About DGA Builders
Building Visions,
Building The Future
DGA Builders is a construction management and general contracting company in Rochester, New York.
The business was established in 1978 by Gary A. Dake. Gary Dake earned his degree from Hobart College in 1967. He served as a pilot in the US Air Force, flying "Jolly Green Giant" rescue helicopters and air refueling tankers in Vietnam. Upon his return, Gary formed the Dake Construction Company in 1978 to service the Monroe County area, later renamed DGA Builders.
Today we work primarily within Western and Central New York, with an additional roster of clients regionally within the Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic, Mid-Western, and Southeastern United States.
With over forty years of business, DGA Builders has developed an extensive, in-depth expertise in numerous construction sectors. DGA Builders specializes in medical, commercial, multi-unit, institutional and industrial construction, and has completed thousands of new construction, expansion, and renovation projects.
DGA Builders is an industry leader in healthcare construction with a deep portfolio of acute care facility development with specialties in high intensity phased occupied renovation, major building additions, facilities infrastructure modernization, departmental phased re-organizations, ICU and Operating Theater construction, and all phases of imaging and radiation suite construction.
DGA Builders is a regional leader in multi-unit construction. With well over 7,000 multi-family housing units totaling over 6.5 million square feet of new construction, DGA Builders is an undeniable industry leader. We have extensive experience in the market rate, senior living, affordable, HCR, HUD housing sectors.
DGA has a passion for safe, ethical, hard-driving, well-managed contracting. We imbue these attributes into our entire construction team. Our construction professionals possess a wide range of technical expertise which allows us to successfully execute projects across a varied number of market segments.
DGA is founded on one simple guiding principle: fully satisfy our client’s needs. We are an intensely client-driven organization. More so than buildings, we build relationships. We get to know our clients closely by fully understanding their personality, needs, and philosophy to become the best equipped for your project's success.
We would be honored to show you what we can accomplish together.
Award-Winning Service
Meet Our Executive Team
GREGORY P. CRAIG
PRESIDENT
Gregory comes from the North Country, Adirondacks region: Ogdensburg, NY. He attended Rochester Institute of Technology and Canton Technical College. He has been with DGA over 30 years, managing healthcare projects for 25 years. Gregory has a reputation for successfully leading complicated medical construction projects.
KEVIN W. NOWACK
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
Kevin is a native of Fairport, NY and carries the DGA legacy as a second-generation employee. He attended Cornell University and the University of Virginia. Kevin’s primary role as Executive Vice President includes oversite of DGA’s commercial and healthcare divisions.
WHIT A. YOUNGSTROM
VICE PRESIDENT
Whit earned his Mechanical Engineering degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He has served as Director of Operations, Estimator, Senior Project Manager, and Project Executive while working on a variety of projects. Whit primarily role is to lead historic renovations, multi-unit, and commercial construction.
GREG T. HART
VICE PRESIDENT
Greg has over 30 years of experience in the construction industry with extensive experience in Rochester's healthcare sector. Greg oversees commercial and healthcare projects at multiple hospital campuses. He is one of two family members to work for DGA.
ELENA M. GOSSON
VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE
Elena is originally from Victor, NY and earned her Business Administration degree from Nazareth College. For over 25 years Elena has led the Accounting Department, striving to complement the construction team to provide our clients with the most efficient and accurate support.
PETER D. BUCKLEY
PROJECT EXECUTIVE
Pete is a graduate from McQuaid Jesuit HS and earned his architectural degree from NYIT. With over 35 years of construction experience, Pete has managed over $1 billion in projects involving design, construction management, and real estate development. His expertise is a guiding force in planning and completing complex capital projects for public owners.
JOHN B. AHRENS
PROJECT EXECUTIVE
John's management experience began as a commissioned engineer officer in the US Army in 1996, and he transitioned to construction management in 2003 after earning his graduate degree for Civil Engineering at the University of Illinois. His commitment to quality, project controls, management, and schedule delivery have produced many project successes.