(205) 882-1915

Commercial construction · Birmingham, Alabama

Design-build general contractor. Birmingham, Alabama.

EDB Corporation designs and builds commercial buildings across Jefferson, Shelby and Tuscaloosa counties under one contract. Preconstruction, architecture, permitting and construction are one team, and the price is set before the drawings are finished.

Send us a site How a project runs
Two-story brick commercial building at dusk, storefront windows lit, wet empty street in front
Photo 01Front elevation, dusk
StageComplete
StatusPriced at SD
One contractDesign, permit, price and schedule under one agreement
Priced while drawnBudget checked against subcontractor pricing at schematic and again at design development
A super on every jobOn-site superintendent, a project manager on the phone, one person who owns the budget
Central AlabamaJefferson, Shelby, Tuscaloosa and surrounding counties

About the firm

Architect and builder on one team.

EDB Corporation is a commercial design-build firm based in Birmingham. We work for developers, franchise operators, property owners and facility managers on ground-up buildings, tenant build-outs and renovations. Design is by Alabama-registered architects; construction is by a licensed Alabama general contractor, both under one agreement with the owner.

When drawings are finished before anyone prices them, the redesign comes out of the owner's schedule. We price while we draw. The estimator who builds the budget at concept stays on the job through closeout, and the architects work from that budget rather than handing a finished set to a bidder.

Left half: ground-floor plan sheet with the front wall traced in red. Right half: the finished brick building photographed straight on, each window matching the plan
Photo 02 · The drawing and the building are the same objectSheet A1.1 · front wall traced

Services

What we do

Lighting plan on a desk seen from above, zones highlighted in yellow, pink and blue, a scale ruler and a laptop spreadsheet beside it
Photo 03 · Every fixture counted by handPreconstruction
Architect's hand with a red pen marking corrections on a floor plan at a drafting table
Photo 04 · Corrected on paper before it is builtArchitecture

Preconstruction

Site feasibility, zoning review, program, conceptual budget and schedule.

The budget is built from a takeoff and subcontractor pricing, not a square-foot allowance. You get a number you can take to a lender before design fees are spent.

In-house

Architecture

Schematic design, design development, permit set, construction documents.

Alabama-registered architects working alongside the estimator from the first sketch. Floor plans, elevations, finish schedules and MEP coordination.

Registered architects

Design-build

Single contract for design and construction.

One team answers for the drawings, the permit, the price and the schedule. The owner stops being the referee between the architect and the builder.

In-house

General contracting

Ground-up and renovation construction.

Subcontractor buyout, site supervision, inspections and closeout by a licensed Alabama general contractor.

Licensed GC

Construction management

For owners who already have drawings.

Preconstruction pricing, value engineering and construction of a set another firm designed.

In-house

Tenant improvements

Office, retail, restaurant and medical build-outs.

From lease signing to occupancy. Most tenant work happens while the business stays open, and we phase around your hours.

In-house

Permitting and entitlements

Zoning, variances, City of Birmingham and county plan review.

We handle zoning, plan-review comments and utility service coordination before the first footing is poured.

In-house

Renovation and adaptive reuse

Older commercial and mixed-use buildings.

Existing-conditions survey, code analysis, change of occupancy and phased construction.

In-house
One-story brick corner building before renovation: peeling white paint, boarded storefront, rusted security gate, sagging awning The same building after renovation: clean brick, black-framed storefront glass, wood entry, steel canopy, planter with grasses BeforeAfter
Photo 08 · Renovation and adaptive reuseDrag the handle to compare

Services are provided together or individually. Owners who already have an architect can bring the set to us for pricing and construction.

Design-build

One contract. One team answers for the price.

Under design-bid-build the owner signs two contracts, one with an architect and one with a contractor. The drawings are finished before anyone prices them, and when the bids come in high the owner pays for the redesign in fees and lost weeks. When the drawings and the field disagree later, each side points at the other.

Under design-build the owner signs one contract with EDB. Subcontractors and suppliers are about 80 percent of a project's cost, so we price with them during design instead of after it. Site and early packages can start while later drawings finish, and the same people who drew the set are on site when it is built.

Design-bid-build

  • Two contracts: architect and contractor
  • Cost is unknown until drawings are complete and bid
  • Design finishes before construction starts
  • Drawing gaps become change orders paid by the owner
  • The owner mediates between designer and builder

Design-build with EDB

  • One contract, one point of contact
  • Budget at concept, priced again at schematic and design development, then a guaranteed maximum price
  • Site and early packages start while design finishes
  • Drawing gaps are ours to fix
  • Weekly owner report with photos, cost and schedule
Retail store open for business on the right, with a zippered plastic dust wall dividing it from framing and conduit work on the left
Photo 06 · The business stayed open while the work happenedTenant build-out, phased around store hours

Process

How a project runs

1

Feasibility

Site walk, zoning check, program, conceptual budget and a schedule.

You receive: budget range and schedule
2

Schematic design

Plans and elevations, priced against the budget before they are developed further.

You receive: schematic set and SD estimate
3

Design development and permit

Systems and finishes selected, subcontractor pricing collected, permit set submitted.

You receive: permit set and guaranteed maximum price
4

Construction

Superintendent on site daily. Weekly owner meeting with photos, cost to date and look-ahead schedule.

You receive: weekly report
5

Closeout

Final inspections, punch list closed before we demobilize, as-built drawings and warranties.

You receive: certificate of occupancy
Superintendent in a hi-vis vest walking the formwork over a rebar grid at sunrise, concrete truck waiting at the far edge
Photo 05 · Step 4Slab, the morning of the pour
Birmingham City Hall entrance with a hand holding a folder and stapled permit application in the foreground
Photo 07 · Step 3Walked in, not mailed
Phone screen showing a weekly owner report: contract sum, cost to date, percent complete, six site photos, a three-week look-ahead and open items
Photo 09 · Step 4Weekly report

Markets

Building types

Office lobby seen through the front glass, reception desk and pendant light

Office

Professional office buildings and tenant build-outs.

Dental operatory with reclined patient chair and white cabinets

Medical

Clinics, dental, urgent care and medical office.

Quick-service restaurant pad with drive-through lane and parking

Retail and restaurant

Quick-service pads, strip centers and franchise prototypes.

Tilt-wall warehouse dock with three roll-up doors and a box truck

Industrial and warehouse

Shop buildings, warehouses and flex space.

Sanctuary from the back pew, center aisle to a platform with a wooden cross

Church and nonprofit

Sanctuaries, fellowship halls and community facilities.

Three-story corner building with a coffee shop below and balconies above

Multifamily and mixed-use

Ground-floor commercial with apartments above, and small apartment buildings.

Contact

Send us the address.

Send the site address, the intended use and a target budget if you have one. We reply within one business day with a budget range and next steps.

Phone
(205) 882-1915
Office
Birmingham, Alabama
Three people standing in front of a building at framing stage: principal, architect holding rolled drawings, superintendent in hi-vis vest and hard hat
Photo 11 · The people who answer the phonePrincipal · Architect · Superintendent
Text us (205) 882-1915