Great Lakes Builders is a family owned and operated company founded by Ben Lewandowski. Ben was a licensed Professional Engineer and established Great Lakes Builders in 1949 as a Contractor to provide construction services throughout the Chicagoland area. Under Ben’s management, Great Lakes Builders built industrial, commercial and residential properties and also specialized in the renovation of existing buildings.
In 1989, Ben’s son Martin took over the responsibilities of President of the company. This transition from father to son did not happen over night. Martin worked under the direction of Ben from an early age learning the various building trades leading to positions in Project and Construction Management. After working for Great Lakes Builders for 22 years, Martin became President of Great Lakes Builders. Martin is still taking the lead in Construction Management for the company and passes on his skills and experience in building by acting as mentor and trainer to Great Lakes Builders' valued employees.
A company operating successfully for over 60 years certainly speaks volumes for its ability to serve its clients well over time. What may be just as telling is the fact that the Lewandowski family’s building legacy dates back well before 1949. The Lewandowski family, including Ben’s father William and uncle Walter brought their building skills, honed in Europe, to the United States in the early 1900’s and began building homes, schools, churches and factories in Chicago neighborhoods such as Ukrainian Village, Wicker Park and Park Ridge. Many of the buildings they built then are in use and admired today, including some beautiful churches and schools such as Saint Paul of the Cross and Roosevelt grade school in Park Ridge, IL.
The tradition and life-blood of Great Lakes Builders will live on through the appreciation and respect that the Lewandowski family has for older architecturally significant buildings. Great Lakes Builders' ability to integrate old world craftsmanship with modern building materials and techniques enables Great Lakes Builders to provide their clients with the best of both worlds.
Today, Great Lakes Builders utilizes its years of experience to offer a unique blend of building services that focuses specifically on structural repair, remediation and alteration of residential, commercial and industrial properties called "STRUCTURAL SOLUTIONS".
 Martin Lewandowski
President
Martin worked for Great Lakes Builders for 22 years prior to becoming President in 1989. Martin has a wide range of experience and expertise in Construction Management ranging from design/build, renovation and structural remediation for commercial, industrial and residential buildings managing projects from initial concept to project completion.
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 Jake Lewandowski
Director of Field Operations
Jake is a third-generation family member to join Great Lakes Builders and a father of 4 young children. Jake has worked in various positions with the company developing critical construction knowledge and skills leading to his current position as Director of Field Operations. Jake generously shares his construction knowledge through contributing articles to several national publications covering best building practices and process management pertaining to structural repairs and alterations. His most recent articles can be found on this website under the “In the News” tab.
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Michael Lewandowski
Director of Business Operations
Michael joined Great Lakes Builders in 2002. Michael has an MBA from Illinois Institute of Technology. Prior to joining Great Lakes Builders, Michael held positions in Technical Education, Program Management and Business Development with companies ranging from start-ups to large fortune 500 corporations.
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