TOP STORY, NOV.: W.G. Mills sold

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ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED NOV. 18, 2010.

LAKEWOOD RANCH — The East County’s largest construction firm, W.G. Mills, has been sold to a company in Rhode Island.

Gilbane Inc., a nearly $4 billion company, is expected to close the deal for Mills Dec. 1, said Kristy dosReis, Gilbane’s director of marketing communications. W.G. Mills will be integrated into Gilbane’s current operations, becoming its 10th regional office and assuming the name “Mills Gilbane.”

“This is about taking our firm to the next level,” said Mills’ President Lem Sharp, who will become Mills Gilbane’s senior vice president and regional manager of the Florida office. “(Gilbane) wanted to be in Florida in a big way. We provided them the way to come to Florida and have an immediate footprint. Gilbane brought to us incredible credentials in different market sectors.”

Although Mills has constructed churches, business parks, medical buildings and even condominium complexes, it has focused most of its business on building schools throughout the state. The Sarasota-based company reported $275 million in 2009 revenues.

Sharp said the venture with Gilbane will give the company the experience, financial backing and credentials it will need to pursue bigger projects such as hospitals.

“Before, that would be out of our reach,” Sharp said. “You have to have that type of experience to do that type of work.

“W.G. Mills was not for sale,” he said. “We just felt like to take our respective companies to a higher level, it was a good merger and acquisition to pursue. It widens our bandwidth of opportunities. In Florida, there is no project that would be too large.”

Mills’ management team — including Sharp, CEO/Founder Walter G. Mills and Executive Vice President Tim Hensey — will continue leading the company.

Sharp said he expects to increase staff to accommodate new business over the next year. The company, Sharp said, also remains committed to its community involvement and philanthropy.

Mills’ past projects include the FCCI Insurance Group corporate headquarters in Lakewood Ranch and a $100 million overhaul of Riverview High School. Some of the company’s most notable work in the East County includes Lakewood Ranch Town Hall, University Professional Center, the Northern Trust building, Woodland, The Community Church, Braden River High School and Lake Vista Residences Condominiums, among others.

Negotiations between the two companies began about 20 months ago when executives from the firms began pursuing a joint venture.

“We were able to realize we were a good fit,” Sharp said.

Providence-based Gilbane, with projects nationwide, has grown mostly through projects, not acquisitions, said dosReis. The company recently bought a small firm in California, but before that it had grown only organically for several years.

Gilbane was founded in 1873 by brothers Thomas and William Gilbane, according to the firm’s Web site. The company has since stayed in family hands through five generations.

Mills, meanwhile, was founded by Sarasota businessman Walter Mills in 1972. The company currently is run by Sharp, the president who joined the firm in 1973.

Contact Mark Gordon at [email protected] or Pam Eubanks at [email protected].