Former Clune and Reed Construction Executive Joins Leopardo

January 10th, 2012

CHICAGO, Illinois (January 10, 2011) – Leopardo announced that Michael A. Tenuta, LEED AP, joined the company as Senior Project Manager. Tenuta brings to Leopardo nearly 30 years of experience in construction and architecture with a focus on multi-floor tenant interior construction management.

Prior to joining Leopardo, Tenuta was Vice President and Project Executive at Reed Construction. Previously, he spent 16 years at Clune Construction where he was Senior Vice President and managed several of the firm’s most prestigious projects. Earlier in his career, Tenuta worked at Pepper Construction. Some of Tenuta’s high profile, multi-floor interior projects include:

The Quaker Oats Company (415,000-SF, 16 floors)
A.C. Nielsen (205,000-SF, 9 floors)
Transamerica Distribution Finance (190,000-SF, 3 floors)
DDB Needham Worldwide (187,000-SF, 7 floors)
Amoco Business Center (168,000-SF, 8 floors)
WorldCom (164,000-SF, 8 floors)
Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company (147,000-SF, 1 floor)
National Louis University – Chicago Campus (135,000-SF, 4 floors)

“Mike’s impressive multi-floor background and client-oriented approach sets him apart in our industry,” said Rick DuPraw, Senior Vice President of Leopardo. “He adds great depth and resources to our already strong Tenant Interiors market.”

Tenuta is a LEED Accredited Professional and serves as membership chair of the Rotary Club of Naperville Sunrise. He graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology with a degree in Architecture.

Leopardo successfully completes more than 200 interior projects a year from smaller service work to multi-floor corporate headquarters relocations. Clients include American Hospital Association, CNA Insurance, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Intuit, Jones Day, Leo Burnett, Motorola, RR Donnelley, Thermos, Walgreens, Wells Fargo, Whirlpool, etc.

Leopardo is the frequent finalist and winner of the coveted Interior Contractor of the Year Award and successfully manages several of Chicago’s largest building repositioning projects with intricate infrastructure and building systems upgrades. For more information, visit leopardo.com.

Tags: Clune, construction, leopardo, Michael Tenuta, Reed, tenant interiors
Posted in General Corporate, Personnel

Cover Story: Leopardo Gives Back

December 21st, 2011

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Illinois (December 21, 2011) — Just in time for the holidays, the December 2011 issue of Illinois Real Estate Journal features a cover story about Leopardo’s philanthropy, community service and “above-and-beyond” approach to client service.

“Most businesses champion a specific charitable organization or annually participate in an event or campaign to benefit a worthy non-profit,” the article reads. “Yet at Leopardo, it can truly be said that such endeavors are not merely on a yearly check-list, but are deeply embedded in company culture. From a house rock band that has raised $2 million in charitable donations through industry events to an employee initiated volunteer program that has donated more than 3,000 hours of service since 2008, Leopardo has proven it’s more than about writing a check. the firm has developed unique and creative ways to make a difference in the communities it serves.” Click here to download the full story (PDF 1.7MB).

Posted in General Corporate

Leopardo Protects His Blind Side

December 19th, 2011

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Illinois (December 19, 2011) — Below is an excerpt of an article written by Illinois Real Estate Journal Editor Mark Thomton. Click here to read the full story.

Before the film “The Blind Side” became a box office hit and its story was familiar to millions, Jim Leopardo, founder and CEO of Hoffman Estates-based Leopardo Cos., was involved in a similar story that netted almost identical results.

Not everyone has a Hollywood-caliber story in their background, but Leopardo can make the claim through his experience with a young man named Otis Hudson.

Leopardo has always been supportive of youth sporting programs as a financial sponsor and a volunteer.

“In my early days, sports were my outlet,” said Leopardo, who played football at Western Illinois University. “They gave me confidence.”

Through his work with the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball program Leopardo met Hudson, a young man from the west side of Chicago with immense athletic talents, but limited outlets to display them in the city’s notoriously rough area. Hudson spent as much time trying to avoid gangs as he did honing his athletic abilities.

The Leopardo family would eventually end up being a champion for his transition to a brighter future. Read the full story…

Tags: Jim Leopardo, Otis Hudson
Posted in General Corporate

Leopardo Band Receives “Warmest Heart” Award

December 5th, 2011

CHICAGO, Illinois (December 5, 2011) — On Friday, December 2, Leopardo’s company band, the Liquidated Damages, was honored with the 2011 “Warmest Heart” award by Beacon Therapeutic Diagnostic & Treatment Center.

“We at Beacon are very fortunate to be surrounded by compassionate, caring people – people who never cease to amaze us with their kindness and who find great joy in giving others their time, talents and treasures,” the non-profit stated in its press release.

Since 1968 Beacon Therapeutic continues to provide hope, healing and empowerment to at-risk families and children. From addressing the needs of homeless children via its Shelter Outreach Services Program to its Intensive Outpatient Programs, Beacon is relentless in assuring fulfillment of its mission: “Empowering children and families by helping them find their way to a better future by providing accredited educational, mental health, and social services.” Beacon seeks to accomplish this mission through the provision of innovative services to the most fragile children and their families in the metropolitan Chicago area.

Formed in 1999, Liquidated Damages is a group of musicians from Leopardo and its business partners. It plays an eclectic set of music across every genre. The band was organized primarily for the purpose of playing fundraisers and helping to make a difference in the community. To date, the band has helped raise more than $1.2 million for various charitable organizations, such as City of Hope, UPS for DownS, Alzheimer’s Association and Beacon Therapeutic. Watch Liquidated Damages 2010 REACH Social performance, held at the House of Blues, with special guest Jim Peterik.

Posted in Awards + Recognition

Leopardo Renovating 88 Patient Rooms at Provena Mercy Medical Center

November 22nd, 2011

AURORA, Illinois (November 22, 2011) — Leopardo has reached the half-way point of a major room modernization and privatization project at Provena Mercy Medical Center. Of the 88 rooms being renovated, 42 are complete. Designed to maximize space, each room boasts 218 square feet, more than any hospital in the surrounding area. To make stays more comfortable and conducive to healing, each single-patient room is equipped with flat-screen televisions, newly replaced windows and new guest chairs.

Provena Mercy recently gave a VIP sneak peak of the new rooms to Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner, State rep. Linda Chapa Lavia, members of the Provena Mercy Medical Center Foundation and a reporter from the Aurora Beacon News. “It’s a lot brighter. More cheerful now,” Mayor Weisner told the Beacon News. “It’s a lot nicer than my bathroom,” he added with a laugh.

According to the November 15, 2011, article in the Aurora Beacon News, “Not only are the rooms aesthetically pleasing, but they are practical as well. Patients have access to regulate their room’s temperature, lighting and noise level. Single-occupancy rooms also decrease their risk of infection and regulate the number of interruptions by caregivers normally treating two patients.”

As part of the multi-phased room privatization project, which will wrap up in late 2012, Leopardo is replacing the HVAC and plumbing infrastructure as well as all exterior windows. The new, more efficient HVAC system serves more than 500,000 square feet of space. Jensen & Halstead is the architect on the project.

In 2006, Leopardo completed a 16,000-square-foot intensive care unit (ICU) at Provena Mercy and, in 2005, Leopardo built a 98,000-square-foot surgery center, one of the largest capital initiatives of the Provena Health System.

For more information about the patient room modernization, check out these recent media stories:

Aurora’s Provena Mercy shows off renovation project (Chicago Daily Herald, November 15, 2011)
Provena Mercy shows off major hospital room upgrade (Aurora Beacon News, November 15, 2011)

Tags: Aurora, construction, Healthcare, hospital, Illinois, leopardo, Provena Mercy
Posted in Healthcare

Leopardo Building Three-Story, 95,000-SF Medical Office Building for DuPage Medical Group

November 9th, 2011

LISLE, Illinois (November 9, 2011) – Leopardo is building a three-story, 95,000-square-foot medical office building for DuPage Medical Group in Lisle. Located at 430 Warrenville Road, at the intersection of I-88 and I-355, the facility will house a state-of-the-art cancer center for DuPage Medical Group and Rush University Medical Center, part of a recently announced partnership to bring university-level cancer care to the Western suburbs.

The medical office is designed with two wings – one for the outpatient diagnosis and treatment of cancer; the other serving as a medical office building for primary care, specialty care and advanced diagnostic services.

According to a November 1, 2011, Daily Herald article, “the first floor of the cancer center wing will house a cancer resource center and radiation therapy services. The second floor will house a chemotherapy infusion center. The third floor of the cancer wing will be used for comprehensive cancer clinics staffed by both [DuPage Medical] group and Rush physicians. Rush will provide specialty services in the areas of hematology, lung cancer, melanoma, thoracic surgery, gynecologic oncology and brain tumors.”

Ranked by Modern Healthcare magazine as one of the nation’s top 20 healthcare contractors, Leopardo is the trusted healthcare builder for 40 hospitals and multiple physicians groups. Since 2002, Leopardo has managed nearly 100 unique construction projects for DuPage Medical Group, including its 92,000-square-foot medical office in Glen Ellyn, completed in early 2009. Leopardo is serving as general contractor on the Lisle cancer center/medical office building with Eckenhoff Saunders as architect. The expected completion date is December 2012.

For more information, please visit:

DuPage Medical Group press release (10/13/11)
Daily Herald article (11/1/11):
Chicago Tribune article (10/13/11)

Tags: construction, DuPage Medical Group, Healthcare, leopardo, medical, Rush University Medical Center
Posted in Healthcare, Office + Industrial

Sullivan Center, Renovated by Leopardo, Wins Restoration Project of the Year

November 8th, 2011

CHICAGO, Illinois (November 8, 2011) – The Sullivan Center, formerly the Carson Pirie Scott building, recently received Landmark Illinois’ 2011 Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award for Restoration Project of the Year.

The juried award honors excellence in historic preservation. “The level of detail of this project sets the bar for future restoration projects of this scale,” stated the awards jury.

In 2007, Leopardo began gutting eight floors and 600,000 square feet of old retail space as the Sullivan Center began its interior repositioning by Joseph Freed & Associates into a modernized space for retail, commercial and educational tenants.

In 2010, Leopardo completed the interior build-out of 20,000-square-foot at the Sullivan Center for Walgreen Co’s first-ever downtown offices, which housed 65 marketing and technology employees.

In 2011, Leopardo managed nearly 150,000 square feet of white-box build-outs at the Sullivan Center for the retail spaces that would eventually house Target and DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse.

In addition to the Restoration Project of the Year, the Sullivan Center has earned 10 industry awards, including the Friends of Downtown 2010 Best Restoration Award and Landmark Illinois’ 2009 Outstanding Preservation Award.

Tags: Historic Renovation, leopardo, Renovation, Restoration, Sullivan Center
Posted in Awards + Recognition, Interiors, Retail

Leopardo Hosts VIP Police Chief Event

November 8th, 2011

CHICAGO (November 8, 2011) — On October 25, 2011, Leopardo and McClaren, Wilson & Lawrie hosted a VIP Police Chief Event at Tavern at the Park restaurant in conjunction with the 118th annual International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) conference. Click here to browse a few photos captured throughout the evening.

Tags: construction, IACP, leopardo, Police
Posted in Events

Leopardo Guides Media Tour of Scottish Rite Headquarters Project

September 30th, 2011

BLOOMINGDALE, Illinois (September 30, 2011) – Leopardo, tvsdesign and Core Project Management recently gave reporters a sneak peak at the construction progress of the new, $35 million Scottish Rite Valley of Chicago headquarters.

Building Design + Construction, Illinois Real Estate Journal and Real Estate Bisnow sent their respective editors to tour one of the most exciting construction projects underway in Chicagoland.

According to Illinois Real Estate Journal Editor Mark Thomton:

After a year-long search that included 60 different sites, the organization settled on Bloomingdale, where it paid $10 million for a 16.25-acre-site. The group would invest another $25 million into the new, 61,000-square-foot facility. The $35 million was an all-cash investment with many of the proceeds coming from the sale of the Dearborn St. location.

Scottish Rite is one of the numerous appendant organizations associated with Freemasonry. There are three degrees of Freemasonry: Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason. When a member obtains the Master Mason designation, he may decide to continue other Masonic pursuits by joining one of the appendant bodies, such as the Scottish Rite.

The Freemasons describe themselves as a fraternal organization, and although words such as cathedral, ritual, or ceremony, are often used when discussing the group’s activities, it does not have any religious or political affiliation. Its roots can date back to the late 16^th century and now it boasts six million members worldwide, including 2.5 million in the U.S. and 68,000 in Illinois. The order has counted many prominent Americans among its ranks, including 14 U.S. Presidents, Benjamin Franklin, astronaut John Glen, politician Bob Dole, and military leader and statesman Colin Powel.

Winning such a large build-to-suit in an otherwise stagnant construction market was a significant achievement for Leopardo and tvsdesign, which have both been associated with the project since March of 2010.

Click here to read the full Illinois Real Estate Journal article.
Click here to read the Real Estate Bisnow story.
The Building Design + Construction article is expected to be published in its December issue.

Tags: Bloomingdale, construction, Freemasonry, Scottish Rite
Posted in Community, Mixed-Use

ELPC’s New Green Office, Built by Leopardo, Awarded LEED Platinum in Historic Landmark Building

August 15th, 2011

CHICAGO (August 15, 2011) — The eco-office of the Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC), built by Leopardo during the summer of 2010, was recently awarded LEED Platinum certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

According to a statement by ELPC, “This achievement reflects not only the hard work of many to envision and create our modern, naturally lit, beautiful open office inside the historic Jewelers Building, but also the long-term commitment of many green building advocates and professionals who have raised the bar for green building throughout the country.”

Leopardo helped ELPC combine innovative technology and forward-thinking design to create 12,000 square feet of workspace that protects the environment, is healthier to their staff and makes economic sense. The renovation was completed in 11-weeks, finishing in August 2010, and boasts the following green features:

• Maximum use of natural day-lighting, efficient lighting systems and state-of-the-art HVAC building automation system (BAS) control systems to dramatically cut energy consumption utility bills
• Installation of low-flow plumbing fixtures (using 40% less water) and Energy Star appliances to further reduce operation costs
• Materials selected reduced VOC’s for improved air quality, were constructed from recycled and locally sourced materials and 81% of the wood used in the new offices was FSC-certified
• Diverted 94% of construction waste from landfills

See ELPC’s new www.elpc.org/greenoffice webpage for facts, figures, photos, and videos.

Since 2007, Leopardo has managed five LEED Platinum construction projects.

Tags: LEED Platinum
Posted in Interiors, Sustainaiblity + LEED

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