L.D. Russo, Inc

L.D. Russo builds the kind of buildings a town votes on: recreation centers, libraries, senior centers and old mills turned into apartments. It submitted the lowest bid, $7.1 million, on Newburyport's new recreation center at 59 Low St. and was awarded the contract in March 2025, with the next-lowest bidder at $7.4 million. Based at 198 Ayer Road in Harvard, the company says it was founded in 1977 by Lou Russo as a painting business and grew from there into general contracting, sitework and property development. It is now in its second generation — by its own account Lou's daughter Elena Russo is CEO and her husband Nat Coughlin is in the leadership role — and it describes itself as woman-owned and family-owned. Its BBB page shows the corporation incorporated in November 1977 and 48 years in business. The work it is publicly known for is institutional and multifamily rather than residential. It was chosen as general contractor for the Abbot Public Library and began work there in January 2023. A 2018 Sentinel and Enterprise story reported it had been issued a $6.96 million state tax-exempt bond and awarded part of a $90 million state tax credit to turn a Leominster piano factory into affordable apartments. In 2014, the Worcester County Sheriff's Office described its crews at the Westminster Senior Center installing components of the temperature-control system. BuildZoom shows ten permitted projects. That pattern is the thing to sit with if you are hiring for your own house: what shows up here is municipal, institutional and affordable-housing construction, and the BBB lists it under construction management and general contracting. Its BBB grade is A+, with no complaints and no government actions on file. Its Google page reads worse than the rest of the picture and deserves a close look: two stars across four ratings, pulled down by two one-star comments — one posted in September 2025, one in January 2026 — about how the company's vehicles are driven on the road. The January writer opens by stating they have never used the company. If you are a town, a nonprofit developer, or an owner planning a larger commercial or multifamily build in Massachusetts, this is a 48-year-old firm with a run of public contracts and state housing financing behind it. If the job is your own home, ask first whether they take residential projects of your size, and confirm scope, schedule and current Massachusetts registration before you sign.