Open book.
On purpose. →
Boutique design-build for people building a home that has to be right.
Gilk is a Tampa design-build studio, founded in 2015, that has designed, built and renovated high-end homes across South Tampa and a Michelin-starred restaurant in Tampa Heights. Today Gilk takes on a small number of projects at a time and works them from the first sketch to the last warranty walk: design and construction under one roof, one point of contact, every cost visible to the owner, and no decision that costs money made without your written approval.
Track record
A decade of building, and the numbers behind it.
Tampa, at volume
From a single crew in 2015 to a design-build firm delivering more than $23 million of work in its biggest year, with its own architecture and design team, across Bayshore, Hyde Park, Palma Ceia, Beach Park, Davis Islands, Seminole Heights and the Motor Enclave. The systems that ran that volume, the gate model, the open-book draw package, the vendor and lien process, are the ones every Gilk project runs on today.
A second market, built from scratch
Gilk qualified to do business in Colorado, earned contractor licenses in Jefferson and Adams counties, delivered a mountain custom home in Evergreen, and developed a commercial and residential pipeline from Denver to Pueblo West. Opening a market twelve hundred miles from home is its own kind of project, and the playbook for it is written down.
Selected work
The work, and what each project asked of us.
How we work
Two contracts, eight gates, and a number you can trust before you sign for it.
Two contracts, on purpose
Pre-construction is its own engagement, paid on an hourly retainer, and you keep the work product no matter what. The construction agreement is signed only once trades are bought out and the budget is real, cost-plus with an open book, convertible to a guaranteed maximum if you want one.
Eight gates
From kickoff to certificate of occupancy, the project passes through eight decision points. At each one we assess, we decide together, and you receive something in writing. Your Gilk lead walks every gate with you on site.
Every week, every month
A standing owner, architect and builder meeting. Daily logs and photos you can open any time. A monthly draw package with every invoice behind it. The builder fee is the only profit in the job, never layered on labor, never applied to material you buy yourself.
What we take on
A few projects at a time, designed and built the way we would do our own.
- Design-build, start to finish
Concept, drawings, pricing and construction under one roof, with the architects and designers we have built with for a decade. One team is accountable for the whole house. - Custom homes and whole-house renovations
High-end, boutique and relationship-driven. South Tampa first: Bayshore, Hyde Park, Palma Ceia, Beach Park and the neighborhoods around them. - Owner's representation
When you already have an architect or a contractor: a builder on your side of the table, reading every number and every draw for you. - Pre-construction on its own
Estimating, constructability review, scheduling and buyout as a standalone engagement, whether or not we build it.
Sports & entertainment
Built by people who have lived the schedule.
The calendar is real
Gilk was founded by a former NFL player, and much of its work has come through the sports and entertainment world: a trade in March and a family in a new city by August, a coach building on a two-year horizon, a tour that decides when the house can be finished. We plan around your season, not ours.
Your people, in the loop
Agents, business managers and financial advisors get the same open book you do: the draw package, the budget against actuals, the gate summaries. Nothing that costs money moves without a written yes from whoever you say can give it.
Discretion by default
No project is announced, photographed or shared without your permission, before, during or after. The address stays off the paperwork that does not need it, and the trades sign the same terms.
- Relocation builds and renovations on a deadline
A home that is ready when the family lands, with the punch list finished before the first game. - Second homes and investment property in Tampa Bay
Pre-construction, owner's representation or full design-build, whichever the project calls for. - Owner's representation for projects anywhere
When the build is in another city, Gilk reads every number and every draw for you and your advisors.
Press & recognition
In the news.
- MICHELIN GuideRocca, Tampa Heights: one Michelin star, first awarded in 2023 and held in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide. Gilk designed and built the restaurant, and Gilk’s Founder is a partner in it.
- Tampa Bay Business & WealthHow Design and Construction Can Safeguard Your Investments and Communities
- The AthleticFormer Buccaneers linemen prioritize mental health
- Bay News 9Bucs players tackle new playbook off the field
- Fox BusinessNFL players tackle new playbook off the gridiron, using careers as 'second chance' to build dreams
- ABC Action NewsTampa Bay Buccaneers linemen duo team up to launch new brand
“15 out of 10. It ended up even better than we thought it would. Definitely a higher-end experience.”
Jared M., design-build client
Talk to Gilk
Tell us what you are building.
Send the drawings if you have them, the address and an idea if you do not, and a sentence about what matters most to you. You will hear back from someone who can make decisions, not a sales team.
office@gilk.com