Construction Today - Sept Oct 2015

188CONSTRUCTION-TODAY.COM SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
Project PartnersGORTON & PARTNERS BRINGS A ‘HOLISTIC’ APPROACH TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT. BY ALAN DORICH
G
orton & Partners is not the sort
of ﬁrm that seeks awards,Part-
ner Patrick Muldoon says.“The
thing that we’re proud of is we
are well respected by professionals in this
industry,” he says.
Developers and designers that Gorton &
Partners has worked with regularly recom-
mend them to potential clients.“We feel
that speaks well enough for us,” Muldoon
says,noting that the company also enjoys
strong repeat business.
Based in New York City, Gorton & Part-
ners provides project and development
management services for owners and de-
velopers. Partner Robert Gorton started the
company in 1994. A longtime veteran of
the industry, his career began in construc-
tion management when he worked for a
major New York City-based owner/builder
in the mid-1970s.
“He went to work for another developer
for about six years,and he realized he was
taking a holistic approach to the devel-
opment process,” Partner Raymond Del
Savio explains.Gorton’s approach involved
managing and overseeing the entitlement
and pre-construction processes,as well as
construction and closeout procedures.
When Gorton realized there was a mar-
ket for this service, he launched his new
company. As momentum started to build
Gorton’s portfolio includes 45
East 22nd Street, a luxury
high-rise condo in New York City.
«
Residential|GORTON&PARTNERS
Gorton & Partners
www.gortonpartners.com
• Headquarters: New York City
• Employees: 35
• Specia ies: Project and development
management ervices
“We know how to navigate all e
agencies wi a capital ‘A’ to
get an approval for a project.”
– Raymond Del Savio, partner
NORTH
E
A S T R EG
IONAL
S
P
O T L I G H
T

189SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015 CONSTRUCTION-TODAY.COM
for Gorton & Partners, “We added more staff of varying special-
ties,” Del Savio says, noting that all of its employees have had
tenures with construction managers, designers and developers.
Gorton & Partners frequently works with foreign and domestic
developers who are not familiar with the New York marketplace.
“[We also work] with families that have been long-term owners
of land to help them understand the entitlement process in New
York City,which is a potential minefield,” Del Savio notes.
“There are no guarantees of anything,” he continues.“It’s been
fraught with problems within New York City,but we know how
to navigate all the agencies with a capital ‘A’ to get an approval
for a project.”
Gorton&Partnersalsogenerateshard-costandsoft-costbudgets
forowners,DelSavioadds.“Wedothisonaconceptualbasissoan
ownercanmakea‘go’or‘nogo’decisiononaproject,”hestates.
Today,Gorton & Partners is currently managing $2 billion worth
of projects.However,“We’ll be growing,” Partner Patrick Muldoon
predicts.“We’ll end up managing much more than that.”
A Winning Team
Gorton & Partners’ management team is highly experienced in
diverse projects. In addition to founder Robert Gorton, Partner
Raymond Del Savio is a registered architect and has worked on
design, construction and development projects since 1975. Del
Savio joined Gorton in 1995 and has led projects for private
clubs, hospitality, and commercial and residential developments.
Partner Patrick Muldoon is a licensed professional engineer
with more than 30 years in construction management. Before
joining Gorton in 2008, he was a senior vice president at AMEC
Construction Management Inc.
Warren Elghanayan, a partner at the firm, has nearly 25 years
in real estate and construction and gained early experience in
construction management. Elghanayan has served as an owner’s
representative for commercial, institutional, residential develop-
ment and private resident projects, the company says.
Partner Eric W. Hahn is a licensed professional engineer with
25 years’ experience in construction. “[He] has a broad range of
experience throughout the construction cycle, from all aspects,
due to his roles as a design engineer, construction manager and
institutional owner,” Gorton & Partners says.
Partner Dennis Rauchet holds nearly 20 years in construction.
The company says Rauchet “has extensive experience in the
planning, design and execution of development projects with
involvement in construction oversight, as well as pro-forma
development and cost management.”
Tom Rosenberger, a partner at the firm, is a licensed pro-
fessional engineer with project experience that “encompasses
diversified projects from core and shell to major infrastructure
with a specialization in the [mechanical, electrical and plumbing]
design and implementation,” the company says.
Partner Jim Errante has worked in the private residence sector
of real estate and construction. “[He] manages a portfolio of
luxury, single family residences and maintains an extensive
network of architects, contractors, designers and consultants
that understand quality workmanship,” Gorton & Partners says.

Experts at Challenges
Demand for Gorton & Partners’ services
has increased in the 21 years since its
founding,Muldoon says.Gorton &
Partners is the go to for more-challeng-
ing projects.One example is Gorton
& Partners’ work on the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York City,for which
it provided services on multiple projects.
This included the expansion of the Greek
and Roman wing,the Fifth Avenue Plaza
renovation,and its 19th Century and
Impressionist galleries.
These projects,Partner Eric Hahn
explains,provide good examples of how
Gorton & Partners can help separate con-
struction from everything else that goes on
at a location.The Metropolitan,he notes,
“gets more than 6 million visitors a year.
“A large part of what we do is conveying
to the construction team the need to do
major expansions safely and separating
Standing 19 stories, 551 West
21st Street is a cast-in-place
luxury residential development.
«
Overseeing Renovations
Gorton & Partners’ project portfolio includes landmarks such as the University Club of
New York. The company provided owners’ representative services for the building located
at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 54th Street in New York City.
The project, which spanned multiple phases, included renovations of the club’s exte-
rior façade, hotel rooms, ballroom and College Hall. In addition, it included the design/
build of its building management system, modernization of its elevator and other capital
improvements.
“[The] projects were done while the club was fully operational,” Gorton & Partners
says. “[The] façade restoration included masonry and terra cotta, stone, structural steel,
waterproofing, new windows, architectural metal railings and grills, etc., as well as inter-
face and coordination with [the] Landmarks Preservation Commission on all submissions,
mock-ups and approvals.”
Gorton & Partners also managed the gut renovation of 170 Broadway in New York
City. The building, built in 1904 as an 18-story office building, was converted into a
hotel. “The new construction consists of 240 guestrooms and a total area of 150,000
square feet,” Gorton & Partners says.
“The building is a sensitive historic site, though not landmarked,” the company con-
tinues. “In consideration of this, all effort was made to maintain and respect the original
façade and external appearance.
“Due to being located in a high traffic-congested area, and its proximity to the World
Trade Center site, complicated site logistics played a major part in the management of
this project,” Gorton & Partners adds.

the construction activities from the visiting
public so they don’t know construction
work is happening on the other side of the
wall,” he says.“[We look at] how do you do
construction without creating vibrations
that damages the art,and how do you do
this work without disrupting the staff,
visitors and special events at the museum?”
Many of Gorton & Partners’ efforts,he
notes,involve working with the owner and
design team to establish protocols to ensure
projects are executed properly,and in line
with budgets and schedules.“The other part
of it is establishing a good communication
protocol so that as things change,everyone
in the museum is prepared for what the
next steps are going to be,” he says.
An important key to keeping track of all
of this information is the ability to choose
the right partners,including the right con-
tractors.Fortunately,after being active in
the New York City market for 21 years,“[We]
understand who those players are and we
bring the right team to the tables,” Partner
Dennis Rauchet says.
A similar project,Muldoon adds,was the
renovation of Sotheby’s world headquarters
in New York City.The project included the
renovation of 160,000 square feet of existing
space and the addition of six floors that
totaled 240,000 square feet.
Floors were added above ongoing opera-
tions in Sotheby’s galleries and offices.The
project also included a complete upgrade
of the building’s mechanical,electrical and
plumbing systems.Although it was chal-
lenging for the project team to work around
major art collections and keep the facility
running and safe,Gorton & Partners helped
manage that feat,Muldoon asserts.
The company also managed the reorga-
nization of several floors to accommodate
increased storage needs for valuable goods
and office space,years after occupancy.
Additionally,Gorton & Partners assisted on
several private gallery installations,execu-
tive office renovations and moves,and Local
Law façade work.
TherecommendationsfromGorton&Part-
ners’ previous collaborators often have led
to its most complex,out-of-ground projects,
Partner Warren Elghanayan adds.Recently,
a client approached the company after its
construction manager recommended that
Gorton & Partners establish the project
pro-forma and manage the pre-construction
process to ensure the project is established
with the strongest consultant team for a
high-end residential condominium project.
The firm thought Gorton & Partners
would be best,considering the logistical
issues of the project.For example,“It’s up
against a subway station,” he says.“We are
By the Numbers
• 21 – Years Gorton & Partners has
been in business
• 35 – Associates
• $2 billion – Value of its current
projects
• 40 – Projects currently underway

coordinating with the MTA and 21 landmarked residential building
owners adjacent to the project.The phasing and staging plans are
currently being finalized and presented to the MTA for review and
approval.This is necessary to ensure there are no structural impacts
to the subway line as well as maintain the Development Schedule.”
Staying Trustworthy
Gorton & Partners’ clients can trust them to keep their informa-
tion confidential, Del Savio says. “In New York City, there was a
history of confidential information leaking during the bidding
process,” he explains.
The company also does not mind if clients look into its own back-
ground.Del Savio recalls a meeting with a client 15 years ago that
coincided with a breaking news story that two owners’ representa-
tive firms had leaked information.
“ThepotentialclientthrewtheNewYorkTimesnewspaper[thatfea-
turedthestory]onthetableandsaid,‘Ifwegoanyfurtherwithyouguys,
wouldyoumindifwehaveyouinvestigated?’”DelSaviorecalls.“Wesaid,
‘OnlyifyoupublishthefindingsonthecoveroftheNewYorkTimes.’”
In Feast Mode
Gorton & Partners is happy to have a full slate of projects,Rauchet says.
“It’s interesting how our business is really feast or famine,and we’re
in feast mode,” he says.“We’ve fortunately got a lot of work coming in
the door.”
But the influx of projects can bring its own challenges,including
finding the right design teams to staff them.Fortunately,“One of the
strengths we bring is getting those teams to the table,” he says.“It’s
been a tough market to get the right firms ...[but] at the end of the
day,we won’t embark on the project with the wrong team.”
The complexity of the projects also can be challenging,Muldoon
admits.“In New York,we are working on several very high-end
condo projects where developers get substantial sales prices for the
units they put on the market,” he explains.
“They employ what we call ‘starchitects.’ We are working with many
high-end architectural firms,” Muldoon continues.“These star archi-
tects want to create an architectural masterpiece to meet the develop-
ers’ program goals.We work to execute those goals while maintaining
the budget and schedule.”
Club Construction
Gorton & Partners has brought its talents to country clubs, including Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y.The project included multiple facilities
upgrades, including the restoration and construction of its beach facility, locker rooms, foodservice and ancillary support facilities.
In addition, the project included the installation of a water source heat pump system that uses geothermal technology. “It also includes the com-
plete installation of a new hot/cold domestic water system and electrical system upgrade,” the company says, noting that the restoration included
new finishes.
“All work was done in multiple phase operations in order to maintain tenant/guest occupancies and all support operations, including ballrooms,
conference facilities, administrative offices, etc., and complete various stages prior to the commencing the annual Buick Classic Golf Tournament,”
the company says.
Gorton & Partners also was hired to manage work on the Winged Foot Golf Club in Rye. “[This] included the construction of several new build-
ings as well as the renovation of the existing clubhouse men’s locker room and existing pool,” the firm says.
The added facilities included a pool locker room building, entry pavilion, a children’s activity center and a grill building with a kitchen and bar.
“Some major challenges faced during the project were delays caused by Hurricane Sandy, which required that the project be fast-tracked once it
began, and the necessity of extensive rock excavation,” Gorton & Partners says.
The company also provided complete project management services on the Scarsdale Golf Club in Rye. “The project consisted of the planning,
design, demolition and construction of the renovation of the existing clubhouse, terrace expansion and a new elevator,” Gorton & Partners says. “A
critical part of this project was the development and management of the site’s safety plan, as well as the overall coordination of the site construc-
tion activities with the club’s activities.”

Although these masterpieces can be
beautiful, it can be a challenge to help
create them cost-efficiently. However, “We
have been very successful in doing just
that,” he asserts.
“A client will get the design they want
and keep it within their budget by [us]
looking at details and how things get put
together,” Muldoon says.“[We find the]
practical solutions to minimize the scare
factor that contractors see in these elabo-
rate,complicated designs.”
Complex Condos
Gorton & Partners’ current portfolio of
projects includes 45 East 22nd Street in New
York City.“That’s an extremely challenging
project,” Muldoon says,noting that the lux-
ury high-rise building stands 800 feet and
features 60 stories of condominiums.
“It’s on a piece of property that’s 75 feet
wide by 100 feet deep,” he continues.“The
building also rises and cantilevers west over
an adjoining building by 25 feet.”
With a multi-faceted,sculpted façade
that slopes in multiple directions,“It was a
challenge to design,” he admits.“It’s also a
challenge to find contractors willing to work
on a project like this.”
Site logistics have been challenging,as
well.“[We’ve had to] shoehorn this vol-
ume of work into a postage stamp site,” he
describes,noting that the project team has
persevered,despite the tight space.“It’ll be
coming online in early 2017.”
A similar project is 551 West 21st Street in
the Chelsea neighborhood.Standing 19 sto-
ries,the building is a cast-in-place concrete
luxury residential development that will
have 44 units as well as commercial space
on the first and second floors.
Foster & Partners is serving as the archi-
tect on the project,which features “a very
complex interior design,” Rauchet says.“We
decided to go open shop on that one.
“Wehaveacombinationofunioncon-
tractorsandsomenon-unioncontractors
providingapreciseleveloffinishwithlittle
tolerances,”hecontinues.“We’retryingtoget
thenon-unionworldtomeetthosestandards.
“It’s going to be a really spectacular build-
ing when it’s done,” Rauchet says,noting
that 551 West 21st Street also will feature
three custom penthouses with custom-de-
signed finishes.“We’re hoping to get the
first units online in early 2016 and have the
rest of the building online later that year.”
Del Savio adds that the company also
DHI Construction is about celebrate a
huge milestone, our 25th anniversary! Over
that period DHI has carved out a solid niche
in both country club and private school
additions and renovations. DHI’s country club
projects include prestigious clubs such as the
Westchester Country Club, Quaker Ridge Golf
Club and the Scarsdale Golf Club. In addition
their private school clients include the Hackley
School, the Rye Country Day School and the
King School. DHI has teamed with Gorton &
Partners on many of these successful projects.
Working together with Gorton we have
proven that teamwork and proper planning
is the key to a successful project. DHI would
like to congratulate Gorton & Partners on their
success and look forward to working together
on future projects.

is managing the development of a project on Leroy Street,a
200,000-square-foot condominium project that will stand 12 sto-
ries in New York City along the Hudson River.“The construction
manager is going to build [it] in 21 months,” he says.
But the process has not been easy.“We’re spending an equal
amount of time getting approvals below grade as we are above
grade,” he says,noting that nearly ﬁve months were spent gain-
ing permits.
Gorton & Partners had to bring the project through a rezoning
process that lasted 18 months.“Because there are anomalies
on our site,we had a major geotechnical engineering ﬁrm put
together the argument to grant us the approval to build this
building,” Del Savio recalls.
Despite all the hardships,“That’s the kind of thing we thrive
on,” he says,noting that the company works with the best
land-use attorneys and zoning consultants.“We [can] navigate
through the process here in New York City,which is driven by
community boards.”
This also illustrates the kind of expertise that Gorton &
Partners can bring to a developer, Del Savio says. In some cas-
es, “The developer, who only develops a building once every
several years, did not have any of this in-house expertise,” he
20 East End Ave. in New York City includes
the demolition of an existing building for a
new, high-end residential condominium.
»

says. “We feel that this is the greatest value
we can bring.”
Outer Boroughs
Gorton & Partners’ work has taken it to Long
Island City,N.Y.,where it is aiding in the
construction of a 130,000-square-foot con-
dominium building with 100,000 sellable
square feet,Elghanayan says.The project,
designed by Dieguez Fridman Architects,
marks the first in New York for its developer.
“[They have] done many high-end resi-
dential projects all over South America,” he
describes, noting that condo projects have
been rare in Long Island City. “Typically
what’s been built in that area over the
past eight to 10 years are large, residential
rental buildings.
“This is a market that is growing in
Long Island City and they’re looking to
take advantage of that,” Elghanayan says.
“They’re gearing this building towards
families and the unit mix is predominant-
ly larger units (3 bedrooms). It is one stop
train access to Manhattan.”
The building is on a complicated site,as it
is adjacent to a subway line to the north and
twenty-one residential landmark buildings
to the south,” he adds.
“We’re starting the excavation and
foundation work in the new year,” he
predicts, noting that the building will be
finished in 2018.
The Right Ingredients
Muldoon predicts a strong future for
Gorton & Partners. “We see continued
growth and getting very well established
here in New York,” he says, but asserts that
the company will not limit its regional
reach. “We’ve expanded into the adjoining
areas, including the northern suburbs, New
Jersey and Connecticut.”
The company also is branching out
into other markets.“We’re starting to get
involved in big-box retail as well as more
general retail,” he says,noting that the
company is also taking on healthcare and
nursing home projects.“We have all the
ingredients that we need for growth and the
opportunity lies in front of us.”
McGowan Builders is a premier provider
of construction services for ground-up and
interiors projects.The firm is headquartered
in East Rutherford, N.J. and remains active
throughout the NY Metro and South Florida
markets providing a full complement of
pre-construction, project cost and construction
services to a wide range of market sectors.
Mc Gowan recently worked closely with
Gorton & Partners on several projects for
clients in education, hospitality and office
interiors. “They’re great collaborators,” says
Martin Mc Gowan, President of Mc Gowan,
when asked to describe the firm’s project
interactions with them. “Given Gorton & Part-
ners attention to detail and their construction
knowledge, the quality of our project team’s
interactions with them was a key factor to our
successfully completing projects together.”
Mc Gowan continues to expand its project
activity in NYC and South Florida’s robust
construction marketplaces. We look forward
to embarking on our next project with Gorton
& Partners.

Construction Today - Sept Oct 2015

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