High-Profile's 25th Anniversary Edition

CELEBRATES

Helping Build Boston Since 1985

For more than three decades we’ve been a part of some of New England’s most successful and high profile construction projects, in a wide range of industries. From the complexities and demanding tolerances of biotechnology, to the robust demands of manufacturing and distribution, to the mission critical requirements of health care facilities, we’ve done the job.

Sustainable building practices are a part of everything we do. We are a proud member of the U.S. Green Building Council, and utilize “best practices” in design, material selection, fabrication and installation for minimal impact on the environment.

Meet the Team

Resiliency and Adaptability: Hallmarks of the Boston Construction Market by Ben Goldfarb

The Supply and Demand of Commercial Development in Boston by John B. Hynes, II 10

Driving Innovation through Trust and Collaboration by Campbell-McCabe Worldwide, LLC 25

25 Years of Transformation in Boston Architecture by Haril Pandya

Growth Culture Leads to Firm Excellence by Mike Procopio

Designing a More Inclusive Boston by James Miner

Publisher’s Note

We’d like to thank you - our readers, contributors, and advertisers - for continuing on this journey with us as we highlight the news and developments in New England’s AEC and real estate industries.

This special anniversary edition celebrates the last 25 years of commercial development in New England, including a look back at High-Profile over the years and featuring the stories of architecture, engineering, and construction firms throughout the region.

From all of us at High-Profile... Enjoy the read!

Send news releases, advertising queries, articles, announcements, and calendar listings, to: editor@high-profile.com P.O. Box 7, Pembroke, MA 02359 (781) 294-4530 • high-profile.com

Anastasia Barnes publisher

Emily Langner editor

Yvonne Lauzière art director

Elizabeth Finance vice president of sales

Mark Kelly account executive

Betsy Gorman account executive

High-Profile Celebrates 25 Years

Tracking the Growth of Construction and Development in New Hampshire, An interview with Jim Loft and John Stebbins of PROCON

High-Profile Celebrates 25 Years!

High-Profile Monthly has been covering this evolution in the New England region, including the highs, lows, challenges and amazing feats of architecture, since our first issue was published in September of 1997.

Starting High-Profile was a natural progression for our founder, Michael Barnes, who had spent much of his career working for other news outlets and organizations that covered the AEC industry in New England. Michael and his wife, Kathy Barnes, joined forces to establish a publication focused exclusively on construction and development to meet the industry’s need for targeted coverage of “high-profile” projects in the region.

“The first issue of High-Profile was published with no money down. We didn’t have enough money to pay the printer so we had contracts with our advertisers that we brought to the printer to signify that we had the commitment and ability to pay after the paper was printed. After the first issue, we were on our way.”

MICHAEL BARNES

Engaging with industry organizations and attending their monthly meetings played a big part in expanding our understanding and familiarity of happenings in the New England states, and provided an opportunity to network within the industry. Additionally, dedicated advertisers like Joseph Clancy and Dan Bent of American Plumbing & Heating have been with us from the very first issue. This, along with our commitment to utilizing emerging technologies to deliver the news, enabled High-Profile to grow and by 2003, we were publishing a regular monthly edition.

Michael and Kathy Barnes in 1997.

During the last quarter century, the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) and real estate industries have seen a transformation in the way commercial developments are designed and built, and in the priorities that drive modern architecture and construction projects.

“Most influential in introducing me to the AEC industry and High-Profile to the leaders of our industry was my affiliation with Massachusetts Building Congress. Jan Breed, MBC’s executive director, and Blasdel A. Reardon, John Cannistraro, Jr., Jeremy Ritzenberg, Joseph Gallagher, Dan Perruzzi, Michael Reilly, Joe Flynn, and Ben Goldfarb (all past presidents of MBC) were a few of those who helped me in developing HighProfile as a niche publication for commercial construction. Additionally, Marc Margulies was the person to introduce me to the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), which expanded our readership to more facility managers in the Boston area.”

— MICHAEL BARNES

In the last 25 years, the industry has faced ups and downs and periods of growth and challenges, and our family-owned business has been able to navigate through these times with a “slow but steady” approach.

“Being a family-owned business has contributed to our ability to weather an ever-changing industry, as a shared passion and collaborative spirit was definitely crucial in HighProfile’s early days. Having my parents, Ralph and Marion Barnes, on board as founding editors was a huge part of our success and when our daughter Anastasia joined the company in 2000, we all worked together to get the job done.”

— MICHAEL BARNES

In 2013, Anastasia took on an expanded role in shaping the look, feel, and quality of content for High-Profile.

In the early days of High-Profile, the Great Dane became the company’s official mascot, named after Michael and Kathy’s beloved family pets.

High-Profile Celebrates 25 Years!

In 2002, High-Profile had grown enough to allow us to expand our home office in Pembroke, Mass. Then over the next few years, we added several annual supplements to our regular monthly issue, which included the Green Supplement; the Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) Supplement; and Women in Construction.

“ When we published the first Annual Green Supplement, the focus in the industry was really on energy savings in building projects. High-Profile has been present for the evolution of the green building movement as LEED, Passive House and WELL have become well-established and sought out certifications. Flash forward to 2023, and the major focus is on meeting climate goals and working to minimize the negative impact our developments have on the environment, with these requirements now being regularly incorporated into every project at its inception.”

— MICHAEL BARNES

As we continued to grow, and as more sophisticated technology became available, we replaced our original website with a more user-friendly and accessible online newsfeed, and began sending out our FastFacts Friday newsletter via email, recapping the week’s headlines and keeping subscribers informed of the latest groundbreakings and developments in the region.

In 2002, we began featuring Anastasia in marketing and promotional material throughout the issues. In 2013, she became the face of High-Profile’s weekly newsletter, FastFacts Friday.

As we became more well-known in the industry, our readers began to refer to us simply as “HP,” which influenced the design of our new logo in 2013.

In 2013, we undertook a complete rebranding of the company, working with marketing and communications agency Nickerson to redesign our logo and color palette and establish a fresh look for the publication. In time, we had become known to our audience simply as “HP,” and our new logo reflected that. The publication was further elevated when we hired Yvonne Lauzière as art director. Her work brought the paper to a new level, as she designed each monthly issue with artistry and purpose. It was during this time that Anastasia began taking on a greater role within the company.

WOMEN in CONSTRUCTION

The June 1999 issue of HP featured a first look at the design of the new Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge (The Zakim Bridge), what is now an iconic feature of the city of Boston.

“Being a major participant in the rebranding of the company, which included launching the new website and further establishing a consistent and clean look and feel of the publication, really showed me that I was invested in HP’s future and in the success of the company. I really was taking ownership of what I could bring to the table, and to the vision of the company, and in helping shape the look, feel, and quality of content for High-Profile.”

— ANASTASIA BARNES

After attending a few events held by the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) and watching them celebrate women in the industry, Anastasia wanted to do the same by recognizing the women that were breaking barriers by pursuing careers in the AEC space, and HP’s Women in Construction Supplement was born.

“As a young woman in the industry, I would be attending events and be surrounded by a sea of men, and I would naturally gravitate to the women in the room. So the opportunity to highlight women in the industry and show people what they were doing, share their journeys, and show how they were breaking the glass ceiling, I felt was important. It has been extraordinary to see the level of participation in this issue every year as women in AEC share their struggles and successes, and share inspiration for others just entering the industry.”

— ANASTASIA BARNES

Over the last decade, HP has followed the developments in design and construction as major attention has been paid to our effect on the environment and our role in climate change, in addition to the major strides being made to include women- and minority-owned businesses in all stages of a building project. In 2018, we worked with future design firm Fathom to establish our vision, which is to provoke people to act on their own vision to build a better world. As a result, we launched the Build Better podcast and produced our special Vision issue to highlight the people teams, and organizations that are leading the way and changing the industry for the better.

from the desire to tell the stories of the people and companies that are doing better, whether it be through prioritizing green principles in their everyday operations, or establishing ways to elevate women or people of color in the industry. It is really an honor to work in an industry of people who are passionate about

— ANASTASIA BARNES

Working with future design firm Fathom helped us articulate our vision and purpose, giving new meaning to our work going forward. Photos courtesy of Fathom.

We’re proud that we have expanded from our early days to now include editor Emily Langner (Ralph and Marion retired in 2020, both at the age of 93!), vice president of sales Elizabeth Finance, and account executives Mark Kelly and Betsy Gorman. Yvonne is still with us as our amazing art director, who continues to elevate the quality of our online and print publications with her immense design talent.

In the next 25 years, we will continue to utilize the latest digital tools and technology to bring facilities development news to people in new ways and highlight the softer side of design and construction, telling the stories of the people and companies that are leading from the heart and inspiring others with their commitment to making the world a better place. As the voice of New England’s AEC and real estate industries, we celebrate this milestone with all of you – members of this truly unique community – with whom we are honored to call our colleagues and friends.

The 10 Year Anniversary issue, published in November 2007, was a major milestone for the company as we became well-known industry wide as the source for construction and development news in New England.

HP’s November 2013 issue marked the first edition featuring our new logo and a complete redesign of the publication.

Vision issue was published in 2019.

“Our driving force has always come

what they do and who are tackling the big challenges we as a society are facing.”

High-Profile Celebrates 25 Years!

Twenty-five years!! What monumental changes our world has gone through in that short time. Back then, the personal computer was in its infancy. To get the paper published in those first years, we literally cut and pasted news and photos for galleys to be delivered to the printer. We thought we were just about the top of the ladder when we were able to lay out a whole issue on a disk. The possibility of publishing on the web was so far-fetched that nobody gave it any consideration ... except our founder, Michael Barnes. He saw the potential before anyone else and he acted on it! Thanks to his vision, High-Profile was then, and still is, created by an incredible team from all over New England, all working remotely.

We have seen real estate companies come and go, small companies expand to become major players in the market, major companies close after years of successful operation, and companies merge and companies split. New developments, whether in big cities or small towns, were always interesting to our readers, and real estate association news was of enormous importance. We have reported on them all.

One of our first advertisers, American Plumbing & Heating, who advertised in our very first issue, still holds a spot on the inside cover. And here we are, all these years later, publishing both print and digital issues each month.

The last 10 years in commercial real estate are reported to be among the most transformative the industry has ever seen. It is reflected in the contents of our publication. Publisher Anastasia Barnes has done a splendid job adhering to our original principle of keeping the information interesting, accurate and up to date, and we’re not saying that because she is our youngest granddaughter.

Ralph and Marion Barnes

Better design, together.

Sasaki is proud to partner with BGI to bring 10 World Trade in Boston’s Seaport to life

by John B. Hynes, III

The Supply and Demand of Commercial Development in Boston

The centuries-old city of Boston has seen a multitude of ebbs and flows in commercial development since its founding in the 1600s, but its complicated evolution has made way for its modern-day reputation as a hub for innovation and growth in the education, hospitality, residential, and life science sectors.

When Paul Revere took his famous ride in 1775, 15,000 people called the city of Boston home. By 1875, the population had grown to 300,000 people, prompted by a steady and gradual immigration into the city. After the Civil War, by 1900, Boston became a hub for shipping and distribution by sea and rail, and the population grew by another 250,000 people. The city’s population hit 850,000 people in 1950, considerably more than the city’s current population of 700,000.

Several factors contributed to Boston’s decrease in population during the last half of the 20th century, including President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Federal Highway Transportation Act which created the interstate highway system. Many corporations moved to suburban areas, and shipping by rail was replaced by distribution by truck and air. Additionally, the city was impacted by the growth in manufacturing in the south as new highways, cheap abundant land, and the invention of air conditioning drew companies to the Sun Belt.

In the last 40 years, the city of Boston has seen unprecedented consistent growth in development, from 20 million sq. ft. in 1980 to around 75 million sq. ft. today. That same time period has seen multiple recessions and periods of inflation that left the city at a standstill at times, but the periods of immense growth have created the impressive hubs of lab/life science and hotel and residential developments that define parts of the city today.

Over the last 20 years, low interest rates and an abundance of capital available for either debt or equity investing have spurred growth and an appreciation of real estate values. This was made possible by the infrastructure investments made by city, state, and federal governments in the Third Harbor Tunnel, the Central Artery, the MBTA and Logan International Airport, and in the cleaning up of Boston Harbor.

Providing greater accessibility to the Seaport with these major projects made way for an unfettered expansion in the lab/life science market in Boston in 2010. When Vertex moved into the Seaport in 2012, it was the first company to move in from outside of the city in almost half a century. Up until that point, development consisted primarily of internal growth of financial services companies. Today, the city has about 6 million sq. ft. of lab/life science development and it doesn’t show signs of slowing. The Seaport also brought an influx of residential and hotel developments, in addition to other areas like Back Bay, giving rise

to developments in the retail and entertainment sectors.

From 2010-2020, Boston added 10,000 people per year to the population, the type of growth the city hasn’t seen since the early 1900s. While Boston has seen the same challenges as other major cities during the pandemic, powerhouse industries like lab/life science have taken hold, continuing the pattern of growth in both the residential and commercial sectors in Boston. The city’s ability to evolve and respond to demand with ingenuity, grit, and perseverance will remain at the center of its foundation as it faces the challenges of the next century.

John B. Hynes, III is CEO and managing partner at Boston Global Investors.

Boston’s Seaport District in 2020 | Photos courtesy of Boston Global Investors

SEAPORT DISTRICT in 1920

SEAPORT DISTRICT in 1980

Tracking the Growth of Construction and Development in New Hampshire

High-Profile interviewed Managing Director John Stebbins and Co-president Jim Loft of PROCON, an architectural and construction management firm based in Hooksett, N.H. PROCON was founded by the Stebbins’ family in 1935, and is one of the oldest privately-held, family-owned and operated design-build firms in the United States.

Stebbins and Loft discussed the evolution of commercial development and construction in New Hampshire over the last 25 years, as well as the recent challenges and innovations the industry has seen, and their predictions for the next 25 years.

High-Profile: What do you feel have been the most notable shifts/developments in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry in New Hampshire in the last 25 years?

Jim Loft: The last 25 years have seen growth in all New England states, as expansion occurs all the way from Washington, D.C. up into New Jersey and Rhode Island and beyond. Locally, we’ve seen development mature as we see an evolution from inexpensively made buildings into higher quality developments promoted by competition in the market and owners being more willing to spend more money to attract tenants. Recently, we’ve seen major growth in Portsmouth, Nashua, Manchester, and Concord with a lot of

live-work-play projects in several areas. The market is showing us that people are really wanting to live in those areas that present a high quality of life while being close to the action the bigger cities provide.

HP: What have the biggest improvements been in the industry in the last 25 years?

John Stebbins: Technology has come so far in the industry, it has affected really every step of the process. We’ve gone from 2D drawings to full color 3D renderings of every aspect of a building project and virtual reality experiences,

Jim Loft John Stebbins

PROCON was the design-builder on 145 Maplewood Avenue in Portsmouth, N.H., a 91,000sf, 4-story office building with space for both corporate offices and retail.

allowing owners to really visualize what they’re getting early in the process. Things develop at a much faster pace now, and the technology creates efficiencies that we just never had before.

HP: What are the biggest challenges that your firm or the industry faces today?

JS: While the developments in technology have brought some extraordinary capabilities in our industry, it can set pretty high expectations very early in a project which can present a number of challenges. No matter how good we get the technology to visualize the building, it’s going to look slightly different in the real world, so it can be a challenge to make sure we are creating realistic expectations for the client as the project progresses.

JL: Employee recruitment continues to be one of our biggest challenges. PROCON has a full time recruiter on staff who casts a very wide net to recruit talent from all over and to address this challenge, but we see the industry as a whole struggling with this currently.

HP: What do you see as the biggest challenge in real estate development?

JS: There’s a lot of demand out there right now, but it’s very difficult to make pro formas on new real estate development work. You’re pairing very inflated construction pricing that

hit us hard during the pandemic with inflated interest rates. Prior to the pandemic we had stable prices for so many years, less than 3% inflation for 10+ years and historically low interest rates, and that access to cheap money and stable construction pricing made getting projects off the ground a lot easier. At PROCON, we do feel like we’re wellpositioned right now to overcome a lot of the current challenges. Because of our vertically integrated delivery system, we are quite good at discovering unforeseen circumstances and solving for those things earlier in the process rather than having them be an unwelcome, and costly, discovery while you’re in the ground.

HP: Where do you see the industry in 25 years?

JL: I definitely see the growth in development continuing north from Massachusetts into New Hampshire and all the way to Portland, Maine as more and more people continue to discover that it really is the ideal place to get to experience a high quality of life while being in such close proximity to Boston and Logan International Airport, and really achieving that live-work balance.

human wellness, the conservancy of land… It’s exciting to be a part of this industry because we have the ability to affect people’s lives in a very positive way with the way that we’re designing and constructing beautiful buildings that are nice to look at but also can make people healthier and take pressures off the environment. We’re able to have an effect on addressing the housing shortage, the reshoring of industries from overseas and improving supply chains, affecting how energy efficient buildings are, and helping infill land that already is underutilized and build density in already developed areas rather than needlessly deforesting. I really love our industry and I’m excited for where things are going.

PROCON was the design-builder on 145 Maplewood Avenue in Portsmouth, N.H., a 91,000sf, 4-story office building with space for both corporate offices and retail.

JS: There are so many pressures on the industry right now whether it’s price, energy efficiency,

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It’s exciting to be a part of this industry because we have the ability to affect people’s lives in a very positive way with the way that we’re designing and constructing beautiful buildings that are nice to look at but also can make people healthier and take pressures off the environment.

— John Stebbins

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Jewett Construction Builds on 50 Years of Success

From Home Building to Big Commercial Projects, Family-owned New Hampshire Business Grows into $100M Company, Marks Milestone with new President at the Helm

When Ed Jewett started a home building business in 1972 with support from his wife, Arlene, he never imagined that it would one day grow into a $100 million company with more than 65 employees working on projects around New England and beyond. “I had a pickup truck and my first desk was a dashboard,” he said as he recalled the humble beginnings of Fremont-based Jewett Construction.

In those early days, he remembers hunting for jobs and scraping by as he tried to launch the business. “In 12 months I think I did around $60,000 worth of work. It was a struggle. It was just me, the pickup truck and that dashboard full of paperwork, but little by little we inched forward and got better.”

This year, Jewett Construction is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and the achievements of a family-owned construction management company built from the ground up that now specializes in commercial construction projects in the office, manufacturing, retail and automotive sectors.

Ed’s son, Craig Jewett, who took ownership of the business in 2003 and has served as president since then, attributes much of the company’s success to good old-fashioned grit, strong work ethic, sound procedures with checks and balances, and a commitment to

investing in and empowering employees. After his dad hired him as a laborer in the early 1990s following his college graduation, Craig worked his way up in the company. “Nothing in my direct family has been handed to anybody. I had to pay my parents for this company. I think that helps you get out of bed in the morning,” he said.

While this year marks Jewett Construction’s 50th year in business, it’s not the only big milestone. The company is also seeing a change in leadership as Craig steps away from his role as long-time president and hands the reins over to Greg Stewart, a former senior vice president who was hired as a senior estimator in 2015. Stewart’s promotion to the top position is a move that’s a first for the company as he’s the only person outside the Jewett family to hold the title of president. It’s big shoes to fill, but Stewart is up for the challenge.

“I don’t see it as pressure. I see it as my responsibility to our team members and ownership to provide a return on the investment the company made in me seven years ago. I’m just one example of what is available to all of our team members; everyone within Jewett

Construction has the opportunity to grow personally and professionally on parallel paths with the company’s strategic growth. We want to hire people that are smarter than us and can show us new things that we can incorporate into that special sauce that makes us Jewett. This is the future and I’m incredibly excited,” said Stewart, who gained experience while rising through the ranks of a Massachusetts-based contractor for many years before joining Jewett.

The Jewett family is confident that Stewart will be a strong leader as the company grows in its strategic markets and continues to support its workers, promoting from within and creating individual professional development plans for team members with a continued commitment to invest in technology and a path forward. “I’m excited about the future and having an opportunity to sit back from 30,000 feet and watch all of our people grow,” Craig said.

That’s exactly what his father has done as he’s witnessed the company grow into a top designbuild construction firm in New England with his son at the helm. “You would have to be mindless if you weren’t immensely proud of the success and the growth of the company. I’m very, very impressed with Craig’s achievements,” Ed said.

As the company’s portfolio has expanded over the years, Craig pointed to two of its commercial projects during the 1990s that helped to put the business on the map: Tyco’s corporate hangar at Portsmouth International Airport and the National Passport Center, also in Portsmouth, N.H. “That catapulted us forward and people started paying a little more attention to us when the 2000s hit,” he said.

For Craig, carrying on his father’s legacy has been rewarding, but also challenging in a pleasant way. “As the company grew I had to learn to adapt. I had to back away and empower people to do their jobs and stay out of the way,” he said. “One reason why we’ve been successful with associates is because we work closely with them to advance their skills through our internship programs that have been built by the company. We’ve got a strong group here that’s dedicated to the cause, follows the plan and

Greg Stewart

Craig Jewett and Ed Jewett

A historic Jewett hard hat sits next to a Jewett hard hat from 2022.

understands that it can get a little bumpy from time to time, but that’s helped us as well.”

Powering Through the Pandemic

The recent COVID-19 pandemic presented countless challenges for many businesses, but Craig said he and his team viewed it as a time for new opportunities. The company had no layoffs, picked up some of its biggest clients, and hired its first human resources director. “A lot of people looked at it as the end, but we looked at it as the beginning. Instead of laying people off, we knew we had to buckle down and make sure our people were protected and bring somebody in who could help us bring more people in,” he said. Jewett Construction also hired several new workers who lost their jobs with other employers during the pandemic.

While there were only five employees working in the office a decade ago, the company now has 65 employees and found success in hiring while other employers continue to face challenges finding new talent in the current workforce. “I think great companies take advantage of the benefit of their associates to grow during those periods, and if and when things slow down in our area, we’ll look at that as an opportunity to grow again and not curl back and hide,” Craig said.

One of Jewett Construction’s biggest accomplishments during the pandemic was the creation of its new office space at 25 Spaulding Road in Fremont, N.H. after outgrowing its offices in Raymond, N.H. Jewett purchased the commercial building at the site of the former Spaulding & Frost Cooperage and began a major renovation. Six tenants occupy the first floor while Jewett’s new home is located on the second floor.

Relocating to the Fremont site seemed fitting, especially since Ed was a former coowner of the historic cooperage before it burned in 1973; the factory known worldwide for its wooden barrel production was later rebuilt, but closed in 1999. Ed said he was excited when he learned that Jewett Construction was moving to the old barrel factory property. “I always had a bit of an affection for Spaulding & Frost and the Fremont area. It seemed to make sense to me and I’m happy about it,” he said.

All In The Family

Jewett Construction has worked to foster a family atmosphere that includes Craig’s son, Nick, an estimator who has grown up with the company. He recalled how his father used to bring him to work when he was younger and how he referred to employees like TC Holt, a superintendent, as Uncle T.

“We still have that family dynamic, it’s just that the family is a little bigger now,” said Nick, who began working full time as a laborer with the company six year ago after finishing college. His days spent tagging along with his dad and employees during school vacations, snow days and other times led him toward a career with the family business. “That’s why I’m here now. I just loved the atmosphere.”

Holt, who’s worked with the company for 16 years, still remembers spending time with Nick when he was a kid. “We always took him under our wing,” he said. Holt said he’s always viewed the Jewetts as family and is glad that he’s been a part of the company’s success. “For me, to see a company go from where we started to where we’re at now and the caliber that we’re operating at, it’s just awesome. When they gave me the task of remodeling the office I thought I got the short straw, but then I realized I was starting a new legacy here. It’s another chapter and it’s really cool that I had a chance to be part of that.”

Rob Bernier, who works as a superintendent supervising field activities, has worked for Jewett for seven years. He recalled that when he was first hired, he had a vacation planned in two weeks, but as soon as he returned his grandchild was born, prompting him to take another week off. “That’s really what sold me on the family idea. Right off the bat they were so joyous with me having a grandchild. Everything else was second to them. They were good with me taking the additional time off after only being back for one day and working for the company for less than a month,” he said while taking a break from work on a 45,000sf manufacturing plant in Chelmsford, Mass.

Bernier added, “It’s been a wonderful working experience for me. The biggest thing for us is, we turn difficult problems into creative solutions. That’s really what we strive to do every day.”

Eye On The Future

As the company looks ahead, Stewart said the future may include an expansion beyond New England to meet their clients’ needs. “We’re looking at some geographic regions that our clients are asking us to go to. We’re not targeting an area. We’re targeting our clients who, because of our performance, are asking us to go to places like Georgia and Virginia. Our growth is really based on repeat-referral and the relationships we build with our clients; those relationships and our project performance are the reasons our clients are asking us to travel to new locations and bringing us with them. Geographically we will be growing, but not for the purpose of geographic growth, but for the purpose of supporting our clients,” he said.

Craig said he believes that its people and a commitment to providing a tailored experience will continue to set Jewett Construction apart from its competitors. “It’s not one size fits all and we accommodate that. We adapt to our clients’ needs. We don’t have them adapt to us. We follow through on our commitments during the pre-construction phase, during construction, and then warrantying our client’s building long after our warranties run out. We’re there for the clients years after.”

With Stewart at the helm, Jewett Construction is well positioned to carry its tradition of shared success forward, working to ensure that its clients, subcontractors and employees continue to thrive. It’s a legacy that’s been 50 years in the making and one that Stewart is committed to preserving for years to come.

Submitted by Jewett Construction

Greg Stewart, Craig Jewett, and Nick Jewett

The Jewett

Scalora Consulting Group Earns B Corp Certification, Commits to Balancing Profit with Purpose

Boston – Scalora Consulting Group, an owner’s representative firm in the design and construction industry, announced it is now a Certified B Corporation (B Corp).

The company is part of only 6,106 B Corporations in the world and the only owner’s representative in the country to be certified. Representatives of Scalora Consulting Group say that, staying true to its vision of building a better world, the firm took the step to certification because it believes a company can make profits for its shareholders while simultaneously making a commitment to its stakeholders and improving social well-being, thereby balancing profit with purpose.

Administered by the B Lab, B Corp certification is a designation that a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and input materials.

“I was excited to join Scalora Consulting Group because the vision was for a company that is people centered and continuously looking for ways to improve both the form and function of project management,” said Kristi Mynhier, WELL AP, senior project manager at Scalora Consulting Group. “This mindset pushes out across the construction industry, presenting a different way of operating and offering substantial benefits to our clients, employees, and partners. Becoming a B Corp shows how committed the entire team is to do its part to help make the world a better place.”

According to B Lab, as leaders in the movement for economic systems change, B Corps reap remarkable benefits. They build trust with consumers, communities, and suppliers; attract and retain employees; and draw mission-aligned investors. As they are required to undergo the verification process every three years in order to recertify, B Corps are by definition also focused on continuous improvement. Scalora Consulting Group is an early adopter of the B Corp Certification due to its ingrained culture of focusing on people, planet, innovation, and community

Scalora Consulting Group has a vision to build a better world by:

• Investing in people and developing strategic initiatives supporting a people-first approach to everything it does, translating to enhanced client engagements.

• Partnering to innovate by striving to be the most forwardthinking and innovative owner’s representative in the design and construction industry.

• Committing to sustainability by promoting a more environmentally friendly design and construction industry.

• Exuding social responsibility by expanding its typical responsibilities to include the interests of workers, communities, and the environment.

“I joined Scalora Consulting Group because I wanted to be somewhere innovative, and this company checked all the boxes,” said Jason Bhajan, LEED AP BD+C, project manager and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI&B) leader at Scalora Consulting Group. “Not only are we focused on improving construction and the methods behind it, but we are also promoting sustainability and cleaner, greener solutions to help the planet recover. To me, B Corp is about changing mindsets and helping to innovate and, hopefully, promote a generational shift. By getting certified as a B Corp, we are striving for balance – both in our personal and professional lives – and working to build a better world.”

According to B Lab, B Corp certification is holistic, not exclusively focused on a single social or environmental issue, and the process to achieve and maintain certification is rigorous and requires engaging teams and departments across the company.

The Scalora Consulting Group team

Designing a More Inclusive Boston

Boston, one of the oldest municipalities in the country, is also becoming one of the youngest.

In 2017, Boston Indicators (in partnership with City Awake and the Boston Chamber of Commerce) identified Boston as a City of Millennials. In 2022, Boston was listed as one of the top ten metropolitan areas in the U.S. where millennials want to relocate. And, Mayor Michelle Wu, among other important firsts, is Boston’s first millennial mayor.

Aside from their youthful energy, millennials share some other important traits: They care about social issues, believe in activism, value collective action and networks, are everyday changemakers, and are passionate about issues, not institutions. These traits will be essential for making Boston not only a younger, more vibrant city, but a more inclusive one as well.

Mayor Wu, in her campaign for mayor, tweeted that “Cities have tremendous power to lead the charge to mitigate the threat of climate change, eliminate the violence of poverty and economic equality, close the racial wealth gap, and dismantle structural racism.” In August of 2022, Wu and Chief of Planning Arthur Jemison announced the adoption of a new policy that requires developers to include diversity, equity, and inclusion plans as part of the process for approving large construction projects in the city. More recently, the mayor’s office put

forward new inclusionary development and linkage policies that are aimed at increasing the amount of affordable housing – and diversity –in the city.

How will the design and construction industry capitalize on all the positive energy and momentum that is moving Boston toward being a more inclusive city? If the impact of many of these new policies can only be achieved through the regulation of new development, how long will it be until we see real change on the ground and in our skyline as economic uncertainty looms?

Fortunately, we’re already seeing evidence of inclusive design along Boston’s evolutionary path. When City Hall Plaza’s first phase opened in 2022, the ideals of accessible, inclusive design were showcased in one of the city’s most iconic civic space’s ability to welcome families and people of varying mobility in ways that had never been possible before. At 10 World Trade in the Seaport, the “Massport Model” for diversity, equity and inclusion has been a cornerstone of the design effort and has led to an extremely exciting project with a significant, meaningful, public realm component.

The idea of inclusive design is not merely an act of goodwill – inclusive design leads to better projects. How buildings, spaces, and places look can and should be informed by how they function and feel, and for wide segments of the population. If we want our city to function

as a central gathering place, cultural hub, and engine for our economy, then this is how we will do it.

Importantly, Boston does not exist in isolation. And thankfully, we are seeing similar priorities emerge in state government. On election night, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey spoke on the importance of representation by saying “We’re going to be a better state, we’ll be a better country when more voices are at the table, especially voices that have not been heard historically.”

I also believe our collective ability to make meaningful change will improve as we look for opportunities to partner with each other and to navigate these times together. We are in an exciting time when collaboration, representation, and inclusion will inform our work in new and important ways. Breaking down barriers between institutions, between the public and private sectors, and between each other will allow us all the opportunity to achieve better design, together.

by James Miner

James Miner is chief executive officer at Sasaki.

Sasaki team members celebrate with Mayor Wu and Boston residents at the reopening of City Hall Plaza.

Photo by Matthew Arielly, courtesy of Sasaki

O&G Industries’ Evolution from Materials Supplier and Road Builder to a Nationally Regarded Construction Firm

Established in 1923, O&G Industries, Inc., located in Torrington, Conn., has seen tremendous growth and evolution from its early years as a supplier of construction materials and road builder to a nationally recognized industry leader in building construction, heavy civil, construction materials, and mason products.

O&G started when two friends, Andrew Oneglia and Flaviano Gervasini, formed a business partnership. Their first jobs included hauling sand and stone to various construction sites. But tragedy struck the company early on; Flaviano was killed when the truck he was operating was struck by a train. Determined to move forward, Andrew worked long hours alongside his three sons, Raymond, Frances, and George, to make a name for the company and honor its fallen founder.

O&G experienced rapid growth in its first 50 years. In 1936, the company bought its first quarry in Woodbury, Conn. Three years later, it won its first road construction project, building a bypass road at the submarine base in Ledyard, Conn. In 1958, the company won its largest contract yet: building the Thomaston Dam for the Army Corps of Engineers after the flood of 1955. The success of this project solidified O&G’s reputation and propelled the company forward.

In 1961, the Building Group was established when O&G began work on its first school construction project, an elementary school in Bristol. Over the next 50 years, the Building Group would celebrate many significant milestones, while the company would continue to diversify by adding concrete and asphalt plants, several more quarries, establishing a mason division, and performing major joint venture projects in California, New York, Louisiana, Illinois, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

Some of the Building Group’s more notable projects include rebuilding the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Hartford (known today as the XL Center) in 1978 after the roof collapsed during a winter storm. In 2000, work was completed on Litchfield County’s largest high school to date in New Milford, Conn. Less than a decade later, O&G completed a significant campus expansion project at

Quinnipiac University – the York Hill Campus, which encompassed all of O&G’s capabilities, including building, heavy civil, construction materials, and mason product supply.

O&G has built more than 300 schools, including more than 6 million sq. ft. of sustainable, net-zero, and LEED-certified. This experience positioned O&G as one of Engineering News-Record’s (ENR) Top 100 Green Contractors in the country, a distinction the company has held every year since the survey’s inception in 2007. O&G has also been named to ENR’s annual list of the Top 400 Contractors in the country every year since the list was first published in 1964.

In 2011, O&G’s Building Group formed a specialized unit to meet the construction demands of healthcare, industrial, and manufacturing projects. The roster of clients continues to include some of the world’s largest manufacturers, such as Sikorski and Pratt & Whitney.

Today, O&G excels at vertical construction in several markets, including education (public, independent, and higher), healthcare, commercial, office, industrial, manufacturing, municipal, community, athletic venues, transit, utility, infrastructure, water, and wastewater.

Over the years, the company has received awards and accolades for several projects. Most recently, it received the Associated General Contractors of Connecticut (AGC CT) Build Connecticut Award in the CM/GC: Mid-Size New Construction for the Thomas S. Perakos Arts and Community Center at the Frederick Gunn School in Washington, Conn. It also received the AGC CT’s Build Connecticut Award in the CM/GC: Mid-Size Renovation category for the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk Addition and Renovation joint venture project with A.P. Construction.

Now in its centennial year, O&G is led by third and fourth generation family members and is nationally recognized as an industry

CREC’s Academy of Aerospace & Engineering

leader in construction services and products. Its diversity is what distinguishes O&G from others in the industry. The company’s product portfolio includes the distribution of aggregates, concrete, and asphalt through a network of six quarries, eight concrete plants, and nine asphalt plants located throughout Connecticut and eastern New York. The

Mason Division is one of the East Coast’s largest masonry products, services, and solutions suppliers. Beyond road, bridge, and dam construction, O&G’s Heavy Civil Division has performed large-scale site work and power and energy projects.

by O&G Industries, Inc.

“Every milestone of our first 100 years comes down to a simple fact: the dedication of thousands who’ve worked strategically to accomplish great things together,” explained Greg Oneglia, third generation owner overseeing the Building Group. He gives credit to the employees and families beyond the O’s and G’s for making the company what it is today. “With over 900 employees from every corner of the state, it didn’t just take a village, it took a state to make O&G what it is today.”

Submitted

Quinnipiac University’s York Hill Campus

Driving Innovation through Trust and Collaboration

s an independent hardware consultancy, Campbell-McCabe Worldwide, LLC works with architectural design teams and developers as they undertake complex building projects with a focus on both originality and functionality.

A constantly evolving industry requires having the freedom to problem-solve, try new things, and explore creative solutions to challenges not previously encountered. Each project we take on is one-of-a-kind and demands an outside-the-box approach to integrating access control and security, while complementing the design of a building and providing practical solutions for occupant safety.

At Campbell-McCabe, we are proud that the culture we have built is one that prioritizes flexibility, allowing for the freedom of thought to innovate and serve our clients’ needs. Even before the Covid pandemic, we invested in the infrastructure and technology to allow our team members to work from whatever location worked best for them, on a schedule that promotes a healthy work-life balance.

Prioritizing employee independence has enabled us all to take

real ownership of our work, and has created a trust among our team that allows for creativity and collaboration. This, in turn, gives us the ability to provide practical and timely solutions, and a responsiveness that our clients appreciate.

Each one of us is invested fully in the work we do, and as we head into the future, we look forward to continuing to build relationships with our clients, and cultivating an environment of trust and innovation that opens the door

In 2023, BW Kennedy & Co. is a leading Boston-area builder that puts in place over $150 million in construction volume annually, primarily for life science clients and developers that specialize in this sector. However, when founded 14 years ago in 2009, the company consisted of Brian Kennedy and two employees working on small construction projects for repeat clients.

ot content with the status quo, BW Kennedy began to build their own firm. They rejected the old models, feeling that a partnership approach with the owner and a transparent process could be a better path to success. This approach broke with many established norms of the industry.

Partnership and transparency opened up the doors to collaboration and communication between owner, builder and the entire project team. BW Kennedy assembled a highly skilled team and formed strategic alliances with leading mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection companies to provide a designbuild option for project delivery. Our designbuild approach has benefitted clients in terms of saving time and money, allowing for creative solutions to project challenges, and generally, making the construction process much more pleasant for all involved.

construction professionals who can build, manage, and problem solve any issue. The firm continues to employ a robust preconstruction phase during which we work with the client and users to understand the details of the project and plan for any challenges that may occur in construction. When we engage in a final plan and budget, the project has been so thoroughly analyzed that non-owner changes rarely occur.

BW Kennedy & Co.’s Journey to Becoming a Leader in Life Science Construction n

Our first ground-up building, completed in 2017, was a 91,000sf life sciences building and 258-car parking garage. Since then, we have built numerous lab-ready life science buildings such as a 224,000sf life science building and 1,075-car parking garage in Lexington’s Hayden Research campus, and

we are currently building a new 700,000sf, five building bio-manufacturing campus in Devens, Mass. In addition, BW Kennedy has developed a specialty in transforming former office buildings into state-of-the-art life sciences facilities. Beginning in 2010, we have performed many core and shell renovations resulting in tenant fit-outs once the buildings were leased.

From humble origins, BW Kennedy & Co. has grown to become one of the region’s most successful building and construction management companies, while maintaining its original values.

In 14 years, the company has grown in terms of number of employees to over 50 and the size and complexity of projects, yet the principles Brian established at the beginning haven’t changed much. Our teams still work in the field rather than the office. Project teams still execute all the tasks on a project basis in order to provide the client service and quality project the client expects. Our people are well-rounded

Pathways Devens, New 700,000sf Biomanufacturing Campus

75 Hayden, New 224,000sf Life Sciences Building

Submitted by BW Kennedy & Co.

As we arrive at this milestone, we reflect on this accomplishment and do not take for granted where we started and what it took to get here. We also think about what success means to us.

The evolution of BHB was achieved through years and years of hard work, unwavering determination and resiliency, strategic planning, and always investing resources back into our organization and people, despite many ups and downs. It may not be glamorous, but it is the truth.

We know that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) also helped our success, but not because we are a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE), but because we learned through disappointment and heartache that even when we had the people, skills, qualifications, and know-how, we had to continually battle against the tide of clients who overlooked us in favor of the established regimes that ruled the neighborhoods, in some instances for over 100 years. Though we understood why some chose to play it safe, we are thankful for those who opened a seat at the table for BHB, thus giving us the chance to prove ourselves. DEI at its best! Those initial opportunities paid off

by expanding our portfolio, giving us exposure to bigger and better work and more sophisticated clients, and by helping us to earn our great reputation.

So now in this next decade and hopefully beyond, success to us at Bald Hill Builders is having the ability to pay it forward. Our own DEI efforts entail working to include more people and businesses that are tirelessly pushing to get to the next step but may not have opportunity. Our success can be also boiled down to great people within BHB, and we will continue to hire folks from all walks of life, making us the best, most diverse group that we can be for our clients and all of our partners.

Congratulations to High-Profile on 25 years in business. We wish you many, many more years of success!

Bald Hill Builders a general contractor based in Walpole, MA, specializing in Affordable Housing, Senior Care, Education, and Restaurants and Retail work among other commercial work.

(781) 806-5951 | baldhillbuilders.com

In April 2023, we at Bald Hill Builders (BHB) are proud to be hitting our 13th anniversary of being in business.

Oriole Landing, Lincoln, MA

St. Therese, Everett, MA

Matthew Grosshandler, VP of Operations with Brenda Laurenza, Founder & President

by Haril Pandya

25 Years of Transformation in Boston Architecture

Astrophysicist and author Neil deGrasse Tyson reminds us that the universe is ever-expanding and never still. Similarly, the evolution of Boston architecture over the past 25 years is far from linear, expanding in all directions –and morphing rapidly.

In that relatively short time, we have seen the integration and advancement of new technology, the growth of society’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, increased awareness of climate resiliency, vast economic and governmental shifts and, of course, a worldwide pandemic. Each one of these components has shaped the city, its buildings, its inhabitants, and the way we experience it.

The More Things Change…

To understand the myriad changes that have gained a foothold in Boston, one must first consider what remains consistent. As designers and architects, we are beholden to a process. Our clients’ expectations, speed to market of projects, excellence in design, city agency process, and construction cost and duration have been somewhat similar in the past quarter century. Why is that? The core tenets of architecture remain: client service, excellent design, and execution. Our commission/ apprenticed-based profession still has a deep and historic foothold in this tried-and-true process, since the publication of Ayn Rand’s seminal novel, The Fountainhead, in the early 1940s.

The visual changes we’ve witnessed in the Boston skyline are probably the easiest to recognize. Buildings get taller, the design shifts more modern, our biases of what is good versus what is not are challenged. Recently, we have observed some of the greatest aesthetic diversity in building design that the city has seen in decades.

Coming out of the “dotcom” boom in the late 1990s and 2000s, the world, and certainly our industry, experienced one of the worst tragedies in history, 9/11. The outcome –changes in building codes, the way a building is accessed, and security check-in procedures –are the ghosts of this tragedy that still impact every building to this day.

Shifts in climate have forced our attention to resiliency and sustainability in a way unlike any other time. Boston has engaged in meaningful resiliency studies that have engaged design firms in reshaping communities, the riverbanks, and shorelines. From neighborhoods like the Fort Point Channel to the development of the Seaport, we have faced resiliency challenges like never before. On the political front, the city has experienced significant changes as the end of Mayor Thomas Menino’s administration gave way to the creation and transformation of the Boston Redevelopment Authority into the Boston Planning & Development Agency and new zoning overlays designed to help enrich communities by adding housing and life sciences, thus bolstering the public realm.

Changing Demographics

Over the past quarter century, we have seen a multi-generational influx of talent – from generation X, to the surge of millennials, to the dawn of Generation Z – into the Boston workforce, forcing architecture to accommodate a new way of working, thinking, experiencing space, and fundamentally shifting how we think of design. Societal drivers and the concept of placemaking influence buildings, interior design, furniture, and even wayfinding, opening doors and facilitating the creation of places where people feel included, where there is rich diversity, and where every building and every open space is truly a place for all.

We have seen a swell of new design firms started by young designers and a fantastic push in women-owned and -led design firms. The internet and social media have given a voice to the voiceless, enabling conversation about architecture and buildings and spaces in a way they have never been discussed before. There are more developers, joint financial partners, and building owners from cities across the country and around the world, creating dynamic outcomes for projects not simply rooted in the “Boston Brahmin” way.

Not to be overlooked, an international pandemic of unprecedented proportions has left an indelible mark in the current state of Boston and its future going forward. Much like the tragedy of 9/11 and how it impacted the design of buildings, the ghosts of COVID will

define how we interact with each other, who works and when, and how spaces will look to ensure the safety and health of its inhabitants. Meditation and calm rooms, biophilic design, and flexibility of work all are part and parcel of making office buildings our homes away from homes and a better place to be.

Looking Ahead

During the past 25 years, the definition of how we see and use space is challenged more than ever. We must be more adaptable as designers and architects to make sure the spaces are timeless and forever lasting, making the crosspollination of multiple uses and flexibility within a building an imperative. Offices want to feel like hotels, residential buildings need home offices – a sense of hospitality pervades the design of every interior space.

In a short time, we have witnessed some of the greatest innovation, design push, and integration of humankind into the process and outcome of buildings in Boston. Boston still holds an opportunity for some of the most inventive and innovative design yet to come. This city boasts a rich history, wonderful stories, and a culture like none other.

Rooted in academia, life science, and a multicultural fabric, Boston remains at the leading edge, setting the example for other cities. So what does the next 25 years hold for Boston? Without a doubt, expansion will continue to push forward at a rapid rate. Stylistically, buildings will continue to evolve and improve. Technology, artificial intelligence, and the way we design, adapt, and build will progress leaps and bounds ahead of where we are today.

I have never been more excited for the future of this city. It has borrowed from the best of the best, learned from its mistakes, and continues to be my favorite city in America.

Haril A. Pandya, FAIA is senior vice president, national practice and design leader at NELSON Worldwide.

by Benjamin Goldfarb

Resiliency and Adaptability: Hallmarks of the Boston Construction Market

During the 25-year history of High-Profile Monthly, the construction industry has continued to evolve, making a significant impact on Greater Boston’s skyline. Global events, technology, and industry trends fundamentally changed what is being developed and how buildings are constructed.

The final decade of the Big Dig (1997-2007) created new opportunities for development (The Seaport), improved transportation infrastructure (the O’Neill and Ted Williams Tunnels and the Zakim Bridge) and new open space (Rose Kennedy Greenway). Events from the following decade-and-a-half continued to demonstrate the resiliency, innovation, and adaptability of one of the world’s oldest industries.

Global Events

The Great Recession – The construction industry was one of the hardest-hit and slowest to recover. Firms struggled to stay afloat, and GCs were working on extremely low margins to keep their businesses solvent. Public work, aided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, kept many companies busy until private work slowly picked up.

The COVID-19 Pandemic – When coronavirus cases began to rise in 2020, life as we knew it came to a virtual halt. Stay-at-home orders froze the industry until restrictions for essential services were eased, and builders began incorporating required COVID-19 safety protocols to get back to doing what they do best: building.

Technology

Although the construction industry has historically been slow to adopt technology,

Point 262

several innovative solutions have become industry staples including the wide use of BIM, augmented and virtual reality, and advances in prefabrication/modular construction.

A/E/C Trends

Increased Focus on Sustainability – In 2007, Boston became the first major U.S. city to implement a green building zoning code, requiring all major new and rehabilitation construction projects to achieve at least minimal LEED certification. The past two years have brought new green laws and regulations affecting commercial real estate, including passage of a climate bill and a new net zero optin energy code.

In 2010, the City of Cambridge adopted environmentally sustainable, energy-efficient design guidance for developments over 25,000sf. In Somerville, residential projects that achieve Passive House certification now receive density bonuses.

Increase in Urban Infill Projects – As apartment construction and life science projects devour real estate throughout Greater Boston, underutilized urban infill sites, including parking lots and obsolete buildings are being developed into higher-purposed assets.

As a go-to construction manager for these project types, Nauset Construction was selected to convert a former car wash on the Monsignor O’Brien Highway into Point 262, a 56 condominium community, and a parking lot in Central Square into Ten Essex, a mixeduse development consisting of 46 apartments above retail.

Rise in Adaptive Reuse – While adaptive reuse is not new, it has ramped up over the last few decades. Obsolete mills, churches, and schools have been repurposed as office, biotech, retail, and multifamily properties.

This is best exemplified by the repositioning of the brick-and-beam mill buildings in Fort

Point Channel into office and life science space. Other examples include Nauset’s transformation of the historic Conrad & Chandler department store building in Boston’s Downtown Crossing into apartments, and the conversion of a historic mixed-use building in Central Square into 907 Main, a boutique luxury hotel.

Favorable Future

The A/E/C industry will continue to learn from the past and adapt to future global challenges. Today’s advanced technologies will become mainstreamed with greater innovation to follow. As businesses shift to hybrid work and older office buildings become less desirable, it is reasonable to imagine that those properties, well-located in urban locations near public transportation, will become prime prospects for highly sustainable, urban infill and adaptive reuse developments. It is certain that the next 25 years of High-Profile’s coverage of the industry will be even more exciting than the past.

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Bruner/Cott Architects Salutes

Benjamin Goldfarb is vice president of Nauset Construction.

907 Main

by Mike Procopio

Growth Culture Leads to Firm Excellence

With 70 years of industry experience, and four generations under our belt, The Procopio Companies (Procopio) has significantly evolved since our inception. From our beginnings as a single-family brokerage to our extension of operations including construction and development, our shift over the past decade has seen us pivot toward the development of multifamily projects throughout New England. As the desire for multifamily and mixed-use development has increased, our team has capitalized on our creativity and significant residential expertise to create distinctive places to live.

It is with this seasoned expertise, positive attitudes, and strategic thinking of the entire team that we have seen such a measurable transformation, particularly in our last five years. Since 2016, our revenue has grown seven times its size and we have delivered nearly 2,000 residential units across over 2 million sq. ft., with $596 million in active developments in 2022.

To manage this expansion, our team has seen substantial growth, as we have expanded our leadership to include our first CFO, Neil Geary. With a 20% increase in our team in 2022 alone, we also saw the hiring of our director of operational excellence, Shad Brook, and director of development, David Roache. Procopio’s strong commitment to our workforce also saw six significant team member promotions, including Greg Procopio to executive vice president, Bryan Vitale to SVP, strategy & investments, and Angelo Antidormi to director, acquisitions.

Our team’s strong contributions were recognized not only by Procopio, but by the Builders and Remodeler’s Association of Greater Boston in the form of four PRISM awards. Individually, team members recognized included

Collin Ravenelle for Most Valuable Team

Member: Builder or Remodeler, Jon Mills for Superintendent of the Year, and Chris Dandreo for Rising Star of the Year. As CEO, I also received the national honor of Building Design & Construction’s 40 Under 40 recognition.

Mosaic, our recently sold multifamily project in Lynn, Mass., also received a PRISM award for Best Use of Smart Home Technology. Mosaic was one of four successful property completions and openings in 2022. Mosaic, Procopio’s second downtown Lynn project, is a 6-story, 146-unit mixed-use property. It follows Caldwell, which opened for occupancy in 2021 and is New England’s largest LEED Platinum certified project. Daymark is our mixed-use condo project in downtown Portland, Maine, where we have capitalized on the city’s growth and Maine’s substantial housing shortage. Additional Massachusetts projects include Somerset in Winthrop and Lume in Wilmington, which have both opened with strong success given the need for housing in Greater Boston and the convenience of both properties to public transit.

The secret to our success? We are never done growing. Our frequent, full-team trainings keep us agile and build our culture, allowing us to think bigger, take risks, and envision multifamily projects that feel like home. Where others see difficulty, we see opportunity, and we will continue to remain at the front of industry trends, serving as a pioneer for better product.

Below: Procopio team members at a full-team training and culture event

RIght: Joe and Frank Procopio, founders of The Procopio Companies, originally a local construction business based on family values and a strong work ethic

Lume | Photo courtesy of Surrette Media Group

Mike Procopio is CEO of The Procopio Companies.

Caldwell | Photo courtesy of Carly Gillis Photography

THE HIGHEST QUALITY PRE-FAB SERVICES IN GREATER BOSTON

a 95-year legacy of quality and innovation

A family-owned business located in the historic mill town of Sanford, Maine, Genest has over 95 years of experience designing, developing, and manufacturing some of the most beautiful and durable concrete products available in New England. Our state-of-the-art finished concrete products exceed the highest standards for strength and durability, making it possible for you to construct high profile commercial projects that will meet the demands of the active New England climate and continue to perform as designed for years to come.

Genest began serving the construction industry in 1927, when Hermangilde Genest purchased land in Sanford, Maine and began selling sand and gravel to local builders. His son Gerard soon joined him and began crafting hand-pressed concrete blocks, building the company into one of New England’s largest manufacturers and distributors of masonry products for the building trade.

Today, Genest remains a Maine-based, family-owned business as the third generation and fourth generation of Genests sustain the company’s mission of offering quality products, exceptional service, and outstanding value while pursuing cutting-edge technology and scientific research to reshape the future of the concrete industry. Our rigorous testing processes, which greatly exceed the mandated industry standards, ensure that our customers receive products of exceptional quality that are built to last. Through our research and development capabilities, we continue to explore what’s next, new and innovative, giving our customers access to the latest designs and materials and helping to pave the way for more resilient building design and more sustainable concrete masonry manufacturing and construction.

COMFORT BLOCK: REIMAGINING THE FUTURE OF MASONRY CONSTRUCTION

Genest’s focus on improving architectural concrete offerings and addressing the needs of our rapidly changing world has made us one of the most innovative companies in the industry. With Comfort Block, Genest is the first and only company in the U.S. to offer a concrete block system ground to such precise dimensions that it can be assembled using only masonry adhesive.

Available with up to three layers of internally integrated insulation and designed to replace standard block and mortar for faster and more efficient construction, Comfort Block makes it easy to construct ultra-efficient, highly resilient concrete buildings and landscaping features with less labor and less waste of materials. Comfort Block is also made with a lightweight, low-carbon concrete mix incorporating as much recycled material as possible. The Comfort Block building systems have given a new generation of architects and builders the ability to construct extremely durable and energyefficient concrete buildings with less impact on the environment at every stage — beginning with the manufacturing process and continuing throughout construction and occupancy.

A SMALLER FOOTPRINT

Genest is an industry leader in manufacturing low-carbon concrete. Our low carbon formula, G-mix®, uses up to 55% recycled content and half of the cement traditionally used to produce concrete blocks and paving stones while exceeding ASTM specification requirements. G-mix® was developed using proven methods of CO2 reduction with quantifiable, verifiable results. The cradle-to-gate environmental impact of G-mix® has been third-party tested and ASTM-verified, and the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of our products is among the lowest in the industry. Our Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), published by ASTM, provide detailed information regarding the environmental impact of our extraction, transport, and manufacturing processes.

Connolly Brothers Celebrates 140 Years of Construction Excellence

Around the time that the world started hearing about an invention called the telephone, Connolly Brothers was founded in 1880 by brothers Steve, Greg, Thomas, and Michael Connolly of Beverly, Mass.

early projects included road work, shipping gravel to North Station for the completion of Boston’s gateway to the north, a residential project for Ernest Longfellow (son of the renowned poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow), and work for the Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead, Mass.

Following World War I, Greg Connolly, son of the founder, returned a war hero with a Purple Heart and a Silver Star. About this time 100 years ago, the Connolly team embarked on some 80 projects across the eastern U.S. with renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.

Beyond such historic work, however, Connolly’s history is punctuated with resilience in the face of more than a century’s worth of change. The Great Depression provided

Photo by Camille Maren

a significant challenge, and Greg Connolly worked tirelessly to keep the company afloat, and to keep local workers employed. While the finish line was unclear, he was driven to make sure that the business survived until brighter days might unfold for his sons, Stephen III and Peter Connolly. Greg was successful in his mission, and when both of his sons returned from the service following World War II, Connolly was heavily involved in numerous public construction projects.

The work ethic that drove Greg to keep the company alive during lean times clearly spread to his children. The day after Stephen Connolly IV returned from service in the Navy in 1971, his father, Stephen Connolly III, woke him up

at 6:30 in the morning to tell him, “Get up! It’s time to get to work.”

Many changes have taken place at Connolly since that time. After taking the reins of leadership from his father in 1988, Stephen Connolly IV moved the firm’s offices and, more significantly, took the company in a bold new direction, migrating Connolly from a mix of residential and commercial work to commercial, industrial, and institutional projects only – with no residential work.

Today, Connolly is a leading New England construction management firm serving private commercial, industrial, and institutional clients with comprehensive construction services, from planning and design to real estate development. Connolly’s current project work includes corporate headquarters and offices; tech, lab, and manufacturing buildings; recreation and leisure facilities; nonprofit and educational facilities; and retail spaces, including dozens of auto dealerships.

In 2020, Stephen Connolly IV passed the torch of leadership and ownership to current Connolly Brothers President and CEO Stephen “Jay” Connolly and Vice President of Real Estate and Development Thaddeus Minshall. Throughout the generations, Connolly’s history

Jay Connolly, Stephen Connolly IV, and Thaddeus Minshall

Stephen Connolly operates an excavator on a construction site at Beverly Hospital as nursing students observe in the 1930s.

is marked by a commitment to construction management, development, and planning and design work of the highest quality. Part of the recipe for Connolly’s longevity is the understanding that this family business is building not just structures, but lasting relationships with fellow business owners who entrust the firm with one of the most foundational components of any company’s ability to thrive: an environment conducive to facilitating their business.

For each construction project accepted and business tenant served, Connolly Brothers’ leadership continues to maintain that “building more than structures” means planning, designing, building, developing, and managing any property the company is involved in with the same level of care they would devote to their own commercial properties. While completing projects earns money, at Connolly, completing them the right way earns respect.

After more than 140 years and through five generations, much has changed, but some things remain as they were in 1880. Connolly Brothers is still dedicated to integrity and to a clear, simple goal: delivering work of such high quality that it is asked back for its clients’ next project – even if that project may not surface until a future Connolly generation can complete it.

Submitted by Connolly Brothers

An early photo of the founding Connolly Brothers at the family house in Beverly Farms, Mass.

Callahan Honored by Caritas Communities

The Callahan family has been a charitable partner to Caritas for 15 years. In his remarks accepting the award, Patrick Callahan, president of Callahan Construction Managers, announced a surprise 1-1 challenge match for dollars raised onsite toward exceeding the $1 million event goal. A successful live auction and “fund our mission” call led to a record-breaking total of $1.19 million being raised for the Caritas housing and resident support programs. The Callahan family itself contributed a total of $115,000, which is the largest gift Caritas has ever received in the history of this event.

In addition to financial support, the Callahan family has made substantial volunteer efforts, including recent landscaping and exterior improvements at the newly acquired Caritas property at 46 Winter Street in Quincy, Mass.

“The honoree of this award is carefully selected through a rigorous process to identify a person, family or company that demonstrates the characteristics of our founder, P. Leo Corcoran: wisdom, collaboration, hard work and humility in service to those less fortunate,” said Karin Cassel Mitterando, executive director of Caritas Communities. “The Callahan Family and Callahan Construction team have generously supported Caritas Communities with charitable gifts and volunteer work for 15 years. Their integrity, kindness, compassion, and commitment to serve our citizens who are most in need of safe, dignified housing is exceptional.”

Event Co-Chair Jim Coughlin of Northbridge Companies presented the award, drawing a parallel between the Callahan family and the Corcoran family, who continue in the tradition of Caritas founder P. Leo Corcoran by engaging in community service and giving back. Both families were represented by several generations in attendance. In his remarks, Coughlin stated, “It all started at the top. Marie Callahan, the matriarch of the Callahan family, who is here with us tonight and recently celebrated her 95th birthday, raised her five boys to believe that life is about ‘not what you got, but what you gave.’”

25 years! Thanks

for keeping us all informed about all that’s going on and supporting the New England A/E/C and Commercial Real Estate community!

Photo by Mike Mejia

Callahan Construction Managers was honored with the P. Leo Corcoran Humanitarian Award by Caritas Communities at its 37th Annual Housing For All Gala held at the Westin Boston Seaport District on Nov. 10, 2022.