Jostin Construction

Jostin Construction is a Cincinnati contractor founded in 1998 by Albert C. Smitherman, who remains chief executive. The name is a portmanteau of the founders’ two sons, Joshua and Justin, and the business is still family-led: Liza D. Smitherman is chief people officer and two sons hold executive roles. The firm operates from Florence Avenue in Cincinnati with a second office in Lexington, Kentucky.

Jostin self-performs concrete work, which is the core of the business, and also delivers general contracting, construction management, general trades and tenant fit-out. Concrete scope covers foundations, site work, pump-place-and-finish and stamped finishes. The firm has partnered with Turner Construction and Messer Construction on regional work, including TQL Stadium, the 26,000-seat soccer venue completed in 2020, and the 650,000-square-foot Cincinnati Children’s Hospital critical care building in 2019. Other projects include the ProKids headquarters, the Cincinnati Art Climb and the Andrew J. Brady Icon Music Center. Smitherman received the Spirit of Construction Lifetime Achievement Award for the Greater Cincinnati region.

Ask what total package concrete covers at Jostin and the answer is a list, not a category: forming, pumping, placing and finishing slabs on grade, slabs on structural decks and slabs on metal decks; excavation and concrete placement of foundations; concrete site work; saw cutting of slabs; rebar and anchor bolt installation; field engineering; and stamped concrete.

Pumping stays in house through Brewster Pumping, a first-generation, woman-owned concrete pumping business whose principal owner is Jostin chief people officer Liza D. Smitherman. Tools, equipment, purchasing, logistics and vehicle maintenance for both companies run through the same shop, which was raised to a vice president-led warehouse operations department in 2024.

Past the venue work the firm is best known for, the record includes the Ziegler and Washington Park garages, two structures of more than 400 spaces each completed in 2017, and 3CDC’s Academy Lofts, a dormitory converted into ten condominiums in 2020. A 2021 partnership with the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden supports its reinvestment and capital projects. Earlier work under founder Albert C. Smitherman includes the Horseshoe Casino and the redevelopment of The Banks riverfront entertainment district, along with Washington Park and Ziegler Park in Over-the-Rhine. Clients and construction partners named by the company include Turner, Messer, Skanska, Walsh, Pepper, Lithko, Wehr, Ferguson, 3CDC, Bethany House Services and the University of Kentucky.

Operationally the company splits general contracting and concrete into separate chains, each under its own chief operating officer, with estimating covering both divisions. Leaders hold seats on the AGC Cincinnati board, the Spirit of Construction Foundation board, the Allied Construction Industries board and the advisory committee for CityLink’s Cornerstone Construction Training program, and the firm sponsored the 2025 Allied Construction Industries Construction Career Days. The Lexington office is at 2220 Nicholasville Road, and both locations share the 513.559.9390 line.