Pavarini McGovern

Building on a reputation┬áPavarini McGovern is a mid-sized construction management firm with the capabilities of a larger player and the senior management involvement of a smaller one. As Keith Regan learns, the soon-to-be-completed Smyth Hotel is a glittering example of what can happen when those attributes are combined.  The Manhattan construction market is a competitive and demanding one, with projects often having to be fit into tight spaces and project owners able to choose their contractors from some of the nationÔÇÖs top firms. To distinguish itself in that space, Pavarini McGovern relies on its reputation and experience as a firm capable of taking on unique and difficult challenges and its hands-on approach involving senior management, says executive vice president Bill Frederick. Among the mid-sized construction management firms in New York City, Pavarini McGovern has the technical capabilities of its larger competitors but selects its projects so that senior management can participate every time. ÔÇ£I do mean participate,ÔÇØ Frederick adds. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖre not just there in title or name. As principals, we go to the jobs, we stay involved with the owners, and we stay on top of the issues and make ourselves available to the client. Owners want to be able to pick up the phone when they have an issue or want attention. We want to be that hands-on, service-oriented builder.ÔÇØ President and CEO Eric McGovern brings nearly three decades of building experience to Pavarini McGovern and sets the philosophy and style of the firm. He is a ÔÇ£builderÔÇØ in the old-fashioned New York sense.Pavarini McGovern is currently wrapping interior finish work on The Smyth Hotel, a 93,000-square-foot hotel and condominium building in the TriBeCa neighborhood of Manhattan. The high-end residential project will feature 100 rooms in a four-star hotel as well as 15 condominium units on the upper levels, and both hotel guests and condo owners will have access to services and amenities such as restaurants, lounges and fitness facilities. The Smyth is being built by developer Tribeca Associates and will be managed by famed hotelier Jason Pomeranc, whose properties include the Thompson in nearby SoHo and the Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles. The development team collaborated with designer Richardson Sidecki on the interior of the hotel, which will also feature a rooftop bar overlooking the city.The 15-story stone and glass structure features high-end finishes throughout. It also sits at one of the busiest intersections in the area, making the building instantly significant but also posing its share of construction challenges, especially early in the project. ÔÇ£The logistics of working on a major intersection in Lower Manhattan was the biggest challenge for the project,ÔÇØ says Frederick. Chambers Street is a major crosstown road, and traffic officials expect the road to be open at all times; the same is true for West Broadway on the other corner of the project site. Other impediments included a subway line that runs beneath the street and was being renovated during the construction of The Smyth, causing concern for vibrations and other disturbances during the excavation and foundation phase.The firm crafted and won approval for a plan that eliminated some parking on Broadway to enable the base of a crane to be parked there while the structure was erected. High groundwater was also present on the site, requiring constant dewatering as the foundation was set. And the cityÔÇÖs Landmark Commission had to be consulted as The Smyth Hotel rose right next door to the 19th-century, landmark Munitions Building. Solving the logistics meant careful and prudent cooperation with multiple city agencies, something the firm has done before on dozens of projects. ÔÇ£On this project, we had to work with the Department of Transportation, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Building Department and the BEST Squad, ÔÇ£Frederick notes. ÔÇ£All have a say, and all can impact the project and cause delay if not dealt with on a timely basis.ÔÇØSuch delays are deadly to project owners, particularly in the case of a commercial or residential building where a delay means a longer wait before the project begins to generate revenue. ÔÇ£Construction delays can drive up the final cost, especially overhead expenses and interest expenses for the owner.ÔÇØ Although project owners remain active on Manhattan, the island has not been immune to the economic doldrums. For Pavarini McGovern, new areas of work such as institutional projects and additional hotel projects are helping to pick up some of the slack created by the slowdown in the commercial and residential markets. Most recently, the firm has helped build several boutique hotels in New York City, including Andre BalazsÔÇÖs The Standard NYC and the East River Hotel on East 92nd Street. The firm is currently working on a project for New York Law School and is negotiating a project at Columbia University.Frederick says the firm is looking for opportunities in the healthcare and public sectors, building on the experience it gained on projects such as Kings County Hospital Center in Brooklyn and the Queens Family Court & City Agency Facility in Jamaica, New York, as well as utilizing the vast experience of many of its staff in those areas. For now, Pavarini McGovern is focused on keeping its own pipeline full amid a slowing market. ÔÇ£As a mid-sized firm, weÔÇÖve always tried to run lean and mean and with a tight overhead,ÔÇØ says Frederick. ÔÇ£That should help us be in a better position to weather the downturns and be more nimble when times are more challenging.ÔÇØ┬á