Old Forge Builders has spent more than 40 years building across New Jersey and Pennsylvania, developing a reputation grounded in project diversity, client relationships, and steady, disciplined growth. Founded in 1983, the company now operates through two divisions: commercial construction and residential work. Across both sides of the business, Old Forge Builders is able to support projects from the earliest stages of land approvals and acquisition through construction, completion, and occupancy.
The company was founded by Dave Pape, who continues to serve as president. Today, he works alongside his son, Nick Pape, the company’s chief operating officer. Dave’s own path into the business began in the field, working as a carpenter and painter before identifying an opportunity in residential development.
The company expanded into commercial work in the early 2000s and diversified into new opportunities, creating a broader platform for future growth. Nick joined the business full-time in the early 2010s and helped guide that shift further into the commercial sector. Some of the company’s earliest commercial momentum came through child care and education facilities, where one successful project often led to another through franchise networks and repeat relationships. “That pretty much took off, and since then, we’ve become a premier general contractor in that arena. All the while, the company transformed and has grown by leaps and bounds,” Nick said.
Today, Old Forge Builders has approximately 20 employees and continues to operate in both residential and commercial markets. On the residential side, the company now focuses more heavily on luxury custom builds. On the commercial side, its portfolio remains diverse, spanning auto care, light industrial, senior living, veterinary complexes, child care, education, hospitality, and other private-sector projects. “Our focus spans from small, single-project owners who trust us with their first commercial build to nationally recognized brands that rely on us for consistent quality, professionalism, and accountability,” Nick said.
“Our focus spans from small, single-project owners who trust us with their first commercial build to nationally recognized brands that rely on us for consistent quality, professionalism, and accountability.”
Old Forge Builders has worked with clients such as Primrose School, Team Car Wash, Days Hotel, First Commerce Bank, Discovery Years Child Learning Centre, Kiddie Academy, and Green Leaf Pet Resort. The company’s services are similarly broad. While turnkey construction remains its core specialization, Old Forge Builders also provides design-build services, renovations, tenant fit-outs, and related project delivery support. That flexibility does not mean the company takes on every opportunity. Old Forge Builders has remained intentional about the projects it pursues, focusing on work where its experience, capabilities, and client approach are aligned. Heather Schwemlein, director of strategic growth, said that clarity is central to the company’s business development philosophy.
“We’re looking to do good work for a project that we understand, that we could be the best fit for,” she said.
A willingness to be selective has helped the company build deeper trust with clients. Rather than chasing rapid expansion or work outside its strengths, Old Forge Builders has focused on sustainable growth and long-term relationships. Nick said that philosophy comes directly from his father. “It’s what has brought us to where we are, and what I think is going to drive us through the future,” he said. “It’s slow growth, where we’re not just trying to blow up in one day by doing things that maybe are not in the interest of our clients.”
That relationship-first mindset extends internally as well. Old Forge Builders has placed a strong emphasis on retaining employees and maintaining a stable team. Nick and Heather both noted that many people in the company’s network have worked with the business for years, contributing to continuity across projects and relationships.
“We try and maintain employees, good employees, as long as possible,” Nick said.
Dave has also placed a strong emphasis on balancing workloads and protecting employees whenever possible, even during periods of financial strain. For the company, employee retention is part of the same long-term approach that defines its client work.
“We look for valued employees, and people that we think also value working with us,” Nick said.
The company’s project portfolio reflects both its range and its relationship-based approach. One major project was the Jewish Community Centre of Middlesex County in Edison, New Jersey. Valued at $7 million, the project involved new construction of a two-story, 22,000-square-foot building. The expansion created space for Bright Beginnings Preschool and the Norman and Marion Tanzman Centre for Lifelong Living. These facilities support classes, lectures, holiday celebrations, performances, trips, and senior adult club events. The building also includes state-of-the-art classrooms, a larger kosher kitchen, new staff offices, and security and reception areas.
Old Forge Builders also delivered work on the Coptic Religious Centre, a $10 million project completed in partnership with the Queen St. Marys & Prince Tadros organization. The 24,000-square-foot facility includes a large commercial kitchen, community prayer rooms, a communion-bread-making area, and office space.
The project also carried cultural and religious significance. Old Forge Builders incorporated plaques commemorating the faith’s leaders, including in areas where documentation had not previously existed. Additional phases are planned, including a rectory and church establishment.
Child care and early education work remains one of the company’s most important sectors. Over the last 12 to 13 years, Old Forge Builders has completed more than 20 facilities for clients including The Learning Experience in New Jersey, Primrose School in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and The Goddard School in New Jersey.
For Nick, that repeat business is a point of pride. It reflects the trust the company has built with clients in a sector where schedule, safety, functionality, and long-term reliability all matter. It also demonstrates how the company’s relationship-driven model can translate into sustained growth across multiple projects and locations.
As Old Forge Builders continues to evolve, its direction remains rooted in the same principles that have defined the business since 1983. The company has adapted from residential subdivisions to commercial construction, from regional development work to repeat franchise and institutional clients, and from one generation of leadership to the next.
Through that evolution, the core focus has remained consistent: understand the project, serve the client well, protect the relationships that matter, and grow at a pace that supports long-term stability.
For a company operating across diverse sectors in the Northeast, that steady approach has become its strongest advantage. Old Forge Builders is not defined by one project type or one market segment. Instead, its story is one of adaptation, consistency, and relationships built carefully over time.
