Pike Construction Co.
Building on Success
By Jan Wilson
“Having the general contractor at the table as part of the development team changes the whole tenor of a project,” says Jeffrey Abrams, Principal, Pike Construction Co. “If you bring in professionals who understand costs and constructability, the process will yield a project that is efficient and well built.”
Pike’s deep understanding of constructability has been of proven value to their clients time and again. As a general contractor that has long been active in development, they are able to manage both client and vendor expectations. Things that might slip through the cracks with a less experienced firm are given the attention needed to ensure that the project team is satisfied and the development stays on track. The principals are proud to note that every one of its projects has come in on time and within budget. Started in 1958 by Paul Abrams and Isaac Weiner, the firm is now operated by the next generation—David Weiner and Jeffrey Abrams.
A Solid Foundation
After getting a start in reinforced concrete subcontracting in the 1950s, the Paterson-based firm quickly moved into general contracting, and beginning in the 1960s developed the expertise in senior housing that remains an area of focus to this day. “Our work on several multi-family housing projects in New Jersey helped us develop excellent working relationships with local housing authorities,” says Paul Abrams. The firm has completed more than 15,000 units of this type of housing.
Joining the business in the 1980s, both Jeffrey Abrams and David Weiner now have extensive experience in all facets of the business including real estate development. Working as hands-on executives, they continue to diversify the firm’s business sectors, branching into commercial, industrial, hotels, office, educational, institutional, and rehabilitation and adaptive reuse projects.
The company now boasts 25 employees and consists of engineers and technically skilled individuals capable of completing any type of structure. It has received numerous state awards, including several annual awards from the New Jersey Concrete Association and from the Public Housing Administration.
It is the firm’s culture of excellence, coupled with a “perfect 52-year track record” says Paul Abrams, which makes it stand out among its peers. “We have been fortunate that such a wide variety of clients trust us with their projects,” adds Weiner. “Whether it is out-of-the-ground construction or adaptive reuse projects, they know that we can bring creative solutions to the table.”
A Wealth of Experience
A large factor in the firm’s success lies in Pike Construction’s familiarity and experience with the unique needs of varied building types. Never taking a cookie-cutter approach, the firm works with its clients to achieve results and offer solutions to the inevitable challenges that arise during construction.
The firm did a great deal of work in the 1980s on repurposing many of Paterson’s old textile mills into housing. “The death of that industry in this area left many of these buildings empty and in disrepair, and they were blight on the landscape,” says Paul Abrams. “Savvy developers realized that they could be converted into housing and commercial space and needed a general contractor who could recognize that vision.
During that period, the firm built the Essex and Phoenix Mills, 145 units of artists’ housing, and rehabilitated the Franklin Mill into a successful commercial office building. “It was a delicate operation to preserve the original woodwork and masonry, which gives the building so much of its character,” says Jeffrey Abrams.
Combining their expertise in adaptive reuse and out-of-the-ground construction, in 1990 the firm completed The Mill at Little Falls. This 332-unit condominium project consisted of the rehabilitation of four antiquated mill buildings and the construction of a new nine-story mid-rise building.
The firm also had early success in the development and construction of commercial properties. In Randolph Township, Pike developed the 250,000 SF Kmart Shopping Center, consisting of three major anchor tenants and 21 satellite stores. “The challenge of this project was getting the entire center opened on the same day,” says Paul Abrams. “We were able to do that successfully—only ten months after start of construction.”
In Roanoke, VA, the firm developed the Tweeds Fulfillment Center, a custom-designed 175,000 SF office/distribution center on 28 acres. This property was subsequently expanded to 390,000 SF for the Home Shopping Network.
Development came naturally to the firm, and was often sustaining during economic downturns. “In 1995, for instance, our major construction job was a Food Town Shopping Center,” in Wanaque, NJ says Weiner. At that property, located on Union Avenue at the entrance ramp to I-287 South, Pike made creative use of the 63,000 SF space through the construction of a 10,000 SF mezzanine and pre-engineered mechanical and electrical penthouses. “The land assemblages required for this development were complex, involving six different parcels as well as a negotiated taking with the NJ Department of Transportation,” says Weiner.
At the same time, Pike was developing an expertise in senior housing, building properties such as Lincoln Park Towers and Norfolk Square. One of the firm’s signature projects from this era was Riese Madison Park, which was built for the Riese Corporation, an offshoot of the Diocese of Paterson and contained 92 apartments for senior citizens. “Ingenuity, and a thorough understanding of past construction methods were required to bring this 100-year-old structure into compliance with contemporary fire ratings and codes,” says Paul Abrams.
The Pike Advantage
Pike’s principals don’t necessarily believe that bigger is better—in fact Weiner and Abrams take an active role in every job the firm accepts. “We believe in principal involvement, so we never take on too many projects at one time,” says Weiner.
In addition to principal involvement and more than 50 years of experience the firm offers:
• Tight project control
• Excellent subcontractor relationships
• Value engineering
• Conceptual estimating
• Continuity of project teams
• Familiarity with government agencies such as HUD and HFA
Pike’s project managers oversee all aspects of the project, as the firm does not utilize a separate estimating or purchasing department. “We require the project managers to process jobs from start to finish for better coordination, and value engineering, should that become necessary,” says Weiner.
Its excellent relationships with vendors stem from the fact that Pike treats them fairly, involves them early and pays invoices promptly, says Jeffrey Abrams. “We take the time to walk them through the plans and solicit their input,” he says. “We treat them like full team members and so we are very responsive to each other’s needs.
Pike enjoys working with the design team from the project’s inception, enabling it to suggest value engineering opportunities before the design has gotten too far underway. The firm also prides itself on its procurement procedures for long lead time items and its coordination expertise. “There are so many moving parts to any construction project, and it’s very easy for things to fall through the cracks. We keep the same, experienced team on a project from start to finish, which ensures that even the smallest details don’t get overlooked,” says Abrams.
Long-Term Relationships
Pike Construction has built long term relationships through more than five decades of projects that always come in “on time and within budget,” Weiner says. Due to their extensive involvement, the principals “on any given day can tell you how many men are on a job and where they are deployed,” he says.
Just as important, the firm is financially sound with a $150 million bonding capacity plus a substantial line of credit. “Our banking and bonding relationships are very solid,” says Abrams. “We have worked with the same bank and bonding company for decades and they understand how we run our business. This translates into confidence in Pike no matter what economic conditions the firm is confronting.”
As the firm often works on a negotiated basis, it gets involved with its projects from the conceptual stages, which facilitates the formation of productive relationships where everyone is on the same page from the beginning. “We become familiar with the scope of the project from the start,” says Weiner, “and we have become quite successful at ‘conceptual estimating’. “Rather than applying square foot cost estimates, we take the time to sit with subs and explain the scope of work that may not be clearly indicated on preliminary documents. This painstaking effort allows us to get the most accurate numbers.”
Preparing accurate construction budgets helps their clients avoid the risk of:
• Loss of financing if the project runs over budget
• Loss of time associated with redesigning and/or value engineering
• Losing zoning if the project’s scope changes
The principals at Pike say that more developers are turning to negotiated contracts with their contractors as they realize that what they save on a low bid can quickly be offset by unforseen change orders and delays in completion. “A negotiated contract is more of a partnership,” says Abrams. “A project that is awarded on the basis of a low bid can sometimes have significant cost overruns due to a lack of clarity in construction documents that would have been addressed ahead of time in a negotiated contract.”
A prime example of Pike’s long - standing relationships is the one it has with the Frisch School, in Paramus, going back to the 1960s. “The school came to us through a banking relationship,” says Paul Abrams. “They had a vision of building a Jewish high school, and needed help. We consulted with them on locating a site and built the school.” The school continued to grow and Pike was asked to build two additions to the original school. With enrollment rising to 650 students, four decades after completing the original campus, Pike was selected once again to convert and expand an existing 160,000 SF office building that Frisch had purchased into a new high school. “They needed the project completed by the time the school year began and despite many challenges we were able to deliver the building precisely on schedule.” The new facility opened in 2007.
Senior Housing Expertise
Building senior housing has long been one of Pike’s specialties, stretching back to construction for the NJ Housing and Finance Agency in the 1970s and 1980s. The firm has built many large scale projects for developers such as Marriott. “We believe that this market has room to grow since more people who live in the Northeast are deciding to retire here now, rather than move to the Sunbelt,” says Weiner. “They may want to give up caring for a big house, but they want to stay connected to the people and places they love.”
Pike’s most recent project was The Amsterdam at Harborside, in Port Washington, NY, completed earlier this year. Developed by Greystone Communities of Texas, and Amsterdam House Continuing Care Retirement Community, Inc. (AHCCRC), a non-profit which has run Amsterdam Nursing Home in New York for 135 years, the project offers several levels of housing including independent care, enriched housing and skilled nursing.
“What makes communities like this attractive is that they provide insurance that as your needs increase, you can continue to stay in an atmosphere that is familiar,” says James Davis, President and Chief Executive Officer of Amsterdam. “Your monthly fees are buying you assurance that you are protected against the catastrophic cost of assisted living facilities.” Davis says that there are only 10 such facilities in New York, and one of the reasons that his non-profit entered this market is to insulate it from the dependence on government reimbursements that form the bulk of nursing home revenues.
“This property fit our strategic thinking perfectly, and came to us already zoned for this purpose because Marriott was originally supposed to develop it,” says Davis. “We got the architectural drawings, and the community was anxious to have something that would contribute to the quality of life for its long term residents.” Pike’s principals say that they won this project due to their reputation and approach. “We worked with the developer on a negotiated basis,” says Abrams. “And the entire project had a very aggressive schedule with the project opening in phases.” The site also had soil conditions that needed to be remediated. Adds Davis: “The difficult soil conditions we encountered were not revealed through sample test borings during the engineering phase and new challenges seemed to occur almost daily. The change orders required to solve these problems we faced were over
$6 million since they involved important changes to the foundation design and reinforcement in key places.” He says this is where dealing with a general contractor that believes in principal involvement is important. “The decision to choose a family-run company where you are dealing only with an owner was an important one for us,” he says. “Pike was able to work closely with our design team and material suppliers to make sure that the changes were implemented without disrupting the overall schedule and budget. They knew what it would take to get the job done right and made it happen seamlessly.” With their years of experience in senior housing they also “understood the nature of our business and how important this project was to our organization and the residents. They exceeded our expectations.” The project was completed slightly under budget and on schedule.
For United Methodist Homes, in Newton, NJ, Pike built an addition to provide a Memory Support Residence and additional assisted living apartments and common amenities called the Charles L. Tice Pavilion at Bristol Glen. “We worked on a negotiated basis for a year, evaluating different mechanical and electrical systems,” says Abrams. “The challenge was to build around an ongoing operation, with minimal disruption to the residents.” Tight coordination with the facility’s executive director and stringent procedures for the daily restoration of work areas enabled construction to be completed on time and with minimal impacts to the existing residents.”
At Marriott Brighton Gardens in West Orange, NJ, Pike utilized innovative site procedures to overcome subsurface water conditions and constructed this 112-unit assisted living facility in just 11 months. Based upon their success, the firm was retained again and completed two other Brighton Gardens facilities, in Saddle River and Paramus.
Other senior living facilities projects include:
• Stonebridge at Montgomery, in Montgomery, NJ, a CCRC including 196 independent living apartments, 24 independent living cottages, 100 assisted living and skilled nursing beds, a 50,000 SF clubhouse and recreational amenities. “The work we did on this facility prepared us for the Amsterdam, which was a similar project,” says Abrams.
• Daughters of Miriam Center for the Aged, a nursing home replacement facility in Clifton, NJ
• John T. Gregorio Towers, senior living apartments in Linden, NJ
An Educational Focus
The expertise that Pike has with institutional clients and the construction of large scale facilities carries over into the work that it has done with public and private schools.
In Flanders, NJ, the firm constructed Mount Olive High School. The project included 55,000 SF of new classrooms and science labs, a new 14,000 SF gymnasium, a 44,000 SF auditorium, and renovations of existing spaces. “We completed the new classrooms and science labs seven months ahead of schedule and the rest of the project came in two months ahead of schedule,” says Weiner.
In West Orange, the only way to expand West Orange High School was to create an addition sandwiched between two existing and occupied buildings. “This required careful logistical planning to complete construction while school was in session,” says Abrams. The 150,000 SF addition and 30,000 SF of alterations were completed over two years and enabled the school to maintain its busy academic and extracurricular calendars throughout the process.
Commercial Construction
Pike was offered the opportunity to build a Courtyard by Marriott in Basking Ridge, due to the strength of their work on senior developments under the Marriott brand. “When Marriott got out of that business, the executives went to the Limited Service Division,” says Abrams. “They wanted this hotel constructed quickly because of the needs of the prospective purchaser.” Pike was able to complete the project several months ahead of schedule and on budget.
Other commercial developments in Pike’s portfolio include:
• Homestead Guest Suites in East Rutherford, NJ, a 142-room hotel was delivered two months ahead of schedule despite site conditions necessitating soil surcharging, pile supported foundations, and a sewer extension burrowed beneath a six-lane super highway.
• Sealy Mattress Co., in Paterson, NJ , a 132,000 SF facility was formerly the site of an old dye house.
• Par Pharmaceutical, a 98,000 SF laboratory facility, located in Ramapo, NY.
Eye on the Future
Pike executives see a bright future in senior housing, as large numbers of baby boomers reach retirement age. “We know that the demographics are changing—the demand for senior housing is growing rapidly,” says Weiner. “Developers are clearly looking for firms with expertise in this sector.”
With all of the economic upheaval in the real estate industry in the last few years, he adds, developers are looking more closely at firms that have a proven track record, like Pike. “We have a half century of experience and financial stability behind us,” he says. “Developers want partners that they can trust, and they can trust Pike to be there for the long haul.”
