From humble beginnings to industry leaders, Bancroft Construction reflects on half a century of success
Celebrating its 50th year in business in 2025, Bancroft Construction (Bancroft) is an award-winning, employee-owned Mid-Atlantic construction management firm servicing clients throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Taking great pride in building not only physical structures, but also long-standing relationships, Bancroft is committed to partnerships within its projects, from major developments to revitalizing world-renowned cultural landmarks.
Bancroft supports clients from concept to completion, offering construction-based solutions regarding program management, preconstruction services, construction management, owner’s representation, virtual design and construction, and sustainable solutions across the life sciences, education, cultural, commercial, multi-family, and industrial sectors.
Bancroft was founded by Stephen Mockbee, a US Marine Corps veteran with a passion for building and an entrepreneurial spirit. Having begun as Mockbee Builders in 1975, the company evolved from its humble beginnings into Bancroft Builders and eventually Bancroft Construction. To learn more about the company’s evolution, we’re joined by Greg Sawka, President and CEO, Rob Jadick, Regional Vice President, and Ron Wilbraham, Project Executive.
“I’ve been at Bancroft for around half of its 50 years, during which time I’ve seen the company expand its capabilities and diversify into new markets,” Greg begins. “Working with renowned life sciences companies like DuPont and Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), we boast unrivalled experience and capabilities in biotech, pharmaceutical, and chemical science applications. From around 2000, the DuPont partnership evolved into a global services contract, and Bancroft’s focus shifted to diversification and expansion.
“At a financial level, we set a target of reaching $200 million in annual revenue by focusing on growth, innovation, and diversification. In terms of geographic expansion, we opened a satellite office in Princeton, New Jersey, in 2016, as well as a second satellite office in Salisbury, Maryland, in 2020. We’re always considering new geographies like Philadelphia and Northeast Maryland towards Baltimore by exploring investment opportunities and migrating relationships.”
On the cusp of its 50th anniversary, we ask Greg how Bancroft is marking the milestone. “To oversee our 50th anniversary celebrations, we’ve established a couple of committees with a range of employees, from long tenured staff to newer team members,” he says. “Our longest tenured employee has been with us for 46 years! The theme of our anniversary year is ‘Bettering Our Communities, Driving Innovation, and Building Lasting Relationships.’ We are focused on thanking our employees, customers, suppliers, and local communities – for enabling us to flourish for five decades. Not only are we hosting events like a charity golf outing and a fall gala for our team members, but we’re also carrying out work for some not-for-profit organizations to benefit the communities in which we operate. There will be time for reflection and gratitude as we plan to share old photos and videos with our network to illustrate how far we’ve come.”
Impressive project portfolio
Reflecting on his experiences with the company, Ron adds: “I joined Bancroft 30 years ago as a field engineer on the DuPont account and I am now a Project Executive, serving New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. In 2007, I was fortunate to be the first service provider for Bancroft at the BMS account, which has since grown to over 26 employees across multiple campuses. I was also part of the leadership team that opened our Princeton office, which helped us grow into many life sciences, higher education, commercial, and multifamily projects.”
Having grown a strong reputation in the cultural sector, Bancroft recently completed Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience, a project to transform Longwood’s 17 acres of existing property and gardens, including the addition of a 32,000-square-foot glasshouse at the heart of the renowned grounds. Valued at an impressive $250 million, this project is Bancroft’s largest to date and was completed over three years between 2021 and 2024.
On the topic of projects, Rob is keen to share details of Bancroft’s work with Merck Animal Health. “In 2024, we executed a professional service agreement with Merck Animal Health, and we currently have multiple resources including project managers and electrical specialists on site to manage multiple projects,” he shares. “We also have a developing relationship with the University System of Maryland, having executed multiple projects in recent years in the capacity of a general contractor, a construction manager, and as a design-builder for Salisbury University and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.”
Expanding capabilities
As the business continues to strengthen its presence in existing markets, Bancroft is also expanding into new areas, as Greg explains: “We’ve been part of a peer group of six US companies for around 25 years,” he states. “The group was assembled to enable the non-competing companies to share best practices and industry insights. As a group we noticed increased opportunities in the multifamily residential market, and as we’d previously completed multifamily properties and were familiar with wood framing, we decided to grow our capabilities by expanding into multifamily projects. We’ve completed more than 1000 units to date and with a housing shortage across the country, demand shows no signs of slowing.
“We’re also strengthening our presence in the industrial markets by leveraging our experience with chemical and biopharmaceutical manufacturing plants. With a history of specializing in laboratory and clean room environments, we’re drawing upon these relationships to push our capabilities towards larger scale projects. Considering the current focus on reshoring and US manufacturing, we’re hoping to capitalize on increased demand over the next four-to-eight years. Our value proposition means that the more technically challenging or complex a project is, the more value we can add.”
Sustainable growth
With this in mind, our conversation turns to what’s next for Bancroft. “Our focus for 2025 is workforce development,” Greg says. “Since we reached our $200 million milestone, we’re growing at a more modest and sustainable rate, which allows us to prioritize the development and growth of our employees. To align with our working culture, we’re developing people’s capabilities, onboarding new talent, and providing opportunities for personal growth. By emphasizing the people and culture aspect of the business, we’re creating a vibrant pipeline of internal leaders to take Bancroft into a new generation.
“While we’re aiming for stable growth and potential expansion into new geographies or market sectors, we want to grow at a rate that still allows us to build meaningful relationships with clients and partners,” he concludes. “As we grow, we’ll look to occupy an increased share of the market and become the constructor of choice in the sectors we serve.”