Is COVID-19 hitting Miami’s building industry? Hear what construction chiefs say
Developers often get top billing. But without construction companies, South Florida’s skyline would flatline and architectural designs would remain on the drawing board.
We’ve asked five local construction executives to serve on our virtual Construction Industry Roundtable to explain conditions currently facing the construction industry and its 100,000 workers in the tri-county area. Every few weeks we’ll be posting their answers in the Miami Herald’s RE|source newsletter.
On this busy week, we asked the question on everyone’s radar: What effect are you seeing from COVID-19?
Four of the six builders said they haven’t yet seen an impact. (The others couldn’t be reached on short notice.) Several companies offer sick pay to salaried workers.
And at least one already has contingency plans in place. Moss Construction has canceled participation in conferences and restricted unnecessary business travel. All meetings with more than 10 people will be held virtually through April 20.
Look for updates and insights into more topics in the weeks ahead from our roundtable members:
Michael C. Brown has been the executive vice president and general manager of Florida for Skanska USA since 2017. The Stockholm-based company posted about $18 billion in revenues in 2018. Florida projects include the solar canopy on the east side of the Heat arena, FIU’s College of Public Health building, Pegasus Park in Hallandale and the I-4 reconstruction in Central Florida. The company has about 9,000 employees nationwide.
George Cuesta is a principal at the family-owned Cuesta Construction company. He established the construction firm alongside his brothers Michael and William in 1996. Projects include historic renovations (including the Lenox and Prime hotels in Miami Beach) and new construction (including ABAE Hotel and South of Fifth residences, also in Miami Beach.) The company has 25 employees.
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Luis Garcia is the founder and chief executive officer of the Sweetwater-based Adonel Concrete. He founded the company in 1984. It now has 300 employees. The company supplies concrete to construction sites from over 10 plants that it owns.
Brad Meltzer is the president of New York-based Plaza Construction. He joined the company as a principal in 2002 and became the company’s president in 2018, based in South Florida. South Florida projects include One Thousand Museum condominium in downtown Miami, Paraiso Bay in Edgewater, Marea Condominium in South Beach and 800 Lincoln Road retail center. The company employs 200 people in South Florida.
Scott Moss is chief executive officer of the family-owned construction company Moss, launched in 2004 with his father Bob Moss. The Fort Lauderdale-based firm has eight offices across the country; locally, the company employees 590. Local projects include Marlins Stadium, Brightline stations in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, and the expansion of Port Everglades.
Lucia Soria founded Miami-based Ram-Tech Construction in 1999 and serves as president. Current projects include expansion of the track at Homestead Air Reserve Base and an upgrade to the drainage system for the Cypress Bay High School. The company has 40 employees.
Do you have a question you’d like to ask the contractors? Please email Miami Herald real estate writer Rebecca San Juan at rsanjuan@miamiherald.com or tweet to him @rebecca_sanjuan.
This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
