When it comes to construction in New York City, time is of the essence, every square inch matters, and engaging the community is paramount. One innovative project delivery method offers advantages that can significantly benefit our city’s public projects.
The design-build method integrates a project’s design and construction phases under a single contract. This means a project’s designer and builder collaborate from the outset, yielding critical benefits for everyone involved.
Early collaboration can help move a project faster and more efficiently by streamlined processes. This means our parks, libraries, schools, and other essential facilities can open sooner. When the City of New York needed to help meet the short- and long-term healthcare needs of those recovering from COVID-19, our team at Gilbane Building Company worked under a NYC Department of Design and Construction contract, leveraging alternative delivery methods to turn the first of three clinical sites in just four months, at least one year faster than the original construction schedule.

In an era of cost-escalations, global supply chain challenges, and inflation, design-build offers greater certainty and risk reduction, helping to deliver cost savings. With a clear project scope and early cost estimates, taxpayers get more value for their money. Additionally, with the designers and builders working closely, collaboration leads to better project outcomes, high-quality design and construction, and reduces the need for costly revisions.
At Gilbane, we believe in maximizing our construction projects to benefit our communities. This means creating a strong community engagement program and a plan to boost local and diverse business and workforce participation in the project. The design-build approach enables more substantial community involvement and more opportunity for economic inclusion.
For example, in our first community outreach event related to the Brownsville Girls Empowerment Center, we were joined by over 100 businesses and 50 job seekers. We’ve started pre-qualifying these businesses so they can explore opportunities to participate in the project, and we’ve already engaged two local minority and women-owned businesses.
As New York City continues to rebound from the impacts of the global pandemic, embracing design-build is a strategic move. It’s time to build smarter, faster, and more efficiently. Let’s leverage this approach to construction to build transformative projects that uplift communities, impact lives, and leave a legacy for generations to come.