News

The Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Foundation recently announced that the Joint Venture of Turner Construction Company, McKissack and McKissack, Gilford Corporation, and Tompkins Builders, Inc. was selected to serve as the Design-Build team for the memorial.

The memorial honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be built on the National Mall in Washington adjacent to the F.D.R. Memorial and in a direct line between the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. The Memorial Foundation has raised about $79.5 million of the needed $100 million to build and maintain the memorial, which is scheduled for completion in 2008. For more information about the memorial or to donate, please visit www.buildthedream.org.

"From a personal standpoint, it means a great deal for my wife, Ollie, and me to be a part of this historical undertaking. Both of us grew up in Alabama during the height of the civil rights movement. We experienced the inequities of segregation and also participated in the struggle by taking part in the demonstrations and Dr. King’s voter registration efforts.”

Gilford Corporation recently won the Outstanding Construction Award at the Prince George’s County Small Business Initiative’s second anniversary celebration. The Small Business Initiative, a branch of the county’s Economic Development Corporation, provides direct assistance to small and minority-owned businesses located in the county.

Henry Gilford, founder and CEO of Gilford Corporation, credited the Initiative with helping the firm to take the lead for constructing 500 additional rooms at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, a cornerstone of the $2 billion National Harbor project under construction on the Potomac River. Gilford is part of one of the first joint ventures for a minority firm on the National Harbor project.

Gilford is serving as general contractor for the Cornerstone Peaceful Bible Baptist Church's new facility on a 27-acre site in Upper Marlboro, MD. The church when completed will include a 3,000-seat sanctuary, Fellowship Hall, Chapel, and K through 12 school along with swimming pool, gymnasium, and fitness center.

The first phase (ground breaking planned for Spring 2007), will encompass construction of 62,500 square feet that will serve as a temporary church and will include a gymnasium with sanctuary seating for 1,300, multi-purpose room/Fellowship Hall, commercial kitchen, 21 classrooms, nursery, offices, and library/computer lab.

The second phase will encompass 99,000 square feet and will include a 3,000-seat sanctuary with balcony, Chapel, administration suite, offices, meeting rooms, and a grand lobby.