not technology for technology’s sake. It is pairing data, AI, and digital tools with the technical expertise, judgment, and accountability of our people. As we improve processes and simplify tasks and workflows for our people, we will strengthen how the work gets done. Most importantly, we view technology as a way to enhance the expertise and experience of our people, not replace it.
Q: What role do communities play in the future of development and construction?
A: A very important one.
Major projects affect far more than the physical site. They can create jobs, support local businesses, bring investment into a community and create opportunities for people to build long-term careers.
But it starts with listening.
Every community is different. Understanding local priorities, concerns and opportunities early makes for a better project and stronger relationships.
One example I am especially proud of is Gilbane surpassing our five-year goal of awarding $4 billion to qualified small, local and historically underutilized businesses.
The number is important, but what matters most is what is behind it: businesses growing, people getting opportunities, and a stronger network of partners across our industry.
And that work does not stop because we reached the goal.
Q: Gilbane has been family-owned since 1870. How does that influence how you think about the future?
A: It gives us a long-term perspective.
Over our company’s history, we’ve been through enormous change in our industry and society and the things that have sustained Gilbane are pretty consistent: strong values, a people-first culture, trusted relationships and a commitment to delivering for our clients.
But we cannot rely on history. We have to keep evolving, investing in our people, strengthening our businesses, putting technology to good use and most importantly listening to our clients.
For me, the opportunity is to take everything that has made Gilbane successful and continue building on it.
Q: What excites you most about what comes next?
A: The opportunity in front of us.
Our clients are dealing with difficult, complicated challenges, and I believe Gilbane is very well positioned to help.
We have strong development, construction and management capabilities. We have deep expertise in important markets. We have national scale and people who know their local markets extremely well.
Our strategy is about connecting those strengths more effectively around our clients.
Most importantly, we have exceptional people who care about doing good work and building lasting relationships.
Our job now is to build on that foundation and continue shaping what’s next.
Watch the video to hear Ed Broderick share what the platform means for Gilbane and how it will shape what comes next.
