Joseph Ferolito
Title: Vice President of Planning and Cost
Engineering, TocciConstruction
Age: 50
Experience: 28 years
When Joseph Ferolito walks through the headquarters of Tocci Construction, he notices the details that make the former Guastavino Co. manufacturing facility unique, such as 115-year-old floorboards and the tile buttresses that tie into the walls. Paying attention to the details is part of Ferolito’s role at Tocci, overseeing the company’s projects as well as its consulting work on behalf of other developers.
In February, Tocci broke ground on a 115,000-square-foot residential development for Lynnfield Initiatives for Elders. On April 7, it began construction of Brookside Square, a 126,000-square-foot development including 74 luxury apartments and 36,000 square feet of commercial space next to the West Concord commuter rail station.
Q: What was Tocci’s role in the new Biogen Idec headquarters at 225 Binney St. project in Cambridge?
A:We were brought on [by developer Alexandria Real Estate Equities] as program managers. That’s a new niche for us. We’re on the owner’s side. We’re a consultant and we’re coordinating and working with the owner to choose the construction manager. We’re putting the [request for proposals] out to the various construction firms. We’ve started a program managing/consulting side about five years ago. Typically they’re large urban projects where we wouldn’t get an opportunity to build, or they’re remote. We have a program management gig in San Francisco at Genentech right now. We’re working with the Boston Medical Center and we’re working with Toll Brothers and the University of Maryland, all as owner’s representatives.
Q: How did you identify that business line as a growth opportunity?
A:What really moved us into that is the technology and innovations that Tocci has been on the bleeding edge for so long and able to bring that expertise to these larger, sophisticated clients and projects like the Alexandria Center in Cambridge. The owners realize there was something they weren’t getting. We’re able to help the project and bring it to another level by using VDC (virtual design construction) and co-location techniques.
Q: What are the latest ways that technology is being used in construction management?
A: We’re a builder primarily. We use bricks and concrete and mortar and steel and wood. It’s age-old. How can we provide that basic core service quicker faster and cheaper? Trying to build and provide the product virtually before we actually get into it. Every project gets some sort of virtual design and construction methodology. We’re trying to provide the project virtually before we actually get into it. We want to build it electronically (first), so you’re spending time and effort but you’re not spending dollars.
Q: What’s the major contributor to the rising construction costs in Greater Boston in the past year?
A:Material and labor was very stable between 2009 until the beginning of 2013. We were able to put prices out, and even if the projects were delayed for a good period of time, the numbers were pretty stable. In 2013, money started flowing back into projects, the industry got busier, the subcontractors got busier. So now they’re starting to fill up their dance card. The industry has gone through a couple of downturns and it never really replenished the labor market it had 10 years ago. Once the market started to pick up, there’s a shortage of experienced and skilled labor. There’s only so many projects you can put the first and finest on. If you’re second in line you’re not getting the best labor crews or the best attention.
Q: How are developers dealing with that?
A:What we try to do is update the pricing as often as possible and try to offer alternatives; if we can offer some alternative structural mechanical equipment that doesn’t compromise the quality and performance down the road, we’ll offer that and infuse the savings somewhere else. The other thing we’re trying to do is put in a contingency and identify it for the client. You should carry a design and budgeting contingency, there should be a construction contingency and there should be an escalation contingency if materials and labor jump up.
Top 5 Projects:
- The Arches at 660 Main St., Woburn
- Capitol Cove, Providence
- Starwood Aloft and Element Hotel Complex, Lexington
- New Seabury Clubhouse, Mashpee
- Monastery Heights, Springfield
