In October 2008,
Crain's Chicago Business named the city's top twenty-five contracting firms based on Chicago-area revenues. Unfortunately, like most of the country, they've been hit by the recession and job openings have dwindled. But, there are still some. Here are the top ten construction firms in Chicago with links to their job listings and career centers.
(All those listed have their main or regional headquarters in Chicago unless otherwise noted in parentheses.)
According to their website, Walsh is "a Chicago-based general contracting, construction management and design-build firm founded in 1898." They report they have $3.2 billion of work in progress and under contract and that they averaged revenues of $1.4 billion over the past five years.
Pepper Construction Group states that they are a "general contracting and construction management firm that serves the non-residential and private sector." They span four states: Illinois, Indiana, Texas, and Ohio. Their history dates to 1927 when they were founded by Stanley F. Pepper.
Bovis Lend Lease is an international company, with its roots in London, and regional offices in the US, including Chicago. Locally, they've done 600 Fairbanks Court and the Admiral at the Lake among other projects. This link will take you to their career site for the United States.
Power Construction limits its work to the Chicago region so that it can focus its strengths here. They offer a variety of construction services including LEED or "green" building. Their career site, which is linked here, seems to focus mainly on recruiting recent college graduates.
Turner is running the construction of the Art Institute of Chicago's new wing and was named Midwest Construction's 2008 Contractor of the Year. According to their site, they have a nationwide staff of more than 5000 employees and work on approximately 1500 projects every year.
Founded by an Irish bricklayer in 1897, McHugh has grown to rank among the city's most notable contractors. Their clients include the Great Lakes Naval Station and they renovated the Blackstone Hotel. Their job website is not very helpful to prospective employees. They prefer tradespeople to apply in person and non-tradespeople to inquire via a phone number or e-mail address on their site.
A $4 billion+ construction firm with projects around the nation, including the Midway Airport expansion project here. Find job openings and career opportunities.
O'Neil was an office boy in Daniel Burnham's architectural firm. That legacy has grown to this giant contractor, which has handled such renovations as the Chicago Theatre and the Medinah Temple. Unfortunately, their career site is rather limited. They simply give a brief overview to prospective employees and invite anyone interested to send in their resume.
Gilbane is a construction management firm with more than 2000 employees nationwide. They are a privately held, family-run business. Although they have been in business for more than 125 years, they have served the Midwest for only the past thirty. This link takes you to their nationally available jobs. If you're a recent college graduate looking for work,
go to their site here.Construction management firm with a history steeped in Chicago. Kenny managed the Chicago flood for the city and handles other tunneling, commercial buildings, and more. This link takes you to their nationwide available positions.
