Bryan Caracciolo, Gio Mazzurco, Matt Bowman
BWC Construction Bryan W. Caracciolo has earned a stellar reputation based on the construction and renovation projects he and his company have handled throughout the state of Florida, from residential work to businesses, churches, hotels and RV Dealerships. His most recent passion centers around the renovation of many of the historic buildings in his beloved hometown. Photography by John Jernigan
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o say Bryan W. Caracciolo is walking in the footsteps of his father and grandfather is an understatement. Though he comes from a long line of construction workers, Caracciolo has branched out on his own and has expanded his business all over Florida. It’s not unusual for him to hop on a plane in Orlando, check out a job site in Panama City, then fly back and stomp around several RV dealerships with ideas for a new sales center or with plans to renovate a hotel. But his true passion lies with his hometown of Ocala. The president and
general contractor of BWC Construction, Caracciolo and his staff have been giving a major face-lift to many of downtown Ocala’s aging buildings. It’s a work of love, claims Caracciolo. “We’re doing a lot of projects downtown— literally five or six, and we have a couple more in the pipeline,” he explains. “We have a project going on now on pretty much every square block downtown.” Started in 2011, BWC Construction has a staff of 20 workers, including project managers who have 75 years of combined construction experience.
Among BWC’s projects is The Lodge Brick City Craft Pub & Eatery, a flourishing venue inside the former First National Bank building. Caracciolo leased and renovated the premises, adding a restaurant, a speakeasy, the LOFT, and the Magnolia Room, which can be rented for special events. Recent projects include the renovation of the HDG Hotel Development & Management Group office that dates back to the 1930s or ’40s, and the 129-yearold Goldman Building, a two-story structure that recently housed the
Brother’s Keeper Thrift Store that had to be demolished and rebuilt. “For the most part we would have done what we could to save it, but it was structurally too far gone,” explains Caracciolo. “We’ll rebuild it to make it look like the old building with a new 6,000-square-foot rooftop.” Many of Caracciolo’s projects came to him through word-of-mouth. “We never really set out to do this,” he admits. “We did one project and everyone liked it.” Zach Cox and his partners at the Workspace Collective on Fort King