He loved construction. He loved building. He loved architecture and engineering. He worked for large construction companies, both local and national, before Charles G. Cleary started his own. He started the company to build his way with honesty and to build relations with his customers. High quality was important to him and that is why he started his company.

“Maintaining those missions, continue to be our driving force. My father started CGC General Contractors as Charlie & Company in 1992. He passed way in 2011. It was no longer Charlie & Company, so I changed the company to his initials, CGC,” says Cleary’s oldest son, Vice President and Project Manager William “Bill” Cleary.

Charles started the company working out of his garage. He started with himself, his wife and president of CGC, Janet Cleary. Soon after starting the small mom and pop construction company, Cleary hired a superintendent and estimator. The company began to grow and was able to move into another facility before moving into their current location which they have been in for just over a year.

Today the company has 10 employees that include four superintendents, estimator, office personnel, project managers and controller. Bill, younger brother Benjamin Cleary and Paul Gambill oversee the operations of the company.

CGC specializes primarily in commercial and government construction. “We have a pretty consistent school work base. Once a school knows you and trusts you, they like to use you on repeat projects,” says Vice President and Project Manager Gambill.

“K-12 is a big client as well as higher education and municipal work. We do work with the City of San Antonio and other municipalities, government, healthcare, retail, religious, hospitality and private commercial construction as well. We are just wrapping up a car wash. We really have a diverse set of clientele. We did some high-end residential stuff in the past, but we have elected to steer clear of that,” added Bill.

As the company nears its 29th year in business, the company finds itself in the midst of a succession. “The three of us, Paul, Ben and myself, are going to be equal owners of the company here very soon. We are buying my mother out. We are very enthusiastic and very aggressive. Our imaginations are driving us heavily to grow the company in much of the same spirit it was founded.”

“We are eager to expand, grow and continue to solidify our reputation as a high-quality contractor to deliver a high-quality product. We truly have a genuine willingness to work with owners and design teams. We are very customer focused and driven,” adds Bill.

“Moving into this new location was a big jump for us. Now that we have the capacity here at the office, we are expanding our client base and putting people in the right position to get us the work. We are being really careful to keep unchecked growth from happening so we can grow as organically as we can without getting out of control. It’s a slower process, but we are working up to that as fast as we can,” adds Gamble.

CGC provides a complete range of general contracting services, start to finish to include early planning and design, construction, project completion, and closeout. They are licensed and certified by the SCTRCA as SBE, ESBE, WBE, and the State of Texas as HUB.

“Every day is an adventure. We look forward to continuing the legacy our father laid before us with his values which are all very much our own,” concludes Ben Cleary, CGC Senior Superintendent.

CGC General Contractors, located in San Antonio, is a family-owned and operated general contracting company servicing Central and South Texas. -cmw

Author N/A. Family Legacy Continues. San Antonio Construction News. October 2020. https://constructionnews.net/2020/10/san-antonio-construction-news-october-2020/.