Stephen Pereff

I’m 53. I’ve been in commercial construction since high school. My father was an electrical contractor — he owned a Tulsa-area firm of over 300 employees, making him one of the largest MEP contractors in the nation. His firm completed projects for condominium and multifamily builders in the early 1980s, with 7,000+ units and over 1,000 acres developed. I was on those sites from the time I was five years old. By then I already knew the building life was meant for me.

I learned the development side from Bill Anderson — the developer behind the “Mansions Apartments” brand. He taught me how to negotiate with cities and structure 40-year fixed-rate non-recourse apartment loans through HUD programs that go up to 98% LTV. AAA credit enhancement, GNMA-backed securities — government-grade financing structures. Twenty-five years later that knowledge is still how I help doctors and developers get deals done that competitors can’t. I got 100% financing for a doctor’s oral surgery facility during a government political shutdown. I negotiated $200,000 from the City of Mansfield to cover off-site infrastructure costs a doctor didn’t know he was going to owe. No GC-only firm could have done either of those things.

I’m personally on every project, every week. I walk each site looking for quality issues and ways to expedite the construction schedule. Every project has its own designated superintendent — first one on site, last one out, every day. That’s the right way to do this. Most competitors share supers across jobs to save money. That’s how you get six-figure quality problems and blown schedules. We don’t do it that way.