One of California’s busy downtown areas made up of shops, restaurants, and other businesses, San Mateo offers busy city life with a beautiful scenic backdrop. This mix of nature and bustle attracts many businesses to the area, and with that comes the need for reliable commercial contractors to keep these businesses up to date.
Many of the nation’s best commercial contractors thus reside in the area, with years of experience and numerous accolades to back them up. This list includes the top eleven best commercial contractors in San Mateo, ranked by the firm’s experiences, portfolios, awards, and approach.
DPR Construction
1510 S. Winchester Blvd., San Jose, CA 95128
DPR Construction has grown into one of the leading commercial contractors in California since its beginnings in 1997. The team would later become a self-performing contractor and manager, tackling an array of projects, ranging from small renovation and remodeling projects to multi-million dollar facilities. With its experience tackling different projects for various clients, the DPR team has established a well-developed reputation for offering accountability in all its projects.
This feature project below is the 21-story Coda office tower. This project features various sustainable aspects such as waste heat recovery, rainwater harvesting, and smart grid. The firm used 3D modeling to eventually create this functional tower capable of housing numerous research facilities, office spaces, and data analytics areas. Upon completion, the project received the 2019 Project Achievement Award and the CMAA South Atlantic Chapter’s Annual Board Choice Award.
Hillhouse Construction Company
140 Charcot Ave., San Jose, CA 95131
One of Hillhouse Construction’s notable projects is the Volvo Innovation Center, featuring a tenant improvement of a 42,000-square-foot space with tunable LED lighting. In addition, the primary office includes amenities such as a lounge area, a kitchen, conference rooms, and an open-concept work area. Aside from the office space, the 5,000-square-foot patio hosts sustainable features such as semi-transparent solar panels. These projects are possible with the firm’s extensive background in the business, spanning over three decades. Its goal is to create spaces that allow people to thrive through the use of grounded fundamentals and a solid foundation to its methodology. To ensure every client receives the most for their budget, the firm involves energy-efficient techniques such as water savings, landfill diversion, and thermal comfort. The result of this process is a portfolio with a diverse track record of projects featuring efficient features in a functional, practical space.
South Bay Construction
1711 Dell Ave., Campbell, CA 95008
Since its establishment in 1978, South Bay Construction has built a track record of straightforward communication between the client and firm as well as partnering up with reliable and ethical professionals. Throughout its four decades of being in the industry, the team has developed sufficient knowledge in various sectors and has become well-versed in its numerous issues. This allowed the company to tackle a plethora of projects ranging from R&D, retail, offices, hospitality, and mixed-use construction. Today, it embraces the use of contemporary technology and the use of green-building methods that offer a healthier environment for the building’s residents and the surrounding area.
Pictured below is one of the firm’s notable projects, featuring a complete interior build-out of a 143,514-square-foot space for 23andMe. The project’s scope includes selective demolition and the construction of the main lobby. The firm included conference rooms, storage rooms, a commercial kitchen, a children’s center, a fitness center, and numerous office spaces. For this project, the firm focused specifically on functionality, including amenities that workers may need during hours.
W.L. Butler
1629 Main St., Redwood City, CA 94063
Pictured below is the MAP Energy project featuring interior improvements with a stylish modern office space. The floor plan consists of contemporary furnishing throughout the massive open office area, effectively creating a balance of workspace and break rooms. The open office concept utilizes the entirety of the office space, resulting in an efficient layout that allows easy coordination between workers.
Since its establishment in 1975, W.L. Butler Construction has developed various relationships with a bevy of professionals, elevating its small team to a mid-sized contractor firm. With projects such as the MAP Energy project, it has become a well-known presence in the Golden State and has worked for a range of companies ranging from Samsung, Whole Foods, Costco, Charles Schwab, and Target. With this track record of clients, the company continues to grow both in its team and clients. At present, it has over 200 professionals and is expanding its services to healthcare and automotive clients. Some awards the group has garnered include the 2018 Gold Nugget Grand Award for Best Rehabilitation Project and the 2018 Award of Excellence – Los Angeles Business.
BCCI Construction
150 E Dana St., Mountain View, CA 94041
BCCI Construction is a full-service contractor established in 1986. Under the leadership of president and CEO Michael Scribner and COO Dominic Sarica, AIA, the company became a prominent figure in the business with various offices in San Francisco and Mountain View. Its goal is to go beyond the role of builder and extend its scope to the client as a reliable collaborator and vendor, resulting in refined interior spaces. The firm has garnered awards such as the 2020 Community Award IWBI and the 2019 IWBI Leadership Award while receiving features from the 2017 Contract Magazine.
Pictured below is the Autodesk project featuring a total demolition and multi-phased build-back. The new downtown office displays a variety of amenities ranging from conference rooms, phone rooms, a recording studio, a kitchen, break rooms, a gym, a shower area, and a bike room. A unique aspect of this office is the many artwork and murals throughout the floor plan, radiating a bright, vibrant atmosphere.
Build Group, Inc.
1210 Coleman Ave., Santa Clara, CA 95050
One of Build Group’s most prominent projects is this Zara interior build-out project in partnership with Westfield and Gensler. The team’s collaborated to complete this 26,000-square-foot space, emphasizing functionality to provide the best customer experience possible. The simple yet refined retail store features the brand’s clothing lines effectively while maintaining an efficient floor plan that allows guests to browse through its selections with ease. With its massive floor space, the firm was able to effectively offer the necessary equipment for the client without overcrowding the store.
Since its beginnings in 2007, the firm has continued to build beautiful retail and other commercial projects such as these. Through the years, the team has remained adaptable, continuously changing its methodology to grow to be a better firm. The firm has features in magazines such as 2019 Registry, 2018 PR Newswire, and the 2018 Profile Magazine for some of the work it has done.
Layton Construction
154 E. Dana St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Over six decades of being in the industry has led to Layton Construction being one of the leading contractors in the area. Its concept of building with integrity leads to the level of quality the team strives for and has been a consistent driving force among its workers. The group’s dedication to unparalleled quality has resulted in the completion of various offices in numerous locations ranging from Idaho, Hawaii, Florida, Utah, Tennessee, Arizona, and Northern and Southern California.
One of the firm’s notable projects is pictured below, featuring the Class A Innovation Pointe office. The building is an emerging regional tech hub in Utah with a size of 145,000 square feet. The floor plan consists of colorful walls and a mix-designed flooring. This, alongside contemporary furnishing, radiates a modern-day office with its refreshing, vibrant atmosphere, fit for a productive environment.
NOVO Construction
1460 O’Brien Dr., Menlo Park, CA 94025
Pictured below is the Okta project featuring a size of 189,000 square feet. The tenant improvement project spread across nine floors in downtown San Francisco, including new partitions, lighting, ceilings, and fire protection. Its scope included structural additions like guardrails and handrails, while each floor included amenities such as breakrooms, conference rooms, open office work areas, and IDF rooms. Along with this, the firm also worked on the fitness center, assembly area, cafe, and restrooms.
Throughout its two decades of business, president Jim Fowler has constantly elevated his team’s work through a collaborative environment. With large projects such as the Okta project, the team is equipped with sufficient knowledge and experience to tackle an array of large projects while developing new methodologies and techniques along the way. Today, the team has received various accolades with the Silicon Valley Business Journal featuring the firm in 2017 and winning the 2018 Honor Award IIDA-NC.
Cody | Brock Commercial Builders
1021 Howard Ave. D, San Carlos, CA 94070
Under the leadership of president Rich Cody, the firm continues its quality outputs with a constantly evolving process. Through cost-efficient methodologies, the company has developed the best options that maximize the client’s budget without compromising the quality. Its 27 years of being in the industry have led to various long-term partnerships and relationships amongst members of the business while expanding its clientele.
Meissa Vaccines is a pharmaceutical start-up company that applies synthetic biology and genetic engineering to respiratory viruses. Meissa’s innovative platform technology for virus genetic engineering can be applied to multiple pathogens, including COVID-19. As part of a larger 24,000 SF Spec Lab build-out for Longfellow Real Estate Partners, Cody|Brock took an existing office space, updated the office finishes, and converted part of the space into an R&D Lab, representing one of the many lab/office spaces planned for this 20-building campus. Beyond delivering the project under budget, CBI completed this project safely during the state-wide COVID-19 shutdown. Working with county health officials and the design team, Cody|Brock made schedule adjustments to ensure that all of its trade partners could work safely. In addition, the firm made critical late adjustments to design and procurement, enabling the lab to accommodate new equipment Meissa needed for research and development.
