by Navy Yard
December 18, 2014
PIDC, Philadelphia’s public-private economic development corporation, announced that Environmental Construction Services, Inc. (ECSI360), United American Builders, and BFW Group have co-signed a lease to relocate each of their headquarters into a shared office space at The Navy Yard. Mayor Michael A. Nutter and PIDC joined the companies’ leaders for a ceremonial ribbon-cutting at The Navy Yard. The leaders of these three companies are graduates of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program.
“It is with great pride that I join PIDC in welcoming Environmental Construction Services, United American Builders, and BFW Group to their new home at The Navy Yard,” said Mayor Nutter. “It shows that Philadelphia is a great city for small but rapidly growing businesses to locate.”
The Navy Yard is a progressive and dynamic campus that is built around collaboration and business growth. Today, The Navy Yard is home to more than 11,000 employees and 145 companies in the office, industrial/manufacturing, and research and development sectors. The campus offers a mix of unique real estate opportunities that can accommodate the rapid growth of companies like ECSI360, United American Builders, and BFW Group.
“We are delighted to welcome these three forward-thinking companies to The Navy Yard,” said John Grady, President of PIDC. “By choosing this sustainability-minded campus for their collaborative headquarters, they are setting themselves up for great success and business growth.”
The founders of these three companies initially met as participants in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program in Philadelphia, which offers a practical business education, access to capital, and a supportive network of advisors and peers. After graduating from the program, ECSI360, United American Builders, and BFW decided to relocate together to The Navy Yard to share resources and collaborate on mutual business opportunities, while providing clients a full-service solution to building construction.
“Our data shows that 80% of 10,000 Small Businesses participants are collaborating with their classmates to develop new business opportunities, contract directly or provide referrals,” said Dan Nissenbaum, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs. “This co-working space reflects the kind of synergy we are seeing among alumni of the program and the growth potential when entrepreneurs share ideas and learn from each other.”
Environmental Construction Services, Inc. (ECSI360) is a full service HVAC construction company that differentiates itself from the competition through its focus on energy-efficient retrofit projects. Relying on a staff comprised of mechanical, electrical and energy engineers and trades people, each with an average of more than 20 years of construction experience, ECSI360 brings together the innovation of conceptual design with the practical experience of real life construction.
“In the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, companies are encouraged to work together and grow together. UAB, BFW and ECSI360 have embodied this philosophy by partnering and working together on contracts in excess of $1 million since entering the program. Now, we are joining forces to compete at a higher scale,” said Michael Brown, President and CEO of ECSI360. “We chose The Navy Yard because of the momentum growing around energy efficiency. We found ourselves working with companies at The Navy Yard on advanced energy retrofits and energy saving initiatives on almost a weekly basis.”
United American Builders is a general contracting firm serving Greater Philadelphia, New York City, and New Jersey. UAB focuses on commercial fit outs and renovations with a significant effort and past performance in the hospitality sector. Self-performing the majority of its work, along with a concentrated effort on communication, lends itself to UAB’s recent success and growth. United American Builders is committed to delivering quality work and exceeding its clients’ highest expectations on every project.
“We are thrilled to be in such great company here at The Navy Yard and to be a part of the culture that will help us continue to grow. Doing business with fellow Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses alumni is one of many perks of the program that we are enjoying,” said Rich Podulka, President of United American Builders.
BFW Group provides construction project management, owner’s representation, LEED Administration, cost estimating and development consulting services to government, schools and institutions, commercial property managers, non-profit and for-profit real estate developers.
“We are really excited to be leasing space at The Navy Yard with fellow Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses alumni, as we focus on our growth opportunity to partner with majority construction project management firms to go after larger construction projects in the Greater Philadelphia Region,” said Blane Stoddart, CEO of BFW Group.
The three companies will be situated together in Quarters M-1 at The Navy Yard (4623 S. Broad Street), a renovated, 5,300-square foot building which was previously used as a former officer’s quarters and overlooks the Reserve Basin.
About Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses is an investment to help entrepreneurs create jobs and economic opportunity by providing greater access to education, capital and business support services. The program is based on the broadly held view of leading experts that greater access to this combination of education, capital and support services best addresses barriers to growth for small businesses. Goldman Sachs and the Goldman Sachs Foundation are committing $20 million to the program in the Greater Philadelphia area.
Applications for 10,000 Small Businesses are accepted on a rolling basis at Community College of Philadelphia, with February 2 as the deadline to apply for the next cohort. The program is open to business owners from across the Greater Philadelphia region. For more information and an application, visit www.ccp.edu/10KSB.