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An interview with Adam Miller, president and founder of Summit Design + Build, LLC.  Miller has been active in the office, commercial, retail, industrial and residential construction industry for over 15 years.  He has personally overseen the planning, design, construction and successful occupancy of over 100 projects totaling in excess of 6 million square feet and $225 million in revenues.

1. Development opportunities have changed in the current economy, where have you been the most successful in locating new projects?

With ground-up new construction being virtually non-existent, we realized early on that we needed to be proactive in order to help our clients get deals done and for property owners to get their buildings rented in this market.  We have positioned ourselves to be able to assist clients who are looking to expand, renovate, redevelop or reposition their existing space or building. We have been extremely busy with remodeling, tenant improvement and value-added work in the office, medical, food processing, restaurant/bar, residential and industrial markets.

2. How has demand for construction work changed from 2009 to the first half of 2010?

Most of 2009, we saw a steady decline in work; we hit bottom and for the first half of 2010, flat seems to have become the new normal.  Demand is still down.  The biggest challenge is figuring out how to weather the continuing economic storm.

3. Cost efficiency and the bottom line drive most decisions today, how are construction companies demonstrating this to clients through new practices?

We have used the slowdown to cut costs, refine our internal business processes and increase efficiency.  We look for similar attributes in the subcontractors that we work with.  Many contractors are bidding jobs at a loss just to keep work coming in the door, but we are committed to competitively bidding out all our projects and are getting fantastic pricing that we are able to pass along to our clients.  We have grown our staff by 30 percent over the past 12 months.  We can provide quick budgeting, scheduling and value engineering services up front so brokers, developers and owners know if a deal can be made.  Our team has extensive experience with LEED projects, TIF’s that require MBE/WBE and Chicago Residency requirements, complex permitting issue and Class 6B tax incentives to name a few.  No project is too small or too complicated to undertake.

4. You recently began work on Testa Produce’s new development in Chicago. What are some of the sustainable features that will be in the project and what challenges (if any) do they present?

The Testa Produce project is two years in the making.  We broke ground in December 2009 and completion is scheduled for first quarter 2011.  The project showcases how a brownfield site can be transformed into a thriving, energy-efficient space that adds to the urban landscape with minimal environmental footprint.  Some of the key sustainable features are 159 Photovoltaic solar panels, solar hot water panels at the roof top that will eliminate the need to consume natural gas to provide hot water to the building, rainwater harvesting that will provide all water required to flush toilets during a typical year, and a 238’ tall wind turbine to co-generate electricity.  The Testa Produce project is targeting not only LEED Platinum status (52 of 69 possible points), but hopes to achieve over 60 points, which places it near the all time highest rated LEED project ever and is probably the largest, most unique industrial build-to-suit project currently under construction in the city Chicago.

5. What do you see in the construction industry for the remainder of 2010?

I believe that 2010 will continue to be a year of financial uncertainty.  In this economy, deals can fall apart at the signing table and we are operating on much smaller margins. There is no room for error.  We don’t anticipate a surge in new construction for another year or so and therefore feel that the need for repositioning distressed assets through building renovation and tenant improvement work will be on the rise.

Tags | Chicago, construction, Summit Design + Build

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