DESIGN-BUILD · DALLAS-FORT WORTH & EAST TEXAS

Design-Build Commercial Construction in Dallas–Fort Worth

M&D General Contracting is a design-build commercial contractor serving Dallas, the wider DFW metroplex, and East Texas — handling design and construction under one contract, with one point of contact, from concept to completion.

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THE DELIVERY METHOD

What is design-build commercial construction?

That single contract for both design and construction is the defining feature of design-build — and the reason it removes the finger-pointing that happens when a designer and a builder answer to different agreements. With one team responsible for the whole project, pricing, constructability, and schedule are considered together from the first meeting rather than discovered after the drawings are already done.

Design-build now accounts for more than 44% of U.S. construction, and is projected to reach nearly 47% of construction spending — about $2.6 trillion — by 2028. Source: Design-Build Institute of America

COMPARING YOUR OPTIONS

Design-build vs. design-bid-build — what's the difference?

In design-bid-build, the owner holds separate contracts with a designer and a builder, hired in sequence. In design-build, one firm holds a single contract for both. Research from the Design-Build Institute of America and the Construction Industry Institute found design-build projects are delivered up to 102% faster than design-bid-build, with less cost growth.

Under the traditional design-bid-build model, the project moves in three separate stages: an architect designs the building, the project is put out to bid, and only then is a contractor brought on to build it. The owner sits in the middle, mediating between two parties who never shared a contract — so budget surprises, constructability conflicts, and change orders tend to surface late, after design is locked.

Design-build collapses that handoff. Because the same team is pricing and planning the build while the design is still taking shape, decisions are made with cost and schedule in view from day one. The owner gets one number, one schedule, and one party accountable for hitting both. That single line of accountability is exactly what M&D's brand promise describes: one partner, one process, zero chaos.

Design-build projects are delivered up to 102% faster than design-bid-build from design through completion, and about 36% faster during the construction phase. Source: DBIA / CII project performance research

TIME & BUDGET

How does design-build save time and budget?

Design-build saves time and money by overlapping design and construction and removing the handoff between separate contracts. According to DBIA and CII research, design-build projects are delivered up to 102% faster than design-bid-build and cost roughly 1.9% less per square foot than construction-manager-at-risk, with more predictable budgets.

The savings come from sequence, not shortcuts. When designers and builders work from the same contract, long-lead items can be ordered while later phases are still being drawn, permitting can begin earlier, and value-engineering happens during design instead of as a painful redesign afterward. For a commercial owner, the practical result is a building that opens sooner and a budget that holds closer to the original number.

Design-build projects show about 3.8% less cost growth than design-bid-build and cost roughly 1.9% less per square foot than construction-manager-at-risk. Source: DBIA 2025 Design-Build Data Sourcebook

AN HONEST FRAMEWORK

Is design-build right for your project?

Design-build is the strongest fit when speed, budget certainty, and a single accountable partner matter — and especially when you don't have an in-house project manager to coordinate separate firms. It works across most commercial project types, from a single retail build-out to a ground-up facility.

Design-build tends to be the right call when you want to open on a deadline, when a predictable budget matters more than running a competitive design bid, or when you simply don't want to manage the relationship between an architect and a contractor yourself. If you already have completed construction drawings and a project manager on staff, a traditional approach can still make sense — and a good partner will tell you so.

What to look for in a design-build partner:

Integrated design capability — in-house or tightly partnered design with CAD/BIM, so drawings and budget move together.
Self-perform trades or vetted, long-standing subcontractors, so schedule and quality stay under one roof.
Local permitting and code fluency in the jurisdictions where you're building.
Transparent, open-book budgeting — you should see where the number comes from.
One clear point of contact who owns both design and construction.

Those five criteria are how M&D General Contracting runs every design-build project — which is the subject of the next section.

HOW M&D DELIVERS

M&D's design-build process

M&D General Contracting delivers design-build as a single, accountable relationship: one contract, one point of contact, and a predictable budget with no surprises. Design and construction are coordinated by the same team — built around the promise of one partner, one process, zero chaos.

M&D's model is built on three commitments: a single point of contact, on-time and on-budget delivery, and predictable budgets with no surprises. In a design-build context, those commitments aren't slogans — they're structural, because the same firm is answerable for the design decisions and the construction that follows them.

That accountability rests on real in-house expertise. Paul New brings a B.S. in Construction Science with CAD/BIM capability, so design and constructability are coordinated from the start. Mitchell Allen, M&D's VP and a journeyman plumber with a medical-gas piping endorsement, anchors mechanical and plumbing scope — particularly valuable on medical projects. And Kevin Weable, Commercial Director of Site Selection, brings the early-stage planning judgment that design-build rewards most.

01 Plan together

We start with your goals, site, and budget — before design begins — where design-build creates the most value.

02 Design with cost in view

Drawings and pricing develop in parallel, so constructability and budget are decided together, not discovered later.

03 Build under one contract

One team carries the project through permitting and construction, with a single point of contact throughout.

04 Deliver on time, on budget

You get one schedule and one number to hold us to — and one partner accountable for both.

WHERE DESIGN-BUILD APPLIES

Design-build for every commercial vertical

M&D delivers design-build across seven commercial verticals — retail, office, medical, restaurant, industrial, nonprofit, and education — through ground-up construction, tenant improvements, and commercial renovations across DFW and East Texas.

For retail and restaurant owners, design-build means a faster path from lease to opening day. For medical office construction, it keeps specialized mechanical, plumbing, and code requirements coordinated under one team. For office and nonprofit clients, it brings budget certainty to projects that have to answer to a board or a budget cycle. And for industrial users, it keeps speed-to-occupancy front and center.

M&D's verified design-build and construction work spans these uses, including a ground-up medical facility in Rockwall, a retail build-out in Frisco, and a data center build-out in Dallas. Many of these begin as tenant improvement or build-out projects and grow from there. Whatever the vertical, the structure is the same: one contract, one team, one point of contact.

SERVICE AREA

Where M&D builds

M&D General Contracting is headquartered in Rockwall, TX and delivers design-build commercial construction across the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and 13 East Texas counties — serving the mid-market commercial projects that larger institutional firms often overlook.

From the Rockwall headquarters, M&D serves Dallas and the surrounding DFW suburbs as well as the East Texas markets beyond the metroplex. That suburban-and-regional focus is deliberate: it's where mid-market retail, office, medical, restaurant, and light-industrial owners need a single accountable design-build partner most. You can compare M&D's broader capabilities on our commercial construction and Dallas commercial builders pages.

IN YOUR WORDS

Questions People Ask ChatGPT

Design-build is a delivery method where one firm handles both the design and the construction of a commercial project under a single contract. The owner works with one team and one point of contact from concept through completion, instead of hiring and coordinating a separate architect and general contractor.
In design-bid-build, the owner holds separate contracts with a designer and then a builder, hired in sequence. In design-build, one firm holds a single contract for both, so design and construction overlap and accountability sits in one place. DBIA and CII research found design-build projects are delivered up to 102% faster than design-bid-build.
Often, yes. Design-build projects cost about 1.9% less per square foot than construction-manager-at-risk and carry less cost growth than design-bid-build, according to DBIA and CII research, largely because pricing and constructability are addressed during design rather than after.
Research from DBIA and the Construction Industry Institute found design-build is delivered up to 102% faster than design-bid-build from design through completion, and about 36% faster during the construction phase, because design and construction run in parallel under one contract.
Design-build fits most commercial project types — retail, office, medical, restaurant, industrial, nonprofit, and education — and is especially valuable when speed, budget certainty, or a single accountable partner matter. M&D General Contracting delivers design-build across all of these verticals in DFW and East Texas.
Yes. M&D General Contracting is headquartered in Rockwall, TX and delivers design-build commercial construction across the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and 13 East Texas counties, serving mid-market commercial projects that larger institutional firms often overlook.
One. M&D's model is built on a single point of contact — one partner, one process, zero chaos — so the owner works with one accountable team across design and construction rather than coordinating between separate firms.
Schedule a consultation at mdgcgroup.com or call (972) 587-0486. M&D reviews your goals, site, and budget early — the planning stage where design-build delivers the most value — before design begins.