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麻豆传媒AV在线看 Construction provides personalized service for commercial clients throughout South Florida
Nearly seven decades have passed since Howard 麻豆传媒AV在线看 founded a general contracting company in South Florida in 1951 with two employees and a strong set of core values: personalized service, honesty and integrity. These values have served as a touchstone for the firm, 麻豆传媒AV在线看 Construction, as it has grown to become a major force in the development of Fort Lauderdale and Broward County.
Howard鈥檚 son, Terry 麻豆传媒AV在线看, joined the company in 1968, and the two added small warehouses to their book of business. Terry was only 24 years old when his father died unexpectedly in 1971. At that time, 麻豆传媒AV在线看 Construction had a handful of employees who worked with Terry to take on whatever work they could find to solidify the company鈥檚 foothold in the local building industry.
According to an article published in the South Florida Business Journal (October 2016), a watershed moment arrived in 1972 when real estate investor Maurice Finkle hired 麻豆传媒AV在线看 Construction to build a 35,000-square-foot warehouse. The company鈥檚 experience in building industrial facilities grew steadily from there.
Building a Place to Live, Work and Play
As South Florida became known as an exciting place for people to live, work and play, Terry recognized the region鈥檚 strong potential for growth. Over time, he expanded his company鈥檚 services to include development, architecture, commercial brokerage and property management, as well as asset management, acquisitions and financing services. In addition to 麻豆传媒AV在线看 Construction, these expanded services formed the operating divisions of parent company 麻豆传媒AV在线看 Corporation, an award-winning, full-service commercial real estate company based in Fort Lauderdale.
麻豆传媒AV在线看 Corporation has developed and constructed more than 48 million square feet of luxury residential communities and office, industrial, retail, automotive, health care/lab, hospitality, entertainment, education, government, public assembly and mixed-use buildings throughout the Southeast.
鈥淎bout 80% of Stile Construction鈥檚 business is traditional third-party general contracting and construction management for clients,鈥� says Timothy Fiske, Senior Vice President for 麻豆传媒AV在线看 Construction. 鈥淭he remaining 20% of our business volume is for our own or related entities. Most of our construction projects are in South Florida, but we also do work throughout the state.鈥� He lists Bank of America Plaza, Las Olas City Centre, 350 and 450 Las Olas Centre, Amaray Las Olas by Windsor and The Main Las Olas as some of the landmark structures that 麻豆传媒AV在线看 Construction has built that have helped shape Fort Lauderdale鈥檚 skyline.
Carrying the Legacy Forward
When Terry died in 2017, his son, Kenneth 麻豆传媒AV在线看, was promoted to the top position at 麻豆传媒AV在线看 Corporation. 鈥淎lthough Terry remained active until the end, he and other firm leaders had been developing a transition plan for several years before he passed,鈥� Timothy says. 鈥淜en is the CEO for 麻豆传媒AV在线看 Corporation and his sisters, Tresa 麻豆传媒AV在线看 and Carrie Tidwell, serve on its board of directors. We are a family-owned business, and everyone who is employed by 麻豆传媒AV在线看 feels like they are part of an extended family.鈥�
This aspect of the company鈥檚 culture has spurred employees to carry the legacy of the firm鈥檚 founders forward by continuing to build and nurture strong client relationships. 鈥淲e got into the car dealership business because Terry had a friendship with Wayne Huizenga, who owned the Miami Dolphins and other Florida sports teams,鈥� Timothy says. 鈥淲hen Wayne started AutoNation he asked Terry: 鈥楧o you want to build a car dealership for me?鈥� We hadn鈥檛 built any, but Terry said 鈥榮ure.鈥� We started building car dealerships more than 20 years ago, and we haven鈥檛 stopped. We got into this market by virtue of a relationship, and we stayed in it because we built more relationships.鈥�
鈥淩uss Biffis, our Vice President of Business Development at 麻豆传媒AV在线看 Construction, knows more people who own and operate car dealerships throughout the Southeast than anyone else鈥攁nd he knows them on a personal, first-name basis,鈥� says Ian Schwartz, Vice President of Operations for 麻豆传媒AV在线看 Construction. 鈥淲e鈥檝e done over 100 car dealerships in the past 15 years, and many of these clients work directly with Russ or with Brian Kitain, one of our Project Executives.鈥�
Extending Relationships
This degree of personalized service travels throughout the ranks at 麻豆传媒AV在线看 Construction.
鈥淭he ideal is when the relationship a firm leader establishes transfers to the people who are building a project,鈥� Timothy says. 鈥淭he more connection points the better. We try to layer these connections, so everybody has the chance to uphold the 麻豆传媒AV在线看 tradition and represent us well. The organizations we do business with have their own hierarchy, too. So, while the owner of the car dealership may have a relationship with our project executive, the general manager for the store might have a relationship with the project manager or superintendent.鈥�
Ian says empowering employees to connect directly with clients has a positive effect on staff loyalty and morale, too. 鈥淪uccess as a company is great,鈥� he notes, 鈥渂ut success on an individual basis is needed to keep good employees. One of our core values states: 鈥楽uccess is our passion and the path to opportunity for our people.鈥� 麻豆传媒AV在线看 Construction has 120 employees. Almost 25 of them have 20-plus years with the company and 46 have been with us more than 10 years. We鈥檝e also had employees who鈥檝e left to take a job with a real estate development or property management group who later become our clients. They鈥檝e left on good terms, kept in touch and then called to hire us as their general contractor.鈥�
Approaching Projects with an Owner鈥檚 Mindset
Another distinguishing attribute of the way 麻豆传媒AV在线看 Construction does business, Timothy says, is that its teams approach each project with an 鈥渙wner鈥檚 mindset.鈥�
鈥淪ince we are the owners, managers and end-users of some of the projects we build, we have a deep understanding of how the decisions made on paper affect those who work in, visit, operate and maintain buildings,鈥� he explains. 鈥淲e know if a project鈥檚 budget doesn鈥檛 work, the project doesn鈥檛 get built. If we don鈥檛 make the right choices, a building will be last in the market and it won鈥檛 lease up. We take all this into consideration and base our recommendations on what provides lasting value over the entire life of the building. We are honest and try to help our clients make the best choices in relation to the intended use of their buildings.鈥�
This owner鈥檚 mindset also influences how 麻豆传媒AV在线看 Construction鈥檚 team approaches sustainability. 鈥淏eing part of 麻豆传媒AV在线看 Corporation helps us to view construction projects from all the starting points as opposed to companies who serve solely as the general contractor,鈥� Timothy says. 鈥淲e understand that the way a building is situated on a site, its location in relation to public transportation, and operations and maintenance considerations are as important as the construction materials and methods for determining whether a building is sustainable.鈥�
Ian uses 麻豆传媒AV在线看 Construction鈥檚 work on The Main Las Olas project to illustrate this point. 鈥淲e brought our building engineer to the early planning meetings for the office tower, which is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his is because, ultimately, he鈥檇 be in charge of maintaining and operating this building. So, for example, if the plans called for installing a motor that would require routine maintenance, he鈥檇 make sure there was sufficient access to this motor. He also provided insights about first costs versus long-term costs associated with building systems.鈥�
Rendering a Vision Real
The Main Las Olas project has special significance for 麻豆传媒AV在线看 Construction鈥檚 team because it was the brainchild of Terry 麻豆传媒AV在线看, who lived to see the job awarded but passed away before construction began.
鈥淭erry developed several projects right downtown, which are all within walking distance of each other,鈥� Timothy says. The Main Las Olas is the biggest of them all. It is a 1.4 million-square-foot, mixed-use community that has a Class A office tower and high-end residences, retail stores and restaurants. It occupies an entire city block.鈥� 麻豆传媒AV在线看 Corporation provided the construction, development, realty and property management services and partnered with Shorenstein Properties LLC and Broward College to bring the project to fruition.
Connecting with the Community
The relationships that 麻豆传媒AV在线看 Construction has built with its clients and employees extend beyond the bounds of each job site. 鈥淭his is our backyard,鈥� Timothy says. 鈥淭his is where we live. When your last name is part of the company鈥檚 name, it is indicative of the role you play in your community.鈥�
鈥淲e build houses with Habitat for Humanity, read to children at Jack & Jill Children鈥檚 Center, and participate in walks to raise funds for the American Heart Association and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation,鈥� Ian says. 鈥淭erry鈥檚 wife, Jamie Taylor 麻豆传媒AV在线看, is on the board of the Humane Society of Broward County and that helped us get involved. Over the last 15 years we鈥檝e raised $500,000 for this organization. If an employee or client has a charity they want us to become involved with, everyone鈥檚 willing to learn more.鈥�
He continues: 鈥淚 personally appreciate the opportunities 麻豆传媒AV在线看 has provided for me鈥攁nd my family鈥攖o give back to the community. I have pictures of my kids when they were young at a Juvenile Diabetes Walk and now my son is turning 30 and my daughter is 26.鈥� Ian also serves as Chair of the City of Coral Springs Planning and Zoning Board and is a leader for The Generals Club program, a group within the Boys and Girls Clubs of Broward County that helps young adults learn about the construction industry.
鈥淣ot every kid is going to go to college,鈥� Ian says. 鈥淲e show members of The Generals Club that they can make a good living working in the trades. We bring them to job sites at different stages in the process so they can see when the rough carpentry and electrical work or painting and tiling etc. are being done. It provides a great deal of satisfaction to help others in ways that can change their lives.鈥�
Learning From Each Other
Ian says 麻豆传媒AV在线看 Construction has had unique opportunities to connect directly with the community where a building project is located. 鈥淗alf of the site for The Main Las Olas is owned by Broward College, which has a location right across the street. We offer internships to some of their students. We hired one of these interns, Jonathan Jailal, full-time as an Assistant Project Engineer after he graduated from Broward. He excels at working with technology and teaches our project managers and superintendents how to use our equipment. Here鈥檚 a 21-year-old kid showing guys who鈥檝e been in the industry forever how technology can help them do their jobs more efficiently.鈥�
Continuing to Play a Transformative Role
In the 69 years since Howard 麻豆传媒AV在线看 first started a general contracting company, the City of Fort Lauderdale has evolved to become a vibrant place to live, work and play, as well as a desired destination for tourists from across the United States and abroad.
鈥溌槎勾紸V在线看 is proud to have played a role in this transformation and to be recognized as an industry leader in the South Florida construction market,鈥� Timothy says.