For 65 years, B&I Contractors has worked behind the scenes on some of Southwest Florida’s biggest development projects, its craftsmanship hidden in plumbing, electrical lines and HVAC systems.
But the company recently took center stage, breaking ground on a nearly 94,440-square-foot expansion and renovation of its Fort Myers headquarters. The project off Canal Street on a 30-acre site zoned for heavy industrial construction will more than double the size of the company’s campus.
The current two-building, 50,517-square-foot campus will expand to four buildings totaling 131,517 square feet. The $28 million project is expected to be completed in 2027, said Jason Grabowski, who became CEO in January 2023.
“It expands our manufacturing capabilities,” Grabowski said. “It helps us battle the shortage of skilled labor and reduces the need for labor in the field significantly.”
The expansion also will help B&I grow its workforce, which currently ranges from 1,200 to 1,400 employees. Grabowski expects to add at least 100 more positions once construction is complete. B&I also operates offices in Fort Lauderdale, Sarasota and Tampa.
“It allows us to fabricate more efficiently,” he said. “We can be more cost-efficient on the install. It triples our manufacturing capacity.”
B&I selected longtime partner Stevens Construction to manage the project, which will add three new buildings over the next two years on land previously owned by a concrete company.
“So, now the pressure is on me to reciprocate what they’ve done for us for over 30 years and perform for them,” said Stevens Construction President Mark Stevens. “And it’s really, truly an honor for us to be selected by them to be their contractors.
“It’s a massive project. It’s one of the largest — it is the largest industrial type project that we at Stevens Construction have ever executed.”
The site, near Canal and Ford streets in Fort Myers, sits south of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and north of Hanson Street.
“Our corporate headquarters has always been here in Fort Myers,” Grabowski said. “And when we had the opportunity to expand here on our footprint — our current footprint — we took advantage of it by getting this property.”
Plans call for a 29,326-square-foot building to have its 4,000-square-foot office and mezzanine demolished and rebuilt, connecting to a new 32,000-square-foot manufacturing facility. An existing 21,191-square-foot industrial building will remain, joined by a new 12,000-square-foot office building and a 37,000-square-foot structure on the eastern side of the property.
B&I Contractors and Stevens Construction team members break ground on the company’s expanded Fort Myers headquarters. The $28 million project will double the campus size.
David Dorsey
Construction will require 3,200 cubic yards of concrete — about 355 truckloads — and 300,000 pounds of steel, along with more than 140,000 nuts, bolts, washers and fasteners.
“Our teams will hang 2,000 sheets of drywall secured by 60,000 screws,” Stevens said. “We’ll have 2,500 feet of roof gutters that will keep things dry, and 2,701 new trees and bushes will bring beauty and shade to the site.”
Canal Street also will be extended by about 1,200 feet to accommodate the expansion, along with 391,000 square feet of new pavement and 260 new parking spaces.
“Every one of these numbers tells a story of growth — not just in buildings, but in people, partnerships and community impact,” Stevens said.
Founded in 1960 by the late Gordon “Buck” Harbuck, B&I Contractors began when Harbuck moved from Georgia to work on Naples High School. Arriving with a pickup truck and a station wagon, he built a company that would last decades. Harbuck died in 2010 at age 85.
Gary Griffin joined B&I as an intern in 1984 and rose to CEO, serving from 1995 to 2023 before retiring.
“It was always a mechanical and plumbing company, and he added electrical,” Griffin said of Harbuck. In the mid-1980s, Harbuck transitioned the company to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, which Griffin said fueled its success.
“It allowed us to be more successful,” Griffin said, as will the new headquarters, which will consolidate leadership into one place. “It’s exciting.”