Top Contractors Busy Building and Rebuilding New Jersey

Garden State construction firms show positive numbers and trends based on ENR’s Top 400 Contractors listing.

The construction market has finally come all the way back to prerecession levels, fueled by a growing economy that’s driving both the commercial and single/multi-family housing markets.

According to Engineering News-Record (ENR), a publication covering the US building industry, the Top 400 US contractors generated $344.14 billion in contracting revenue in 2015, an increase of 3.7 percent over the prior year. Ten New Jersey-based contractors made the Top 400 list, many showing impressive gains in work completed last year – and solid bookings going into 2017.

Torcon

“It’s clear the construction industry is busy both nationally and in New Jersey, but we have to keep in perspective the depth of the 2008-2009 recession and the lengthy climb back to our current market levels,” says Steven Mauer, senior vice president of Torcon, a Red Bank-based general contractor specializing in healthcare, higher education, office and pharmaceutical R&D and manufacturing facilities.

“During that time, the industry lost many of its skilled workers and certain trades are experiencing tight labor conditions,” Mauer continues. “The specialty subcontractor community has experienced the most fallout from the economic downturn, as is typically the case in such times. Times are good, but we can’t allow ourselves to become complacent.”

Torcon has logged more than $4 billion in completed projects over the last 10 years, including a record $550 million in projected domestic revenue in 2016. Recent projects include a 650,000-square-foot office building for a New Jersey-based Fortune 500 company – a $225-million project constructed from the ground up under an aggressive 21-month construction schedule including interior fit-out.

In late summer, Torcon also completed the Holly Pointe Commons student residence facility at Rowan University, which consists of dual four-story and seven-story buildings connected by a three-level bridge and includes  such amenities as floor-to-ceiling glass in the community lounge areas; seminar rooms; and a 20,000-square-foot dining facility with seating for 500 students. The $92-million project, delivered through a public-private partnership between Rowan and The Michaels Organization/University Student Living, took 14 months and was completed on schedule.

“The university’s schedule required work to initially proceed six days a week, with 12-hour shifts,” Mauer says. “Once the buildings were enclosed, the building trades worked two shifts and Saturdays.”

Beyond New Jersey, Torcon is part of a joint venture team in the final year of construction on a $550-million BSL3 and BSL4 research facility for the US Army Corps of Engineers in Fort Detrick, Maryland. The new 865,000-square-foot facility will be one of the largest, most advanced bio containment labs in the world and is an essential tool in the US military’s preparedness for biological terrorism and biological warfare, the company says. In addition, Torcon is serving as construction manager for a multi-phase development at Villanova University – the largest single project the school has ever undertaken. It involves transforming a 14-acre parking lot into a vibrant hub of student activity, with Torcon constructing six new collegiate gothic buildings that will accommodate 1,110 students, along with 25,000 square feet of retail space on existing surface parking lots. When completed, the new facilities will allow Villanova to provide on-campus housing for nearly 85 percent of its undergraduate students.

Jingoli-DCO

Lawrenceville-based Jingoli-DCO, a former winner of ENR’s “NY Contractor of the Year” and other awards, is a full service end-to-end contractor whose areas of expertise include higher education, power, nuclear, industrial, major facilities, central energy facilities and renewable energy projects. The company is currently serving as general contractor on major South Jersey projects, including: the Holtec Technology Campus in Camden, Stockton University’s Atlantic City Campus and South Jersey Gas headquarters.

“One thing we like to talk about is our Community Outreach Program and the positive effect it has had on the communities where we are working,” says Michael Jingoli, CFO and partner at the firm. “The program has resulted in countless small businesses and local residents having the opportunity to participate in working on large-scale projects.”

A recent example of this is Jingoli-DCO’s Training to Hire program, put in place for the Stockton University Boardwalk campus/South Jersey Gas headquarters project. Created in partnership with AC DEVCO and an Atlantic City-based, non-profit group called Friends in Action, this 12-week training program – once successfully completed – results in a guaranteed position. The initial spring 2016 class of 15 Atlantic City residents with little to no work experience recently graduated with the training they needed to pursue a career in the union trades. All will be employed on the Atlantic City project.

In addition, Jingoli-DCO is providing the engineering, procurement and construction services for (as well as holding a minority stake in) what will be one of the largest biomass facilities in the US; a 50-megawatt plant that will help run one of Proctor & Gamble’s largest US facilities in Albany, Georgia. This $250-million renewable energy facility peaked at more than 400 construction jobs during the construction phase, and will result in over 30 permanent positions once operational, which is expected to be in June 2017.

“There is an increased interest in pursuing energy efficient solutions in the private sector as well as a move for more investment in infrastructure,” Jingoli says. “We are continuing to pursue projects throughout the United States and abroad. We expect Jingoli-DCO to continue our growth of the last few years by continuing to provide efficient, cost effective construction and energy solutions for clients.”

Structure Tone

Ranking 17th on ENR’s “Top Contractors” list, Structure Tone, with New Jersey offices in Woodbridge, is part of a global operation with over 1,600 employees and more than $3.5 billion in annual construction volume. The company’s core New Jersey market has expanded from corporate offices and mission critical data centers to include the healthcare, pharma and life sciences markets. In pharma, recent and current projects include base load construction for the Novartis campus in East Hanover, and working with Merck at multiple locations. In addition, Structure Tone’s New Jersey project portfolio includes work for Nestle (Bridgewater), Unilever (Englewood Cliffs), UPS (Parsippany), Allergan (Madison), and Bell Works (Holmdel).

“Much of this activity has been triggered by consolidations and densification strategies as well as the need to create more modern work environments,” says Erik Sletteland, vice president, client services at Structure Tone. “Office spaces now need to leverage technology, compliment today’s work patterns, support brand recognition and help retain and attract talent. Landlords and developers are also upgrading their portfolios to better position their assets and promote strategic locations and build-to-suit alternatives.”

Sletteland also notes a trend toward compression of construction schedules. For example, a project that once allowed 20 weeks to complete is now often compressed into 14 to 16 weeks. “Budgets are always a concern, and now more of that capital is being directed toward modern office amenities,” he says. “Private offices typically wrap around the core of a building rather than the perimeter, often requiring glass office fronts to get the benefit of natural light.”

Today’s open office style also means that ceiling and lighting design play more important roles. Sletteland says, “Lighting is a critical component of the office aesthetic now. Whereas before you would have 10 light fixture types on a job, you could now have 40 different ones today to help create the right look and feel.” He adds that the proliferation of LED lighting and the need to satisfy current energy codes has added costs to office fit-outs.

Given these escalating expenses and the trend toward schedule compression, Sletteland says it’s very important to hire the right contractor early on and have them participate during the design phase, working with the architect and engineer to create a facility that balances the design goals with the budget and schedule. A lot of work is being done “open-shop” now, although on larger projects, state incentives from programs like Grow New Jersey mandate prevailing wage.

“While we always focus on the most cost-effective approach, today’s busy market has created a shortage of skilled labor. Sometimes, we believe it’s in a client’s best interest to pay a premium for subcontractor work based on the complexity of the installation and the availability of manpower,” Sletteland says.

Overall, Structure Tone’s New Jersey business will do slightly less volume in 2016 than in 2015 – partly because the state’s mission critical market has slowed down. Sletteland says many companies are moving their data centers to other states, and Structure Tone has been part of that, with recent projects including state-of-the-art data centers for Microsoft and Yahoo in Boynton, Virginia, and Lockport, New York, respectively. However, the company has also seen steady growth in corporate interior work over the last five years. Revenues have increased in that sector by almost a third this year alone, with an excellent backlog going into 2017.

March Associates

One of the fastest growing construction management and general contracting firms in the Northeast, with more than $1.5 billion of construction projects completed since 2003, March Associates Construction has expertise in retail, industrial, residential, mixed-use, hospitality, theaters, medical, malls, big box retail and more. “In our markets of New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware, we are currently seeing consistent growth and are cautiously optimistic that it will continue,” says Director of Marketing Bryan J. Murray. “As a company, we strategically plan our growth and do so in a deliberate manner so as to not impact our level of customer service or quality.”

March Associates Construction, which reports total project 2016 revenues at $250-$300 million, is involved in several projects in New Jersey and beyond, including the following:

• Duel Brand Hotel in Teaneck; a 15-story hotel with parking structure using a post-tension concrete system. The project is expected to produce long-term sustainable benefits for the Township of Teaneck in the form of significant commercial and hotel-occupancy tax revenues. Additionally, the new hospitality property is expected to bring more than 6,000 guests per month to the area, who will be spending their money in local shops and restaurants.
• FedEx Ground distribution facility; an eight-month project with a projected budget of $25-$30 million. Challenges on this 350,000-square-foot structure include logistic coordination with a package-conveying system to be installed during construction.
• Meridia Roselle Park ($30-$40 million, 16-month construction schedule); an apartment complex that will house 250 families, to be completed in March 2018. March is working through some design changes to address several water lines that run laterally through the property and connect to a booster station that feeds the greater portion of Union County. “This project has special meaning to March Associates Construction and its design team, as it will not only assist in the future of the Roselle community, but will address the need for quality and reasonably priced housing within the Metropolitan Planning Area,” Murray says. “Roselle Borough has also actively supported the concepts’ sustainable design as a response to combating climate change and reducing its ‘carbon footprint.’”
• 1500 Harbor Boulevard Weehawken ($55-$65 million, 18-month
  construction schedule); to be constructed over an upland peninsula extending into the Hudson River. Considered to be the pinnacle of the New Jersey Gold Coast real estate, the project consists of a multi-story residential building over a lower level parking area, and features a covered public waterfront walkway incorporated into almost three full sides of the project.
• 300 Lafayette St. in New York City ($65-$70 million, 24-month construction schedule); a seven-story boutique retail/office mixed-use project for the Related Companies in SoHo. Challenges here include a 35-foot deep foundation with MTA subway tunnels bordering the site on the north and east sides.

J. Fletcher Creamer & Son, Inc.

J. Fletcher Creamer & Son, Inc., a privately owned company in its 93rd year of business, is based in Hackensack with additional offices in Linden and Folsom, New Jersey, and Beltsville Maryland. Known for its trademark hard hat logo and brown colored vehicles, Creamer has worked in 39 states on roads and bridges, utilities, guide rails and sign structures, renewable energy, directional drilling, and marine work, among other types of projects. Creamer, whose revenues are about $450 million per year, owns a fleet of modern, specialized equipment, and the company is able to keep a large nucleus of “steady” people on the payroll. “Our expertise is being able to complete a project safely, on time, and under budget with little or no disruption to adjacent businesses or neighborhoods,” says Robert A. Flock, Creamer’s business development manager.

With the onslaught of storms in the last few years and the necessary infrastructure upgrades and improvements, the utility side of Creamer’s business has been exceptionally busy and will be for the foreseeable future, Flock says. Creamer’s workload includes helping water companies upgrade and replace antiquated systems, and rebuild pump stations and water treatment plants; working with major utilities to upgrade and replace problematic systems and integrate them through new or upgraded transmission lines both above grade and below; and in the area of gas systems, converting thousands of miles of old cast iron pipe to plastic across the Northeast, which guarantees less leaking and infiltration and creates a more efficient use of natural gas.

In terms of industry trends, Flock says that with the recent reauthorization of the Transportation Trust Fund (TTF), an expected wave of RFP’s for highway and rail projects will hit the streets.

Creamer’s current top projects include a couple of major highways in the $50-million range, but primarily work is energy-related jobs that run much higher. The company is heavily involved in substations, power plant additions and underground transmission projects. “Scheduling is always difficult in that most private owners, such as utility companies, want their projects completed yesterday. It is not unusual for crews to be driving piles six days a week and other crews working six 10 or 12 hour shifts,” Flock says. “With so many employees with multiple expertise, Creamer can shift crews with less disruptions than the next contractor. Creamer management has, over the years, been able to foresee what lies ahead and has been able to compensate, make a few course corrections and endure.”

Other New Jersey-based companies in ENR’s Top 400 include China Construction America, Inc. of Jersey City, Colas USA of Morristown, Conti of Edison, Weeks Marine, Inc. of Cranford, and Ferreira Construction Co. of Branchburg.

All told, the above companies comprise a critical portion of New Jersey’s fabric, facilitating not only construction and other jobs, but creating the various dwellings and other structures that lubricate the state’s ongoing economic success.

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