Shapiro-Pertnoy Companies Return To Their Foundation By Kendall Bierer
More than 30 years after the firm’s founding in Wellington, the ShapiroPertnoy Companies — a twogeneration blending of builders and developers — continue to provide an unmatched standard of service, excellence and value for clients. Cousins Steven Shapiro and Ronnie Pertnoy founded Shapiro-Pertnoy in Wellington in 1978. Now joined by their sons, the company is an exception to the norm, with two generations of builders striving to achieve perfection in construction and development, as well as management and leasing of their own commercial properties. The partnership began when Steven and Ronnie, working at their fathers’ men’s clothing store in Miami, learned a philosophy that has worked for the past 34 years — “always focus on keeping the customer happy.”
Shapiro-Pertnoy was one of the first home builders in Wellington. Ronnie saw the area’s growth potential while an employee for a construction company and viewed it as a great opportunity to build a business. After leaving the film industry in 1978, Steven decided to partner with his cousin. They built a reputation as one of South Florida’s top home builders. “We came from the retail side, where everything is geared toward the customer, not necessarily toward maximizing profitability,” Steven explained. “We were more concerned about making the customer happy so we could grow a business exponentially by referrals.” Ronnie blends the creative and functional aspects of the industry to make a product both unique and cost-effective. “I think that if you are
passionate about what you do, your business is operated with fairness and transparency and you try to live a life of high principles while giving back to the community, then all of those things return to you in some kind of fashion,” Ronnie said. The founding generation of ShapiroPertnoy developed Wellington’s first industrial park, a 41-acre business center on Pierson Road, as well as the Chancellor Corporate Center on South Shore Blvd. They were among the first custom home builders in many of Wellington’s luxury subdivisions, and in 1981 were the first single-family home builder to begin luxury designs and construction within Palm Beach Polo & Country Club. However, those days of building only single-family homes have since evolved into a multitude of projects.
Two generations currently lead the ShapiroPertnoy Companies: (L-R) Steven Shapiro, Kevin Shapiro, Josh Pertnoy and Ronnie Pertnoy.
|wellington the magazine| March 2012
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