Plaza Construction

Taking On The Most Complex Projects

Plaza Construction maintains national headquarters in New York and regional offices across the country in New Jersey, Washington DC, Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Los Angeles, and San Jose.

Written by Kevin Doyle Produced by Stephen Marino

Halfway through its 35th year of operation, Plaza Construction continues to enhance its reputation as a premier construction management firm by striking a balance between measured, thoughtful growth and the willingness to take on projects of the highest profile and degree of difficulty.

“One of the nice things about Plaza is that while we do big work, we are not really a big, big company; it very much feels like a family” says new Chairman and CEO Brad Meltzer, who joined the company as a summer assistant in 1989 and has worked his way up through the ranks.

“As opposed to some perceived ‘monster companies,’ Plaza is seen as a company with the capabilities to build some of the biggest and most complex projects, without bureaucracy while building relationships with clients through our staff,” Meltzer notes.

Under Meltzer and new President Christopher Mills, the company’s former COO, Plaza Construction historically employs between 600 and 700 individuals while generating annual revenue of more than one billion dollars. It maintains national headquarters in New York and regional offices in New Jersey, Washington DC, Miami, West Palm Beach, Tampa, Orlando, Los Angeles, and San Jose.

The company’s array of industry association memberships – such as the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), the Construction Employers Association (CEA), the Construction Association of South Florida (CASA), the US Green Building Council (USGBC), the Contractors Association of Greater New York (CAGNY) and

the Latin Builders Association of South Florida – provide networking opportunities and information flow across the country.

Meltzer says the company targets projects in multiple markets, because it is confident it can execute and deliver. “We always try to take on work with like-minded clients and take on projects where we can anticipate having the right staff available, or where we have the time to assemble the right staff. We’ve managed that fairly well through the years. It can be challenging, not just in Florida but

“We employ a lot of people with architecture or “engineering degrees and it’s something our clients have appreciated through the years.” - Chairman and CEO Brad Meltzer

in LA, San Jose and New York as well,” he notes.

Premier Projects

One Thousand Museum: The 706foot tall skyscraper in downtown Miami designed by the worldrenowned British architect Zaha Hadid took four years from concept to completion and opened in July 2019. It features a stunning exoskeleton façade and includes 84 residential units. Architectural Digest ranked it as one of the 14 most anticipated buildings in the world at the time it was being constructed.

“We’re not afraid of the most challenging projects. We look at those challenges with excitement that gets our blood pumping when we get up in the morning. We love that and it’s another thing our clients appreciate,” Meltzer notes.

7900 Wisconsin Ave.: Built to LEED Silver specifications for client JBG Smith, the 18-story mixeduse development in Bethesda, MD features 420,000sf of residential apartments, four levels of underground parking, and 21,630sf of commercial space on the ground floor. A clear span breezeway, a plaza level green space with a bioretention area, a rooftop amenity area with a swimming pool, and an outdoor grilling area and dog park

for residents are among its many features.

Resorts World Casino: Plaza completed its work on the casino at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens within the past several months. Expansion included a 10-story, 400-room hotel as well as the addition of new restaurants, a conference center and meeting rooms, fitness center, and the addition of 800 electronic video games.

Safety Measures

Plaza has maintained an enviable Experience Modification rate (EMR) – the number used by insurance companies to gauge the past cost of injuries and the future chances of risk – through the years, including throughout the pandemic.

“We are proud of our EMR rating. During the pandemic our Safety Director in the New York office worked with all of our regional safety directors across the country to make sure we were, and are continuing to follow local protocol. We set the bar high to make sure that when people came to work, they not only felt the job site was safe in the traditional sense, but that it was a safe environment and we were doing the best we could to not expose them to COVID-19,” Meltzer says. That included taking temperature checks at all job sites, mandating that masks were worn at all times, keeping proper social distancing, and providing immediate notification of an outbreak so every worker could take proper precautions for themselves and their families.

“I am proud that all our projects continued, although it did affect productivity. In a high rise where you previously had roughly 15 people in a buck hoist, now you can only put four. Getting in and

out of a vertical building took longer. In a new condo or multi family building where you might want eight different tradespeople working in an individual unit, maybe now you can only have four because they have to be spaced further apart – but safety always came first,” Meltzer stresses.

Beyond that, the company regularly rewards employees’ performance when they surpass a set number of hours of having worked safely on a job site or did something exceptional that was Day To Day

Thanks to his longevity with the company, Meltzer says his role hasn’t changed much despite the added responsibilities of being CEO. He continues to work closely with clients and customers, remains involved with projects, and has put a team in place that “allows me to do some more forward thinking things as well.”

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succeeded as CEO, as a summer intern in the Summer of ’89, then permanently joined the company in 1990 upon graduation with a Masters degree from the Tulane University School of Architecture.

“He was a Superintendent and we grew our careers together. I owe a debt of gratitude to Rich. He is a brilliant construction mind and a tenacious builder, always striving for perfection. That perspective on construction rubbed off on me for sure and so many others here at Plaza – that is the imprint he will leave behind. We still speak all the time and our relationship will go way beyond the boundaries of being employees together at Plaza,” Meltzer says.

Similarly, Meltzer and Mills have worked together since 1994 and share institutional knowledge that has allowed them to work with enhanced precision.

“We’re trying to manage in a way that we’re not doubling our efforts. For the most part, if I make a decision, he believes in it and if he makes a decision, I believe in it. That’s allowing us to be more efficient,” Meltzer offers. “We are able to anticipate each other. We share this philosophy with all of our senior leaders. We are empowering them and allowing them to make important and strategic decisions for the company knowing that we will support them.”

The company has contracted with consulting and training specialist Franklin Covey, which incorporates the methodologies put forth in the book “Speed of Trust” into its sessions.

“We’ve hired them to walk us through that process. We made a financial investment in a difficult time to spend money on something when we weren’t sure where the world was going because of COVID. Our senior leadership appreciated the financial investment and the investment in them, and it also has helped with the trust factor,” Meltzer says.

He believes his degree has helped him nurture long-standing

“Plaza is seen as a company with the capabilities to build some “ of the biggest and most complex projects, without bureaucracy while building relationships with clients and our staff.” - Chairman and CEO Brad Meltzer

One Thousand Museum, Miami, FL General Contractor: Plaza Construction Architect: Zaha Hadid Architects

relationships and understand the sensibility of clients and architects when developing a project.

“We are here to achieve the same result. I might think about it in a different way or come to the table with a different method, but I am not there to slice and dice their project to save a dollar and make it into something less. I can read the drawings right away and see what this designer is trying to achieve by seeing the bigger picture. We employ a lot of people with architecture or engineering degrees and it’s something our clients have appreciated through the years,” Meltzer notes. The company strives to build long-standing relationships and generate repeat business. Keeping the lines of communication open is a crucial component in that process.

“This is not a perfect business and it’s important to let our clients know if there is an occasional bump in the road what our solution is, how we’re going to handle it, and that we invite them to the process. Transparency is part of our DNA. We were born as an owner/builder and that’s the only way we know how to work. We treat the process as though we are building for ourselves and we share

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the information in a collaborative spirit that promotes trust with our clients,” Meltzer observes.

The company most often works with a dedicated core network of sub-contractors developed through the years, and when it takes on a new vendor, all undergo a rigorous vetting process.

“We say it here all the time, we’re only as good as our subs. We manage 40 subs on average on any given project. If any sub falls off it has a domino effect that impacts the sub that came before and the sub that comes after. We have a rigorous prequalification program, but it is still about relationships. We help our subs when they’re struggling and mentor them so they can grow with us. We’re creating greater partnerships around us,” Meltzer says.

In anticipation of modular construction moving to the forefront in the industry, the company has developed a strategic relationship with a modular builder.

“It’s been tested and we believe it will become more prevalent. It is going to transform the construction experience,” Meltzer predicts. “We see it playing out at Plaza and it is going to play out in the industry. In fact, we’ve already

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been awarded a modular hotel contract in California.”

Staff Training

Established in 2019, the Plaza Futures program was scheduled to graduate its first class in South Florida in early 2020 and introduced the program to its New York and Washington offices last September.

The program provides those new to the industry with both a solid foundation and defined career path through a specific curriculum that offers a structured learning environment and an understanding of specific job competencies and skills.

Participants work with mentors for six months as a Superintendent, six months as an Estimator, six months as a Project Manager and six months in other facets of the business. Upon completion of the program, they meet with their mentors to map out their individualized career trajectory.

“We have seen folks think they want to be a project manager, but because they spent six months as a Superintendent realize, wow, maybe that’s what I want to do instead,” says Meltzer.

interacting with students is one of the many benefits derived from the company’s industry association memberships. Additionally, Meltzer is on the Advisory Board at the Tulane University School of Architecture and the Advisory Board of University of Miami’s Real Estate Masters Program and Construction Management program.

“Being involved with the students and giving them a window to the real world helps with the internship program (HS, college and Masters) that is the lifeblood to our future business. I fell in love with this side of the business and have been here since I graduated,” he says. Comprehending rules of engagement and permitting procedures from one state to the next is of paramount importance.

“At the beginning of 2020 New York had its set of rules, Florida had its set of rules and California has its own set of rules related to COVID. Managing that and making sure we were abiding by those rules was super complicated, but we made it a priority,” Meltzer points out.

The company remained vigilant regarding employee well being throughout the pandemic,

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understanding the additional stress it was causing and continues to cause.

“We had a couple of people that lost family members to COVID. [I can’t imagine] what that means when someone comes to work and they have things weighing on them. For morale I felt like it was important to constantly reach out to people to try to do the best we could to help them in a difficult situation. Those are the things that weighed on me the most – it’s about the people,” Meltzer stresses.

The company did suffer a financial impact with projects either put on hold or cancelled altogether. For example, a $400+ million contract for work at Royal Caribbean’s world headquarters in Miami was halted as a result of the pandemic.

“They called to tell us to stop. We had 38 Plaza staff on the job and, so far it has not continued. It’s hard to bounce back from things like that, although I expect us to be back up to normal levels within a year and a half,” Meltzer says.

“It was hard to see the Florida team go through that and I was disappointed for Miami as a whole. Building a state of the art work environment for 4,000+ employees was going to force other employers to up their game as well. It was going to help with the maturation of the city of Miami. The folks at Royal Caribbean were great partners and my team was so excited, so vested in the project. I went to the jobsite and delivered the news myself, first-hand, that is the only way I know.” he adds.

In The Community

The company is involved in countless charitable initiatives at the national and regional levels.

The Florida office has sponsored a golf tournament for the past several years, raising money for Voices for Children, that according to the organization’s web site: “Ensures that every abused, abandoned and neglected child in Miami-Dade County has a courtappointed Guardian ad Litem (GAL) and that financial assistance and other resources are available for their health, educational, and social needs.”

The American Corporate Partners (ACP) year-long mentorship for military veterans and their spouses features mentors from Fortune 500 companies and has earned a 98 percent approval rating from participants.

Plaza built the Fisher Houses, which have provided nearly 400,000 veteran’s families, since 1990, with free high-quality housing accommodations across the country, while veterans are treated at military facilities.

Finally, the company and its parent company, CCA, hosted its inaugural Tri-State Area Charity Golf Invitational in New Jersey, benefiting the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hudson County (BGCHC) this year raising over $200,000 in its first year.

Moving Forward

nimble company that was prepared to weather the storm of COVID with a well-stocked pipeline. The company is proven to be adept at managing its existing workload while preparing for the next wave of work.

It has embraced top-shelf technology ranging from a suite of VDC applications, Primavera 6 and the latest iteration 3D and 4D of Building Information Modeling (BIM) to increase productivity, keep costs down and improve communication across the board.

Anticipating the possibility of a hybrid post-pandemic workforce, the company is re-imagining its

workspaces in New York and Miami to reduce their footprints while increasing functionality.

“We hired Spectre Group, whose two owners I happen to have known since we were in high school together. It’s given people the opportunity to work in a hybrid fashion. Some still work from home, some come into the office. We’ve given our staff flexibility and it’s fostering happier, more productive employees. If it takes an hour to get to work and you can do the same work from home, why not? You might still need to come in from time to time, just not as often,” Meltzer explains. He loves everything about the industry. Of that there is no doubt.

“Construction is a great business and brings you something different everyday. Work hard, let your voice be heard at the appropriate time and be honest – let people know when you don’t know something and don’t be afraid to ask a question. When I started working in this industry I would ask the tradesmen questions. They appreciated it and they took the time to teach me and work with me, and it goes a long way for building relationships,” he concludes.

COMPANY INFORMATION

Company Name: Plaza Construction Country: United States Industry: Construction Est: 1986 Premier Services: Construction management and support, general contracting, program management, design/build, and consulting services CEO: Brad Meltzer President: Christopher Mills

Website: