Many big-box retailers choose to open locations in Daly City because of the wealth of parking space and San Mateo County’s lower sales tax rates, making the city quite the shopping destination just south of San Francisco. If you are looking to set up shop here as well, this list presents a list of the best commercial contractors in Daly City.

These firms have a proven track record of building for various markets in neighboring San Francisco and the surrounding areas. They are led by seasoned builders as well as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professionals (LEED Accredited Professionals) who weave sustainability into their work.

Alten Construction, Inc.

1141 Marina Way South, Richmond, CA 94804 

Located on the San Francisco Shipyard, The Storehouse built in 2009 has come to be known for its coffee as much as the snacks and supplies those passing through the area can conveniently pick up. The quaint and bright white-walled space also offers pastries for the hungry traveler. Hanging lights strewn above the rustic wood counter and eat-in space add to the charm of the store.

Alten Construction performed the interior improvements for the space, which included new flooring, kitchen equipment, cabinetry, countertops, furniture, fire protection, and MEP system upgrades. Bob and Shannon Alten established the firm in 1995 to serve the Bay Area, including Napa, Sonoma, Solano, Marin, Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara, San Mateo, and San Francisco counties. The company has since built millions of square feet in new and renovation construction. The firm has also been recognized for its historic restoration work.

Skyline Construction

2384 Walsh Avenue, Santa Clara, CA 95051 

Residents and professionals frequenting SoMa can get their daily fix of Red Door Coffee at Foundry Square Cafe. The 1,000-square-foot white and wood motif space features pops of bright green in the seat cushions of the custom milled booths. A custom acrylic ceiling art installation takes center stage against the reclaimed teak wood walls. The kitchen includes a three-compartment sink, an industrial dishwasher, an ice maker, and a display case and beer taps.

Skyline Construction completed this build-out in eight weeks. Now part of a family of companies that also serves Chicago and Seattle, the firm had its start building for the corporate, life science, and healthcare markets in California in 1996. David Hayes is a founding partner of the firm and, upon becoming CEO in 2005, paved the way for the 100% employee-owned status it now enjoys. Joining him as President is San Diego State University Civil Engineering alumnus Rene Olivo, who brings three decades of experience in the industry. Olivo has built for the likes of Pfizer and Hewlett Packard over the course of his career.

NOVO Construction

608 Folsom Street, San Francisco, CA 94107 

Since its establishment in 2000, NOVO Construction has built for major corporations including Apple, Amazon, Google, and LinkedIn. President Jim Fowler manages the company’s operations and strategic planning, drawing on his experience in high-tech, biotech, development, and retail construction. He has a degree in Construction Management from California State University, Chico. The firm started out in the Bay Area, and it has since expanded to building in Texas.

NOVO built two separate commercial cafeterias at Twitter’s corporate headquarters in San Francisco. True to the brand, the spaces are busy but sleek, with white acoustic panels gently floating above the gray motif dining halls. The food prep areas and warming kitchen churn out up to 1,200 meals, three times a day. There are also snack areas and beer, wine, and barista bars around the two dining halls, all appropriately identified by hashtagged signages.

Cahill Contractors LLC

425 California Street, Suite 2200, San Francisco, CA 94104 

CEO Kathryn Cahill Thompson, LEED AP, represents the fourth generation of the Cahill family to work in the construction industry. Cahill Contractors has been building for the Bay Area for over 100 years, specializing in the residential, education, civic, healthcare, and commercial markets. Thompson first joined the firm as a project engineer in 2007 and then worked with the project management, preconstruction, and operations departments before assuming her current role. Joining her as President is Texas A&M Construction Management alumnus Blair Allison, LEED AP, who brings three decades of industry experience to the firm, which he first joined in 1996. Allison grew the firm’s East Bay operations when he opened the Oakland office in 2008.

Cahill built the mixed-use Read Building in Berkeley, which totals 19,350 square feet. Retail spaces occupy its first floor, while the second floor houses office space, and a single residential dwelling unit sits on the third floor. The main entrance and courtyard façade is designed in a modern Mediterranean style, with wide arched windows and garage doors. There’s also a covered lounge space by the rooftop garden. The building’s construction signaled the expansion of the Fourth Street shopping district.

Nibbi Brothers General Contractors

1000 Brannan Street, Ste 102, San Francisco, CA 94103 

Nibbi Brothers General Contractors worked on four new addition projects for the City Center retail complex at Geary and Masonic. The Masonic Retail component is a 22,943-square-foot concrete extension of the existing Lot B deck to cover Lot A and create 3,000 square feet of new retail space, including a Target location. The 21,765-square-foot Retail Pad is a two-story steel structure that connects to Lot E on the second floor and Lot F on the first. The Crow’s Nest entailed gutting a penthouse on an existing 5,940-square-foot retail space to expand to 13,448 square feet over two floors and make space for the Bright Horizons preschool. The Retail Shed was a conversion of 1,190 square feet of mechanical equipment space under the driving ramp to Lot D into more retail space.

Established by Marino Nibbi in 1950, Nibbi Brothers General Contractors has seen three generations of leadership from the Nibbi family. Marino’s son Larry carries on as Chairman, expanding the firm since 1963. Overseeing day-to-day operations are Larry’s nephews: President and CEO Bob Nibbi and Vice President and Project Executive Mike Nibbi, both 30-year industry veterans. Bob holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Engineering from Stanford University and has grown Nibbi into one of the largest builders in the Bay Area. Mike earned his Business Management degree from Chapman University and pioneered Nibbi’s Safety Committee.

McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.

1265 Battery Street, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94111

Originally built in 1907, The Cannery was transformed into a retail, restaurant, and office space at Fisherman’s Wharf. The three-story brick structure required seismic upgrades, and McCarthy Building Companies was tasked to perform the renovation in three and a half months. McCarthy finished the 35,000-square-foot tenant improvement two days ahead of schedule. The entire renovation was completed while 30 existing tenants remained on the property.

For over 150 years, McCarthy Building Companies has built for the commercial, education, government, healthcare, hospitality, entertainment, industrial, technology, and transportation markets across the US. Chairman Mike Bolen has been with the company since 1981, working his way up from carpenter superintendent to division and regional management, ultimately becoming the first non-McCarthy to become CEO. Montana State University Construction Engineering alumnus Ray Sedey now takes on that role, having joined the firm as a project engineer in 2000. Leading the Northern Pacific Regional operations based out of San Francisco is President Rich Henry, who in 2013 was inducted to the Academy of Civil Engineers at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. McCarthy has built award-winning projects for clients such as the University of California in San Diego, Los Angeles, UC Berkeley, and the San Diego Zoo.  

Pankow Builders

1 Sutter Street, Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94109 

Originally established by Engineer Charles Pankow in 1963, Pankow Builders continues to serve the aviation, civic, education, healthcare, hospitality, office, and retail sectors out of three offices in Pasadena, Oakland, and San Francisco. Today, it is led by President and Chairman of the Board Dave Eichten and Professional Engineer CEO Scott Anderson, who have each been with Pankow for over 25 years. The firm was also one of the founding members of the Design-Build Institute of America.

Pankow Builders worked on 459 Geary Street, rehabilitating the original 1917 structure and adding another story and a light well. That renovation brings the building to a height of 85 feet, with a 3,500-square-foot dwelling unit, as well as 11,345 square feet of office space and 6,795 square feet of retail space. Window walls along each floor on the white street façade generate an airy feel.

BCCI Construction

1160 Battery Street, Suite 250, San Francisco, CA 94111 

40-year construction industry veteran President and CEO Michael Scribner leads West Coast commercial builder BCCI Construction. Operating since 1986, the San Francisco-headquartered firm now has offices in Mountain View and Los Angeles. BCCI serves the education, nonprofit, retail, entertainment, government, sports and recreation, hospitality, healthcare, technology, and communications markets, with clients such as Canon, Google, the McCann Worldgroup, and Stanford University.

BCCI renovated the ground-floor space of the 1045 Bryant Street brick and timber building for quartz manufacturer Cambria’s San Francisco Slab Showroom. Customers can browse for the perfect quartz countertop throughout the 3,800-square-foot store, complete with a fully working demonstration kitchen, as well as a wine bar for events. BCCI coordinated with the vendors of the light fixtures, controls, millwork, tile, and stone tops. Cambria procured it all to make sure everything made it on time for the opening of this dynamic space.

Webcor

207 King Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, CA 94107 

The LEED Gold-certified InterContinental San Francisco is a 564,614-square-foot hotel in SoMa. Aside from the 550 guest rooms across the 32-floor structure, there are also 21 meeting rooms with flexible configurations for various events, two ballrooms, a 12,000-square-foot health spa, an indoor swimming pool, and a Michelin Star restaurant. The faceted and stepped glass curtain wall façade offers guests breathtaking views of San Francisco.

The four-star hotel was built by Webcor, which has been serving California for five decades. Today, Jes Pedersen—California Polytechnic State University, Pomona Construction Engineering alumnus and President and CEO—leads the team as it builds for the aviation and transportation, commercial office, cultural, education, government, health, science, hospitality, infrastructure, retail, restaurant markets. Pedersen first joined Webcor in 2000 as project director and now has 35 years of experience in the industry. The firm has built for clients such as Oracle, eBay, and Lucasfilm.

DPR Construction

945 Front Street, San Francisco, CA 94111 

A metal pedestrian bridge reminiscent of the Golden Gate Bridge connects the second-floor spaces of Pier 9. The 27,000-square-foot historical landmark was transformed into a half-office, half-workshop space for multinational software company Autodesk. Structural and MEP system upgrades support the machinery throughout the new metal shop, woodshop, mold labs, 3D print shop, CNC shop, and project room. Special additions make the office spaces unique: a swinging desk, custom-built wood, and fabric-paneled ceilings, touch-screen monitors, an automatic dividing partition with electronic sound bumpers that converts a large conference room into two, a wood-paneled lounge, and a live edge countertop hub kitchen.

This renovation was provided by DPR Construction. Founded by “the lettermen,” the late Doug Woods, Peter Nosler, and Ron Davidowski in 1990, DPR serves the technology, life sciences, healthcare, higher education, and commercial markets. The firm’s technically complex yet sustainable work goes beyond the US, with projects as far away as Amsterdam, Seoul, and Singapore. DPR ranked 5th on ENR Southeast’s Top Contractors list for 2021 and is a mainstay on the Top 400.