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CONSTRUCTION
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The Industry’s Newspaper from the Construction News Team
www.constructionnews.net H (210) 308-5800 H Volume 14 H Number 12 H DECEMBER 2017
No place I’d rather be
American made
The Perez brothers, L-R: Steven, Fabian and Adrian, are third generation masons.
Bill McKeans (far front left) with the Metalink team.
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abian, Adrian, and Steve Perez grew up in Austin. During their childhood, the three brothers would go to jobsites with their father and help out anyway they could. Sometimes they would help unload trucks, one brick at a time, and sometimes help get equipment off the site. That is until they were big enough to do more. When Fabian was about 19 years old, he moved to San Marcos for a few years and then later settled in Seguin where he met his wife. After the couple married they decided to move to Georgetown. Little did they know, Adrian and Steve were settling down also, and they too decided to settle in Georgetown. Fabian started doing subcontract
work for himself when he was in his mid20s. Steve would soon come to work with Fabian as well as Adrian. Following the footsteps of their father and grandfather, they became third-generation masons. Having been introduced to the trade at such an early age, they just seemed to have an eye for it. And thus, the story of Perez Masonry begins. Established in 2007, the company started out doing high-end residential until an opportunity arose giving the company an opening into the commercial market remodeling and renovating a chain of Starbucks. Today, the company’s main focus is commercial. “It’s such a sense of pride to drive by continued on Page 14
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nly six months into retirement, Bill McKean found himself getting back into the workforce. But he would not return to the path of semiconductors and travel that had guided his career most of his adult life. No, he would venture on a new and unknown path – fencing. Eighteen months ago, McKean became the new owner and president of Metalink, a fencing supply, fabrication and installation company with deep roots in Austin. Coming from a long line of steel workers of some form or fashion, McKean was fascinated with the idea of working with American steel. “I wanted to build something that would sustain and last,” says McKean.
Not knowing anything about the industry or the business, he went to work learning the business and familiarizing himself with the products and customers his new company would service. In learning the business, he discovered that the first thing he needed to do was keep his employees. Upon discovering what his employees needed and what the company needed to grow, he was soon about to start making tracks. “If I get hit by a bus tomorrow, we’ll still build fences. But if that same bus hits these folks around here and in my shop, we’re in trouble. I believe that to my core. The best marketing tool any company has is its employees.” continued on Page 14
IE2 helps classic favorite go modern
A
restaurant offering a modern twist to a traditional cuisine needs an equivalently cool but timeless setting, so the new Mexican food cafe, ATX Cocina, features an abundance of natural light, neutral tone palette and carefully selected finishes from the floor to the ceiling. Located at 110 San Antonio Street in downtown Austin, the project’s general contractor was IE2 Construction Inc., and the architect was Christy Taylor with Michael Hsu Office of Architecture. The owner is ATX Cocina, LLC. Just over 8,000sf in size, the space has a contemporary, open concept design with full visibility of the kitchen. Dining vignettes include two bar spaces, a chef’s table, two private dining rooms and a large shaded patio. Offsetting the sights and sounds of food preparation and mingling diners are natural aesthetics that are both internal
and external to the eatery. Looking out, guests can take in a view of Lady Bird Lake. When they look up, custom wood ceilings will certainly impress. “The volume of specialty ceiling work and schedule coordination presented a challenge to the builders. Simultaneously, however, the same ceilings are the project’s most distinct element with one focal point featuring a catenary barrel vault,” said Fey Carroll, ATX Cocina’s project manager. Furthermore, throughout the restaurant there are more than 40 custom millwork features from seven different species of wood. “The incredible ceilings, metal work and amazing attention to detail really showcase collaboration between (design and fabrication firm) Drophouse Design and the architect and the talent and the time that went into this design,” Carroll says. ATX Cocina offers Mexican cuisine with a modern twist in a modern setting in Downtown Austin.
continued on Page 14