Design-Build Construction Services Built Around Your Project
Design-build construction gives your project one accountable team from early planning through closeout, keeping design, budget, schedule, and field work aligned across Indiana and Kentucky.
Clients
Real-Time Client
Access to Job Sites
Why Choose Design-Build
Design-build is not the right fit because it sounds modern. It is the right fit when your project needs tighter control from the beginning. With traditional delivery, design, pricing, and construction can drift apart. A layout moves forward before the budget is tested. A schedule looks clean until a material or field detail changes the plan. A small gap between design and construction can become a bigger issue once work reaches the site.
Design-build works differently. We bring planning, pricing, schedule, and field input into the same conversation earlier, so the project has a better chance to stay practical, buildable, and clear. For the right project, design-build can help you make cost decisions earlier, reduce handoff problems, avoid unnecessary delays, keep the schedule cleaner, and solve issues before they reach the field.
Design-Build Projects That Fit McRae
Not every project needs the same delivery method. We are strongest on design-build work where speed, cost clarity, and one accountable team matter from first concept through turnover.
New Commercial Facilities
Ground-up commercial jobs benefit from design-build when the building needs to be shaped around budget, use, schedule, access, and future growth from the start.
We would rather test those decisions early than force the project to adjust after design has already gone too far.
Interior Build-Outs and Tenant Spaces
A leased space becomes useful only when it is ready to operate.
Design-build helps keep layout, pricing, schedule, and field execution connected, which matters when the space needs to open without getting caught between design decisions and construction realities.
Renovations and Expansions
Existing buildings carry more unknowns.
We have seen renovation plans change once old systems, access limits, or hidden conditions started shaping the work. Design-build gives us a better way to find those issues early, especially when the building still needs to support daily operations.
Offices, Retail, Restaurants, and Medical Spaces
These projects often come with hard opening dates, daily-use pressure, and little room for design misses.
We use design-build to keep planning, pricing, and construction connected, so the finished space works for the people using it, not just for the drawing set.
What You Get With McRae’s Design-Build Approach
A lot of contractors say “design-build.” The real question is what that means when the project gets difficult.
One Team Responsible for the Full Job
You should not have to watch design and construction point fingers at each other. With design-build, we keep one team responsible from early planning through closeout, so accountability stays clear when decisions need to be made.
Earlier Budget Direction
The budget should not stay vague until the project is too far along to adjust. We bring cost direction into the conversation while the design is still flexible. That gives you a better chance to make smart choices before materials, systems, or layout decisions create pressure later.
Detailed Proposals That Reduce Cost Drift
A weak scope creates problems after work starts. We use detailed proposals and tighter front-end planning so you can understand what the project includes, what still needs attention, and where decisions could affect the final path.
Fewer Handoff Problems
When design and construction stay too separate, important details can get lost. Design-build reduces that disconnect. We keep the people planning, pricing, and building the work closer together, so fewer issues wait until the field to surface.
Value Engineering That Protects the Project
Sometimes the right answer is not a bigger budget. It is a better path. We review options early, while the project can still adjust, so the final plan stays practical, buildable, and tied to how the space needs to work.
Why Businesses Choose McRae for Design-Build
Our edge is not only that we offer design-build. It is how we handle responsibility once the work is ours.
We Own Our Mistakes
If our team causes the issue, we fix it. That matters because design-build only works when accountability is real. You should not have to carry the weight of a contractor’s error.
Risk Mitigation
One of the biggest mistakes we see is waiting too long to talk about risk. We use early planning, site review, budget direction, and field input to catch issues before they turn into delays, rework, or avoidable changes.
51% Repeat Work
Repeat work is earned. More than half of McRae’s work comes from people who have already seen how our team handles pressure, communication, and follow-through.
Real-Time Jobsite Access
You should not have to wait for secondhand updates. McRae provides real-time jobsite visibility through OxBlue cameras and direct reporting, so you can stay informed while the project is moving.
18-Month Industry-Leading Warranty
The building still has to perform after closeout. We stand behind completed work with an 18-month warranty because quality should last beyond turnover day.
Our Design-Build Process
The design-build process only works when the front end stays tight. We keep it simple.
1. Project Discovery
We start with the real job: site conditions, business goals, schedule pressure, budget limits, and how the building needs to function when the work is done.
2. Early Planning and Budget Alignment
This is where the project gets shaped before design runs too far ahead. We work through priorities, likely risks, and budget direction early so you have a clearer starting point.
3. Design Coordination and Value Review
As the project develops, we keep design, cost, and buildability aligned. This is where smarter questions can protect the schedule, budget, and final use of the space.
4. Construction and Active Oversight
Once field work starts, we keep close control of schedule, coordination, communication, and quality. The goal is to keep the job tied to the decisions made early, not let it drift away from them.
5. Closeout and Long-Term Support
We finish the details, turn the project over the right way, and stand behind the completed work with long-term support.
Featured Projects
The strongest proof is still the finished work.
Indiana Farm Bureau
A tenant fit-up turned a former food-service space into a professional office environment ready for daily use. This kind of project shows why planning, layout, systems, and turnover need to stay connected from the beginning.
Vinci Nails & Lashes
This 2,400-square-foot build-out required close coordination across finishes and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing work. Customer-facing spaces need to look right, but they also need to support staff, service flow, and opening-day use.
Clinical Trials Building
A repurposing project required structural reinforcement, upgraded systems, and better use of the existing building. Older properties can still work well when the right problems are solved in the right order.
Sellersburg Police Department
A public-sector project delivered under real schedule pressure. Projects like this depend on communication, accountability, and a finished building that serves people well.
Client Reviews
You do not choose a design-build contractor for polished language. You choose one because the project needs to be easier to trust.
Common Questions Before Starting a Design-Build Project
When is design-build the right fit?
Design-build is a strong fit when you want one team accountable from planning through construction, earlier budget direction, and fewer gaps between design decisions and field work.
Can McRae help before plans are fully finished?
Yes. That is one of the best times to bring us in.
We can help shape the project early, review priorities, and bring budget and construction input into the process before the work gets too far ahead.
What happens after the work is complete?
We handle final details, support turnover, and stand behind the finished work with an 18-month warranty.
Does design-build help reduce change orders?
It can reduce avoidable change orders by tightening coordination earlier.
It does not remove every risk, but it helps catch gaps, conflicts, and unclear decisions before they become larger field problems.
Do you use design-build for existing buildings too?
Yes. Design-build can work well for renovations, expansions, build-outs, and repurposing projects where early coordination matters.
What types of spaces are a good fit for design-build?
McRae’s design-build services work well for offices, retail spaces, restaurants, medical interiors, tenant improvements, renovations, expansions, and new commercial facilities.
Areas We Serve
McRae provides design-build construction services across Indiana and Kentucky.
Indiana Service Areas
Building More Than Structures. We Build Business Success.
If you need a design-build contractor that can tighten the front end, protect the budget, and keep one team accountable from first concept through closeout, McRae Enterprises is ready to talk.
