Our founder Edward Levitch emigrated from war-torn Europe in 1944 and made his way to Berkeley with his family. He met and married his wife and they raised their four sons in the area. With a talent for visualizing and building new and improved spaces, Ed went on to earn an architecture degree from UC Berkeley and worked as a journeyman carpenter on notable projects including the Student Union Building, where he assisted his professor Vernon DeMars with innovative wall forming techniques.

In 1960, Ed established Levco Builders, initially operating from a rented coal yard on Oregon Street where he promoted himself as an "architecture student/master carpenter." By 1968, he had purchased the company's current location and moved operations there. Over time the business and compound grew with an office building that expanded upward, a residence, and completed in 2024, a new combined live/work building with warehouse and workshop on the ground level and two residential units above.

Ed's four sons all worked summers at the firm, followed later by other family members. Son Maurice officially joined in 1984 after earning his architecture degree from UC Berkeley, eventually becoming President in the late 1990s.

Many projects followed as the skills and reputation of the firm expanded. Memorable work includes design and construction after the 1991 Oakland Firestorm, ongoing services for well-loved educational, commercial and civic institutions, and work on historic properties. In the early 2000s came design and development of three residences on an infill lot in Berkeley, and a major addition to Maurice’s own home to support his growing family, all to then-nascent “green” standards.

Since then, Levitch has helped to shape local building with residential and commercial design/build projects including additions, major remodels and new buildings; accessibility and ageing in place improvements; bakeries, restaurants and parklets; offices; schools; and nonprofits.

Today, Levitch Associates Incorporated proudly operates as a three-generation family business, including late founder Ed, son Maurice, and grandson Brian.