Plaza Construction Brochure

Plaza Construction | 2

Plaza Construction Group Florida:

A Miami-Dade

Powerhouse With a portfolio encompassing multiple sectors, Plaza Construction Group Florida delivers high-end work and a wide array of services Written by Kevin Doyle Produced by Stephen Marino

www.plazaconstruction.com

Plaza Construction | 3

www.plazaconstruction.com

A

fter hanging its shingle in 2004, Plaza Construction Group Florida quickly established a sterling reputation on the way to earning its place among preeminent builders in the burgeoning Miami-Dade County marketplace.

The company – which functions as the Southeast Regional hub of New York-based Plaza Construction (est. 1986) and is a subsidiary of China Construction America (est. 1985) – currently has approximately $1 billion in current projects, almost all within Miami-Dade County.

President Brad Meltzer says the company’s success is the result of doing business the right way from concept through to completion of every job.

“We have a notebook we hand out to staff and on the inside cover are two things – our business principles and our expected behaviors. At the core of all of that is transparency.

When people see we are really being transparent and they see how we operate, it breaks down barriers and it creates [teamwork]. The heart of making the industry better comes down to this sort of culture,” explains Meltzer, who studied pre-med for a year before following his father’s

www.plazaconstruction.com

Plaza Construction | 4

Plaza Construction | 5 footsteps and turning to Architecture. He joined the company in 1990 upon earning his degree in.

The approach has clearly resonated as the company employs 260, generates continual repeat business, and maintains long-standing relationships with a key core of sub-contractors.

With a portfolio that encompasses multiple sectors, the company has demonstrated expertise in Construction Management, General Contracting, Program Management, Design/Build and Construction Consulting.

High Profile Projects One Thousand Museum: The vision of the late Pritzker Prize winner Zaha Hadid, this 62-story high-end condo tower will rise 730 feet and features an exoskeleton made up of panels of concrete reinforced with glass fiber. “This is, arguably, one of the most notable projects in the USA. The Pritzker Prize is like their Nobel Prize. She has done only done two projects in North America and this will be a real legacy to her design portfolio,� says Meltzer of Hadid, a native of Iraq who became a

www.plazaconstruction.com

Plaza Construction | 6 naturalized citizen of the UK and part-time resident of Miami.

The expected project completion date is in 2018.

Aventura Mall Expansion: Upon completion in November 2017, this three-story project will provide an additional one million square feet of parking and 350,000 square feet of retail and food court space.

Biscayne Beach/Edgewater: The company has wrapped up its work on the 391-unit, 52story residential tower, one of five 48- to 52-story towers to be

built in a three-block area.

The W Hotel: Plaza Construction’s capabilities were on full display for this $180 million project that included a tunnel and 35,000 square feet of below grade (underground) office space – and was completed in 27 months a decade ago.

“The W Hotel was an example of using pre-construction time for successful planning and completion of a project. The materials selected were world-class and the owner was wise in how they spent the money and understood the quality of design. Ten years later the

“When people see we are really being transparent and they see how we operate, it breaks down barriers and it creates [teamwork]. The

MET 3 - RESIDENTIAL TOWER

BROWARD COUNTY COURTHOUSE

heart of making the industry better comes down to this sort of culture.”

FORT LAUDERDALE AIRPORT

- President Brad Meltzer www.plazaconstruction.com

Plaza Construction | 7 project is still beautiful and looks like it did when we finished it.

That’s what happens when you use good materials,” Meltzer notes.

People And Training Meltzer knows the company is only as good as its personnel and is diligent in its efforts to train and, hopefully, retain employees for the long term.

“We grew organically at the start.

We built with good people who provide top-shelf service; that has been our strategy from the start.

People are our single greatest asset,” he stresses, “and without

enough quality people we can’t provide a quality product.”

The company provides LEED certification training, Project Management training and safety training and is placing renewed emphasis on its Reinforcing Our Construction Knowledge (ROCK) program.

“We are having third party companies come in to teach us techniques and how we can grow. And we now have onboarding and mentoring programs, so when someone joins the company, they have a more focused career path. We believe if we invest in them, then they in turn will invest in us. The investment is in our company,” Meltzer explains.

As a committed community partner, Plaza Constructions takes part in any number of charitable initiatives such as charity bike rides, fundraising for Thanksgiving programs, building classrooms at shelters, and raising money for foster care support groups.

Day To Day In an area currently flush with opportunity but short on available talent due to an ongoing boom cycle, the

www.plazaconstruction.com

Plaza Construction | 8

www.plazaconstruction.com

Plaza Construction | 9 company stands apart thanks to its stellar pre-construction capabilities.

“We’re trying to manage relationships and the temperature of the projects and the ripple effects of being stressed. It’s like a family dynamic – if five people are living in a house and everyone is stressed, there is going to be stress in the house,” Meltzer explains.

“Owners hire us for their projects because we plan them out. We don’t plan as we design so we are ready for any possible conflict and can reduce any possible conflict and mitigate issues significantly. They won’t rear their ugly head during construction when there are 600 guys on a job rather than 10 guys doing pre-construction,” he adds.

Safety is top of mind at all times.

The company employs a Corporate Safety Director and larger jobs have safety directors whose job is to develop customized project-specific safety plans. As a result, the company maintains an exceptionally low Experience Modification rate, used by insurers to gauge premium costs.

“No two jobs are alike. The

safety directors meet with our guys and are looking for different ways to increase awareness with the staff through classes and emails and by introducing technology to make the site safer,” says Meltzer, who visits at least one and as many as four sites every day.

The company is painstaking in its dealings with subcontractors.

“We have a core group that we have been working with and both they and new subcontractors go through a pre-qualifying process for each job that includes financial review and operations review to

“Owners hire us for their projects because we plan them out. We don’t plan as we design so we are ready for any possible conflict and can reduce any possible conflict and mitigate issues significantly.”

- President Brad Meltzer www.plazaconstruction.com

Plaza Construction |10 make sure they can handle the job and are slotted into the appropriate size project,” Meltzer notes.

In recognition of those relationships, the company holds an annual Appreciation Night at an area restaurant.

“Things may get heated from time to time but we want them to know that we appreciate them,” Meltzer says.

The company maintains multiple

www.plazaconstruction.com

association memberships, including the Construction Association of South Florida (CASF), the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), the Construction Employers Association (CEA) and the LatinBuilders Association.

Additionally Meltzer sits on the board of China Construction America.

Relationships developed through the associations, Meltzer says, make it comfortable to occasionally “call my competitors

Plaza Construction | 11 and ask them questions about subs or about issues on a similar job.”

Some Final Thoughts Given the region’s current market, growth opportunities are abundant. Expect the company to screen potential projects wisely while striving for repeat business.For Meltzer, work is anything but.

“I love the collaboration of people coming together to build something memorable and I love to be able to later visit a project with family and friends, walk them through and enjoy the experience of having dinner

there or spending the night there.

I was recently at a black tie event held at my first project here in Miami 16 years ago. It was a great project then and it has stood the test of time,” Meltzer says with pride.

A word of advice for those just starting out in the business? “ Listen. I think the most important thing when you start working with experienced folks is to listen.

Be a sponge, do the work and people will notice. Knowledge is power,” Meltzer concludes.

Knowledge – a commodity Plaza Construction Florida Group possesses in great abundance.

COMPANY INFORMATION Company Name: Plaza Construction Group Florida Country: U.S. Industry: Construction Est: 2004 Premiere Service: Construction Management, General Contracting, Program Management, Design/Build and Construction Consulting.

President: Brad Meltzer Website: www.plazaconstruction.com

www.plazaconstruction.com

120 NE 27th St., No. 600 Miami, FL 33137 P: 786-693-8700 E: bmeltzer@plazaconstruction.com