Canal Group Builders

From their beginnings in 2004, Canal Group Builders has developed its name as a foundation for quality construction and design, building their growing business around their trademark attention to detail. Over the years, the architects of Canal Group have renovated roughly 100 homes across DC, their designs receiving especially warm welcome in areas such as the historic district of Georgetown, Woodley Park and Bethesda.

Scrolling through the pictures of post-renovation residences on Canal Group’s website, it’s easy to see the company’s passion for quality manifested in each design, whether it’s sleek and modern or rich and classical. Their materials, mostly purchased from local companies, are all chosen in close collaboration with the architect, one of the 20 or more associated with the group, and the homeowners. The company strives to work with their clients from the first consultation to the project’s finishing touches.

“We set up a meeting to get an idea of what they’re looking for specifically and then at that point we would give them some ideas or plans,” said Liji George, vice president of operations for Canal Group Builders. “Then after that, if they decide to go with us, we would start the process of more details, getting them specific plans.”

Alexi Stavropoulos, vice president of the company, is typically the one who interacts personally with costumers, working through consultations about their visions for their homes and the designs that might have already been drawn up by architects chosen by the homeowners. His father George Stavropoulos, who is also the president of Canal Group Builders, steps in when clients are in need of architectural advice, working freehand and incorporating new ideas into the design plans.

The company typically renovates kitchens and bathrooms, but has also made fabulous transformations redoing libraries and basements and constructing additions. In 2007, their work on a Georgetown penthouse showcasing the homeowner’s art and artifacts was featured on the cover of the Maryland-based Home and Design magazine.

A unique feature about Canal Group Builders’ business model is their collaboration between the construction and design aspects of the industry. While the group technically only deals with the construction portion of the process, their close ties with the architects associated with them ensures that the homeowner’s ideas are correctly translated into designs and executed.

Although the growing company is doing very well for itself in Georgetown, it has big plans for where it hopes to go in the future, carrying on their motto: “Building relationships. Building trust. Building value.” They are also looking forward to expanding the base of architects that they work with.

“We just want to broaden the market at this point,” said George. “We’re trying to broaden our scope as far as the DC metropolitan area because we’ve pretty much been concentrated in Georgetown, so we’d like to keep expanding.”