Covering the Industry’s News
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th of July
Austin
CONSTRUCTION
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The Industry’s Newspaper austintexas.org
www.constructionnews.net H (210) 308-5800 H Volume 15 H Number 7 H JULY 2018
Mind of his own
Written in stone
L-R: Janette Gibreal, Dino Palermo (1st employee of 21st Century in 1996), Gary and Jordan Gibreal at the Mjejane River Lodge in South Africa.
Ricardo Delarosa, owner of Dela Tile and Stone, in one of his showroom kitchens.
N
ot knowing what to major in college is a painted picture we can all relate too, right? After Gary Gibreal got out of the Air Force in 1992, he attended the University of Texas Austin part time as a biology major. He spent the other part of his time painting for his brother who was a contractor. “I couldn’t make up my mind on a final major, so I was going to take a year off from college to decide which major I was going to complete,” said Gibreal. During that year off he worked as a painter; business in painting for contractors was booming during the mid-90s. Things can sure happen quickly. “It went from me passing out flyers on wind-
shields and going door to door” to having a sales staff and a few employees. In 1996, Gibreal opened 21st Century Painting & Roofing. Of course, his trade as a painter is how the business started, but then in 2001 he hired a salesman, whose background was in roofing. “He had been in the roofing business for 20 years and he convinced me to add roofing to our services, so we did.” Gibreal acknowledges the challenge he had to overcome – “building a business from scratch with no formal business training.” But with his background and perseverance he managed to overcome all odds in the 21st century. continued on Page 16
A
fter eight years in the Coast Guard and then getting a business degree from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Ricardo Delarosa’s uncle encouraged him to get into construction, specifically stone work. Dela Tile and Stone was formed in October 2000. The company is now located in its third facility. It has gone from a 2,000sf granite building to a 15,000sf one. He has a 3,500sf showroom where people can come and see his products. Delarosa said that 90 percent of the customers who come to his showroom end up buying something. The early years were, as is the case for most new business, hard. For the “first
three, four years,” Delarosa said, “it was tough You’re making it on bread and baloney.” But with the booming Austin-area market, Delarosa is taking care of business now. He’s done work at the University of Texas, Austin, and many other commercial sites. Delarosa started out doing mostly tile floor work, but this has morphed into wood and other stone work. By learning as he went, as well as hiring the right people. Dela Tile can handle most any request. Dela has 21 people working for it. Delarosa’s two daughters work for him, one as a designer, the other in sales and operations. continued on Page 16
Aging bridge gets facelift
T
he aging infrastructure underneath the north side of the Ann Richards Congress Avenue Bridge was a growing concern for The Trail Foundation, the nonprofit that preserves, enhances, and connects the Ann and Roy Butler Hikeand-Bike Trail for the benefit of all. It was imperative to find the right contractor to update the decades-old wooden bridge, add vital safety improvements, and create a scenic bat viewing area. Founded by Ron Albee in 1990 and having extensive experience in heavy civil construction work such as railroads, utilities, commercial building, highway/ bridge/street and airport expansion and among other types of work certainly had its benefits for Jay-Reese Contractors Inc. They were the right fit for the Trail Bridge at Congress Avenue’s facelift. Jay-Reese Contractors moved on to the site March 5 of this year and complet-
ed the $1,750,000 construction portion of the $2.5 million project by May 25. The Trail Bridge at Congress Avenue updated the aging wooden bridge underneath the north side of the Ann Richards Congress Bridge that linked the east and west sides of the Butler Trail. This link took place around a blind and narrow passageway that posed a safety threat for runners or cyclists who rounded the corner at high speeds, and this often resulted in collisions. The new 172-ft. long, over-water pedestrian pathway that now links this part of the Trail has enhanced the safety for pedestrians and bicyclists by removing the blind curve on the existing structure, widening the pathway to 14 ft. to allow cyclists and runners to pass each other safely without the risk of collision, making the area ADA-accessible, connecting the Trail to the Waller Creek area, and will The Trail Bridge at Congress Avenue
continued on Page 16