Tyler Kovarik Vice President – Florida Operations Schaefer Construction
What supported your decision to make Tampa Bay the first area to target outside of Kentucky? We’ve worked in Florida for nearly 20 years, sometimes as a general contractor and sometimes as a contract manager for existing clients. We pride ourselves on the fact that we have 86% returning-client business; however, it was getting to the point where servicing those clients in this area was becoming too large to manage. We work statewide, and at the time, we had projects from Jacksonville to Fort Lauderdale and everything in between the East and West Coast. When we researched Florida, Tampa Bay seemed to be a promising up-andcoming area for future growth. It was also a great cultural fit for us and a good central location for our Florida operations. Are there specific geographic areas with an increased demand in the Tampa Bay region? Schaefer has projects throughout Florida in the senior living and commercial markets. While there is a lot of demand in the Tampa Bay area, we are also seeing it expand to the areas surrounding it. That seems to be where a lot of the new construction of healthcare facilities and other new construction of commercial projects are being developed. This development will help serve the needs of individuals who are moving to Florida and better service the communities in and around the Tampa Bay region. What technologies are most in demand in regard to sustainability? The construction industry has adapted well. Several aspects of green building and LEED that were huge 12 years ago are now naturally incorporated into projects. Many new developments will be powered by solar. While solar continues to have storage problems, there has been a great deal of advancement in that technology. Solar will continue to be a big thing, specifically in Florida and Tampa Bay. 88
| Invest: Tampa Bay 2021 | CONSTRUCTION & INFRASTRUCTURE
Tampa was among the fastest-growing multifamily markets in the United States when the COVID-19 pandemic began.
in the event of natural disasters, the city would stop accepting rezoning applications for multifamily developments. As of April 2021, this ordinance was working its way through the approval stages at city council. Whatever obstacles the future may hold, there are already some impressive residential structures going up. The Alabama-based developer Daniel Corp is building an $80 million, 19-story high rise in the Channel District that will consist of 324 housing units, a mix of studio, one, and two-bedroom apartments. Brasfield & Gorrie is the general contractor, and it is slated to be completed by fall 2022. At Orange Station in St Petersburg, J2 Developers and DDA Development are putting up a mixed-use complex in the DTSP Edge District, featuring 56 condominiums, 30 workforce apartments, as well as office and retail space.
