In South Florida, behind every star architect is a star builder.
John Leete, the head of Florida operations for John Moriarty
& Associates, a Winchester, Mass.-general contracting and construction
company, has garnered billions from Miami’s current condo boom, according to an
interview with the Miami Herald.
Leete’s company is responsible for the Pérez Art Museum Miami,
the $220 million project whose construction is underway at Museum Park designed
by Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron, and, in a joint venture with
Americaribe, Swire Properties’ $500 million BrickellCityCentre. Leete has
worked on $2 billion in projects developed by Related Group, co-founded by the
museum’s namesake, Jorge Pérez.
Asked whether South Florida is gaining momentum in construction,
Leete said “it has been for the last 18 months and is continuing to pick up
steam.”
“The number of new projects this year alone is staggering. The
big question is if and when they all break ground. It will be like turning back
the clock to 2006,” he said, adding that labor shortages and the cost of
materials continue to be industry challenges.
PAMM, a LEED-certified building that incorporates South
Florida’s natural landscape, posed particular construction challenges, Leete
said.
“The [museum] has some key features such as the largest
hurricane-rated glazing panels that also incorporate museum requirements for
tinting and color rendering for the artwork. [There are] hanging-garden
elements that mimic a Banyan tree; and also large column-free art galleries
utilizing cutting-edge concrete-slab systems from Europe,” he said.
Leete
predicted BrickellCityCentre will be “the catalyst” to Miami’s economic
recovery from the recession. * Source the Real Deal.
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