TOP 100: SUFFOLK CONSTRUCTION

With '09 revenues of $1.7 billion, Suffolk Construction's John Fish is working with the downturn to make his company more tech savvy, efficient, and sustainable. Fees are lower than ever, down 25 to 30% from a few years ago, but John says his firm is growing.
We snapped John, Jeff Gouveia, Kim Steimle, and Mike Azarela plotting strategy for some new projects: Suffolk University's $28M Modern Theatre, the $151M Miami Science Museum, $75M parking garages for the Florida Marlins, a $35.5M Los Angeles middle school campus, and a $17M Dulles, Virginia office for Raytheon. John says that challenging economic times create opportunities to cement long-term relationships and raise performance levels to meet higher expectations. The weak economy will take down many contractors, but he's determined to be a survivor. So when competing for the Miami Museum Suffolk won last month, his team was prepared with a BIM-built proposal outlining the challenges, schedule, and estimated cost: ?We showed we understood.?
As a Boston Fed board member, John looks at industry and macroeconomic trends. One point: Since 1964, efficiency in the overall economy has increased 224%, but in construction has fallen 20%. John says Suffolk can counter that by using tools like BIM t o estimate and schedule jobs much sooner than before and pre-fabricate components to save time, materials, and improve quality. Also, after 22 years with a CRE focus, Suffolk has jumped into more healthcare, sci/tech and education, ?pockets of opportunity nationwide.? Last fall, it acquired William A. Berry, a healthcare and sci/tech construction specialist, which upped Suffolk to 1,000 employees, compared to 800 just a few years ago.
Suffolk isn't only fleet of foot in contracting, it helps field a tough team of Boston student athletes. Its charitable arm, the Red & Blue Foundation, sponsored the Boston Scholar Athlete program for Boston Public School students a week ago Saturday. At the event, 72 student athletes were honored for outstanding academic achievement. We snapped Boston Scholar Athlete staff: Kate Sheridan, Brian Morrissey, Bruce McKinnon, Katy Meade, Keir Evans, Alyssa Karam, and Evan Davis.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's Boston Newsletters
Related Stories

From Pandemic Darling To Cautionary Tale: Pickleball Clubs Face A Reckoning After Betting Big On Retail Space

'Distress Is Finally Trading': Investors Chasing Big Discounts On Boston Office

140-Acre Attleboro Golf Course Hits Market, Pitched For Redevelopment

Foundry Robotics Leaves San Francisco For New East Bay HQ

Alexandria Sells Stakes In Megacampuses To Weather Life Sciences Downturn

Nonprofit Developer Buys Mattapan Site For Affordable Housing: The Boston Deal Sheet

Tenant Rep Firm Expands To Philly, Hires Industry Veteran

Downtown Office Tower Sells At Foreclosure Auction For $260M

Data Centers Lose The Top Spot, San Francisco Jumps 40 Places: 9 Takeaways From ULI's 2027 Outlook

JLL Sues Ex-Life Sciences Leader, Alleging Breach Of Noncompete

Cushman & Wakefield, NYC Added To Suit Alleging $250K Agency Lease Shakedown

FoxRock Buys Quincy Office At 78% Discount After Luring Tenant Away