News
THE NEXT LEVEL
November 9, 2011
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| Can a newly minted construction firm start out with a $300M-plus backlog? It can when the financial backer is a developer with a big pipeline of projects. Last week we chatted with Level 10 Construction prez Dennis Giles, who recently launched the privately held company with four fellow building pros and developerJay Paul. Dennis was in charge of Jay’s account for 25 years (how’sthat for customer satisfaction?) and the two became chums. “We decided it would be fun for us to own our own construction company, and he was willing to capitalize it.” (We know who our next Monopolypartner is gonna be.) |
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| Projects in Level 10’s hopper include a 350k SF building at Moffett Towers (above) and a 220k SF building at Technology Corners, both in Sunnyvale, and another 600k SF in Palo Alto and San Diego. All these are Jay Paul Co projects, but the company plans to expand its client roster with a goal of building $400M to $500M worth of projects annually. Dennis says the principals’ expertise spans healthcare, institutional, university, biotech, and general office. The company also has its eye on some large apartment projects. |
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| Level 10’s principals include CFO Jim Evans, Dennis, VP of preconstruction services Joe Francini, and VPs of operations Doug Collins and Paul Moran. The five worked together at Rudolph & Sletten (acquired by Tutor Perini in 2005) for more than 20 years. Why Level 10? According to Dennis, when it comes to grading performance, that's the ultimate in excellence or perfection. He says the company aims to achieve this level in every aspect of running the business, from client relationships to creating an employee-centric atmosphere that makes folks not want to leave. (For example, key employees will have an opportunity to acquire up to 49% of the company over time.) |
