Building Contractors Since 1987
Residential
Homes, apartments and later-living, from the first dig to the keys.
486 projects handed over
General contractors since 1987
Building WhatCities Need
New build, design and build, steel and concrete frames: 1,240 projects handed over across Chicago and the Midwest.
On site this week
Frames RisingEvery Week
Our own crews fix the steel, pour the decks and set the frames: 380 people on the payroll, 14 tower cranes in the yard.
96% handed over on time
Built To TheProgramme
A fixed price, a programme week by week and one team accountable from the first dig to the keys.
0103
What We Build
Commercial
Offices, retail and hotels, from the first dig to the keys.
312 projects handed over
Public & Education
Schools, healthcare and civic, from the first dig to the keys.
172 projects handed over
Main Contractor
Every trade on one programme, run by our own site team.
Design & Build
One contract and one price, design included.
Steel & Concrete
Frames erected by our own crews and cranes.
Keys On The Date
96% of projects handed over on programme.
How a build runs
From Ground To Handover
A 2,400 m², 4-storey office takes about 51 weeks on site and $8.7M all in. Here is how those weeks are spent.
Week 51 of 51 Handed over
12 months on site
Foundation
Setting out, excavation, piling, ground beams and the slab.
- Share of the cost$1.2M
- Payment at the end20%
Frame
The steel or concrete frame, floors, stairs and cores.
- Share of the cost$2.7M
- Payment at the end30%
Envelope
Roof, facade and glazing: the building made watertight.
- Share of the cost$2.4M
- Payment at the end25%
Handover
Services, fit-out, testing, snagging and the keys.
- Share of the cost$2.4M
- Payment at the end15%
About Formwell
One Team From The First Dig To The Keys
Builders, engineers and surveyors on one payroll since 1987, so the people who price your building are the people who build it.
- Projects handed over1,240
- Square metres built3.8M m²
- People on our payroll380
- Work from returning clients72%
Watch The Film
+376380 On Our PayrollBuilders, engineers and surveyors
+376380 On Our PayrollBuilders, engineers and surveyors
What we do
Our Services
Six ways to build with us, and one team accountable for all of it.
New Build Construction
Main contractor from the first dig to the keys.
Read More
Design & Build
One contract, one team, one fixed price.
Read More
Steel Frame Erection
Our own erectors and fourteen tower cranes.
Read More
Concrete & Groundworks
Piling, basements, slabs and frames.
Read More
Renovation & Fit-Out
Floors, interiors and buildings brought back.
Read More
Project Management
Programme, cost and quality on your side.
Read More
All in, per m²
The Rate Card
The cost per square metre of each build type at each finish level: an open site, two storeys, build only, with preliminaries and contingency included.
| Build Type | Shell & Core | Standard | Premium | Signature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
  HousesDetached, terraced and townhouses | $1,604$148.99 / ft² | $2,227$206.93 / ft² | $2,896$269.01 / ft² | $3,675$341.44 / ft² |
  ApartmentsApartment blocks and mixed use | $1,777$165.10 / ft² | $2,468$229.30 / ft² | $3,209$298.09 / ft² | $4,073$378.35 / ft² |
| OfficesOffices, workplace and HQ buildings | $2,124$197.31 / ft² | $2,950$274.05 / ft² | $3,835$356.26 / ft² | $4,867$452.18 / ft² |
| Retail & HospitalityShops, restaurants and hotels | $1,907$177.18 / ft² | $2,649$246.08 / ft² | $3,443$319.91 / ft² | $4,371$406.03 / ft² |
  Warehouses & IndustrialSheds, logistics and light industry | $997$92.62 / ft² | $1,385$128.63 / ft² | $1,800$167.22 / ft² | $2,285$212.25 / ft² |
  Schools & PublicSchools, libraries and civic buildings | $2,297$213.42 / ft² | $3,191$296.42 / ft² | $4,148$385.34 / ft² | $5,264$489.09 / ft² |
  HealthcareClinics, surgeries and medical centres | $3,077$285.90 / ft² | $4,274$397.09 / ft² | $5,556$516.21 / ft² | $7,052$655.19 / ft² |
Rates move with the site, the height and the extras: an urban infill site adds 12%, a brownfield site 7%, and every storey above 2 adds 2%. Design & build adds a 6% design fee.
Our record
Measured On Every Job
4.9386 Google reviews
96%
On Time
Projects handed over on or before the programme date.
94%
On Budget
Final accounts within the agreed contract sum.
72%
Repeat Clients
Of our work comes from clients who came back.
88%
Waste Recycled
Of site waste kept out of landfill last year.
Our clients
Clients Who Came Back
72% of our work comes from clients we have built for before.
They handed the campus over a week early and on the number we signed. The site was the tidiest I have walked.
Helen MarshDevelopment Director, Northgate Estates
Sixty-four loading doors, a mezzanine and a cold store in fourteen months, with the yard open the whole time.
Paul BeckerFacilities Lead, Kestrel Logistics
Two summers, a school that never closed, and a site team that knew every teacher by name.
Martin ShawBusiness Manager, Westfield School District
Thirty-six homes, four styles, one programme. Every street was finished before the next one started.
Oliver GrantOwner, Oakridge Developments
Safety manager
Questions About A Site?
Samuel Mensah and the safety team answer the site emergency line +1 312 555 0190 day and night.
Ready To Build? Send Us Your Drawings.
A priced tender within ten working days, or a first cost per m² in two minutes.
Request A Tender In Five Steps
Get in touch
+376380 On Our PayrollBuilders, engineers and surveyors
Write To Us
An estimator replies within a working day. For a priced tender, the tender form takes your drawings in five steps.
- Generalexample@example.com
- Careersexample@example.com
- The depotMonday to Saturday from 7:30 am
+376380 On Our PayrollBuilders, engineers and surveyors