CHICAGO, Illinois (October 4, 2010)

Located at 315 S. Peoria, the building features 135 student apartments containing 441 bedrooms. Each apartment is fully furnished with its own kitchen, granite countertops, dishwasher, microwave, 42” plasma TVs per bedroom, and individual bathrooms with almost every bedroom.

The first floor amenities include a tanning room, fitness center and custom lounge area with upgraded finishes, including a glass block wall with color-changing LED lighting, and 11,400 square feet of retail space. As part of the project, Leopardo also built a new two-story, 15,000-square-foot parking garage.

“Leopardo overcame several unexpected challenges to the already compressed 10-month schedule by aggressively managing its own self-performed trades of metal stud, drywall, rough and finish carpentry, taping and painting,” said Pierre Cowart, senior vice president at Leopardo. “We also design-built and self-performed the entire low-voltage infrastructure, including structured cabling, access control, audio and television, surveillance and telephony low-voltage. It was a massive project made successful by Leopardo’s active involvement at all levels of design and construction.”

The project utilized federal historic tax credits as the building required a combination of re-use, salvage and custom replacement of existing historical features, including perimeter windows, lobby areas and façade.

Leopardo served as the construction manager along with Fitzgerald Associates as architect.

According to Crain’s description of the video, “the latest forecast shows construction activity is slower than initially expected this year. But at least one local contractor [Leopardo] says the market is improving.”

“Leopardo is breaking ground on several new projects this year.  The company has hired about 10 people recently,” said Chicago Business Today Host Lisa Leiter.

In recent months, Leopardo has been awarded about 20 projects totaling approximately $70 million worth of construction.

CHICAGO, Illinois (February 5, 2009) – Leopardo Companies, Inc. recently completed a major, multi-million dollar renovation to the landmark Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile.

The rejuvenation to the historic 14-floor hotel included all 305 guestrooms, suites and corridors. Construction utilized a well-orchestrated phased approach and turnover so the hotel could remain operational throughout the renovation schedule. The transformed guestrooms and suites now feature luxury details, amenities and spa-like bathrooms.

Leopardo also recently completed an upscale modernization to the Fairmont Chicago Hotel’s lobby and Eno Wine Room. Consistent with the hotel’s AAA Four Diamond luxury status, the updates included several custom elements and high-end finishes.

Prior to Walsh, Walder spent 10 years at Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority and 23 years at Mayfair Construction Company, where he began his career as an assistant superintendent and worked his way up to vice president. His construction career includes several visible projects, such as:

• Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center
• Navy Pier Redevelopment
• The Sears Tower
• The Wheeling Westin Hotel and Convention Center
• McCormick Place Conference Center
• McCormick Place South Building
• The Heritage
• The Legacy
• Hyatt Regency McCormick Place
• Millennium Park – Lurie Garden, Jay Pritzker Pavilion, BP Bridge, Exelon Pavilions
• 55 East Erie
• O’Hare Air Traffic Control Tower
• Skybridge

“We are very excited to have Harry join the Leopardo team,” said Rick Mattioda, president of Leopardo. “His impressive background and construction experience will add tremendous strength to our already high level of service and quality.”

Walder is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), a registered professional engineer and a trustee in the Village of Lincolnshire.  He graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology with a degree in Civil Engineering.

“I’m thrilled to be joining such an outstanding and talented team at Leopardo,” said Walder. “This company has a great entrepreneurial spirit and passionate workforce, which provides the perfect foundation for me to step in and help it grow even more.”

Located at 100 W. Higgins Road, the 11,000-square-foot restaurant features wood windows, a state-of-the-art stainless steel chef’s kitchen, a barrel-vault ceiling and high-end, custom millwork. This is the third Ruth’s Chris Steak House in the Chicago market and the first stand-alone location. The project team consisted of Robert A. Harris Architect and Leopardo Construction.

CHICAGO, Illinois (November 3, 2008) – Leopardo, one of the nation’s premier construction companies and a recognized leader in sustainable building practices, recently completed the 4,200-square-foot interior build-out for the new Province restaurant. Randy Zweiban is the executive chef and owner of the modern American restaurant with cuisine influenced by South America and Spain.

The eco-friendly, 140-seat restaurant is the first in downtown Chicago to seek Gold LEED-CI (commercial interiors) certification. It features cork flooring and tabletops, recycled leather chairs, PVC-free vinyl booths, organic concrete stain, floor-to-ceiling windows, highly-efficient heat pump mechanical and lighting systems, environmentally-friendly paint and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified wood that is from this region and formaldehyde free. The kitchen has a poured floor which is more durable and earth-friendly than standard quarry tile.

Aside from sustainable building materials, Province restaurant also incorporates green equipment and farm-to-table cuisine such as shrimp and organic grits, braised Heritage Farms lamb and slow roasted Gunthorp Farms pork.

The restaurant is located in the West Loop at 161 N. Jefferson St. in the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) building, which itself is certified Gold LEED-EB (existing building). The CTA building was the first in the State of Illinois to receive the LEED Existing Building certification.

Fornelli Hall
At the historic Pittsfield Building on Jewelers Row at 55 E. Washington, Leopardo converted nine floors and 135,000 square feet of office space into 177 student apartments and 360 bedrooms. The entire building is 40 stories and 392,000-SF. The residences are occupied by students from Roosevelt University and Robert Morris College for the 2008-2009 school year. Leopardo Construction was the project’s general contractor.

Tailor Lofts
Leopardo is beginning the conversion of the entire 10-story, 230,000-square-foot building at 847 W. Jackson into 135 student apartments and 432 bedrooms. Each apartment will feature its own kitchen and each bedroom includes a private bathroom. The first floor will have 10,000 square feet of retail. The residences will be occupied by students from University of Illinois – Chicago in August 2009. Leopardo is serving as construction manager-at-risk with Atlanta-based Place Properties as developer.

Building Design+Construction magazine called in progressive thinking and told its 75,000 readers to “take a page from Leopardo.”

Download the full-length Smart Construction report. [Updated February 2009 with the most current data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.]

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Illinois (January 30, 2008)

The article, which discusses our history, success, employees, clients and growth, was the longest feature story written by the monthly trade magazine in eight years. To article, which you can read in its entirety by clicking here, quoted several Leopardo clients who raved about Leopardo’s work.

“For me, they’re almost perfection,” said Laura Radosevich, vice president at PPM America Inc., a money management firm. Leopardo has performed PPM’s office build-outs for the last decade.

“They lived and died for that project just liked we did,” said John Maggiore with the Archon Group in reference to the 400,000-SF Poplar Creek Crossing shopping center project that Leopardo completed in 2006.

“They set the standard on quality for our MinuteClinic program across the country,” said Richard Smart, construction project manager for CVS/pharmacy.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Illinois (January 28, 2008)

“What this list represents is a one-stop shop for the best the professional world has to offer, including the fields of development, property management, architecture, brokerage, multifamily – you name it,” according to Midwest Real Estate News, one of the industry’s leading trade magazines. “If they’re over 40 and they’re the best, they’re here!”

As president, Rick oversees all of Leopardo’s operations, which spans three offices, hundreds of job sites, multiple service offerings and several specialty groups. With over 30 years of industry experience, Rick directs the company’s vice presidents and executives to customize client project teams, develop new markets and set the highest construction performance standards. He manages all strategic planning and goal-setting, as well as recruiting, job performance and team building.

In 2006, Rick and Leopardo were awarded Contractor of the Year by the Coalition for United Community Action. Rick serves on the Building Review Board for the City of Naperville and is an Advisory Board Member for Roosevelt University Chicago School of Real Estate.

To see a copy of Rick Mattioda’s Forty Over 40 listing, click here.