Valenti was founded in 1938 when 23-year-old DePaul University graduate, Joseph Valenti, bought a residential lot on Roscoe Street, built a home and sold it for $7,170.
WWII brought big changes to the country and Valenti. New headquarters were constructed on North Elston Avenue to accommodate a growing business and increased demand due to the war effort. Projects included the construction of scrap metal plants, distribution and manufacturing warehouses, and apartment buildings.
Valenti built hundreds of homes in the city and suburbs and continued its expansion into non-residential markets with office buildings, recreation centers, and multi-family apartment complexes.
We continued to grow our development and housing portfolio and expanded into commercial construction with distribution facilities, churches, schools, the Social Security Administration HQ and an office facility for Peoples Gas and Light.
The second generation, Joe Valenti Jr. and Jim Valenti, joined the firm. During the 1970s, Valenti constructed major projects for the Chicago Tribune, Loyola Academy, the Archdiocese of Chicago, Uptown Federal, Lane Industries, Brunswick, General Cinema and many others. Our award-winning residential developments constructed in Northbrook and Lincolnshire are still considered a quality paradigm in the housing industry.
We celebrated 50 years of growth, and continued to expand our office portfolio with over one million square feet constructed for prominent clients including Hamilton Partners, LaSalle Partners, North Suburban Development, Armstrong Medical and Trammel Crow. During this expansive decade, we built out a portfolio of complimentary work in the construction of shopping centers, hotels and manufacturing facilities.
Valenti continued to serve new and existing institutional clients in the healthcare, financial, retail and tenant interiors markets. Major projects were constructed for Loyola Academy, Holy Name Cathedral, the Village of Lincolnshire, Abbott Laboratories, Evanston Hospital, Baxter Healthcare, Citibank and LaSalle Bank Group; shopping centers were built or renovated in Schaumburg, Deerfield and Downers Grove; new office facilities were built for Experian, Loomcraft Textiles and General Binding Corp.
Dan Valenti and Mark Valenti, the third generation, joined the team. Business was steadily growing at the start of the 21st century with projects for University of Saint Mary of the Lake, Grossinger City Autoplex, North Shore Congregation Israel, Park Ridge Uptown Redevelopment, John Hancock Building, Madonna della Strada Chapel at Loyola University Chicago, Chicago International Charter School, and Flashpoint – The Academy of Media Arts and Sciences. Many of these clients are still great clients and friends today.
We moved our corporate headquarters from Northfield to downtown Chicago. New work included several signature developments in and around the Chicagoland area for Loyola Academy, 850 N. Lake Shore Drive, Northern Trust, Wintrust, Fox Ford Lincoln, North Shore Country Day School, The Frances Xavier Warde School, The Merion, North Shore Country Club, Evanston Golf Club, Saints Faith, Hope, and Charity, MakeOffices, and Tishman Speyer.
Today, we celebrate nearly 85 years of partnership with our valued clients and highly diversified market experience. We remain eternally grateful for the opportunity to serve such wonderful people and contribute our expertise in building the city we love. As our city evolves, we look forward to many more years of taking projects from paper to fruition – delivering an exceptional construction and client experience along the way.