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NEW YORK, NY—Beneath the majestic grace of one of the world’s most recognizable skylines lies a quality of design and construction that is equally impressive. New York City is seemingly alive with change as the needs of facilities constantly shift and grow with the passing time. Amidst this organic metamorphosis of inspired spaces shines Aragon Construction. As New York City’s premier general contracting and construction management firm, Aragon provides a broad range of services, from building multi floor corporate offices to turn key build-outs on data centers for some of the world’s foremost financial giants. Aragon meticulously handles all of the management to execute the construction including subcontractor selection and award, project scheduling and pre-construction planning, and on-site supervision which leads to the successful delivery of these unique projects.
Alex Getelman, founder and president of Aragon Construction, actively researches and develops new practices to streamline the delivery of his work. He and His team are always perfecting ways to understand the clients’ needs and wants. Getelman clarifies, “A large percentage of Aragon’s contracts we serve as construction managers, enabling us to work with the client, real estate broker, building engineer and architect. We can understand the company’s needs along with the procedures on how their business operates and the budget they are ultimately looking to achieve. Our experience in corporate build-outs assists in their proper selection. Aragon hires class A subcontractors who perform the physical work; but it is Aragon’s estimators, project managers and superintendents who coordinate the entire project team to insure a delivery of each project that is on time, on budget and delivered with Aragon’s signature quality.”
Recently, Aragon finished its work on the delivery of a 55,000 square foot, four floor office build-out for the small-cap mutual fund Royce Funds. Royce outgrew their existing facility located on Avenue of the Americas and relocated to a more spacious accommodation at 745 Fifth Avenue. The firm’s new quarters includes a wood-clad internal staircase that joins the four contiguous floors, as well as reception areas, conference rooms, private offices, trading desks, even a bicycle storage area and other staff amenities. Pointing to the time constraints on the facility, “By the time all the consultants were complete with their portion of work, my firm was left to build this intricate and detailed project in just 15 weeks” notes Getelman. “Thanks to Richard Hartz and his determination of delivering his commitment to Royce, we delivered this space with a completed punch list precisely on schedule.”
“Large corporations are still in a holding pattern when it comes to spending on growth and renovations and such, our marketplace has changed significantly over the past two years,”. In today’s economy, landlords are working hard to win new tenants and keep existing ones. The landlords are offering such attractive deals in regards to lease rates and providing turn key build-outs. When Aragon opened its doors in 2000, we aligned ourselves with many landlords to do pre-built office suites, infrastructure and lobby projects while our competitors were very focused on the large corporations. Our relationship with delivering these jobs successfully positioned Aragon. During these challenging times we don’t have to create new relationships as we are already there!
Alex Getelman along with Executive Vice President Richard Hartz bring a diversified background and extensive experience to Aragon Construction. Getelman began as an estimator for an interior construction management and general contracting firm before moving into the field as a site superintendent and then senior project management. Having become skilled in business development along the way; he founded Aragon Construction in 2000, and to this day insists on personally hand picking each staff member to ensure only top-tier talent, encompassing the best of construction management and client service, represent the firm. Facilitating the continued growth of the company is Richard Hartz; who utilizes his 20 years of real estate industry experience to service Aragon’s Fortune 1000 clientele. As Hartz explains, “Our focus is corporate interiors. That is our niche business and we are always working to improve our quality, costs and schedule”. Playing a large role in Aragon’s business development, Joseph Lopardo has been a tremendous attribute by assessing client interests and attaining their requests. Joseph is involved throughout the entire construction phase, insuring a successful execution and favorable outcome. Aragon’s continually growing team has a tremendous drive to see this firm succeed. We seek new talent to achieve our goals and recently brought aboard Mr. Rick Coffey as Senior Vice President, having 20 years of construction knowledge and experience.
Inspiringly, despite an increasing roster of new projects, Alex and the staff at Aragon make considerable time for involvement in community affairs. Among some two-dozen organizations they support with financial contributions and personally attending their events in addition to serving on their boards particularly the AHRC and SIBS Survivorship program. “We work with SIBS and the executive team,” Alex explains, “to assist with the brothers and sisters of kids who are fighting serious diseases. People focus so much on the ill children that their siblings get lost in the shuffle. The program created this place for them to come to, with helpers to teach them and play with them. We also take part every year in an outing for Emmory Reagan Shapses, an organization working to find a cure for tubular sclerosis. For the All Stars Project, which serves inner-city kids, we used our construction expertise to build them a performing arts studio. We also work with Special Olympics and other groups. I have two young children of my own; you have to count your blessings and give back to the community with your time and resources. I want to see these children get every fair chance in life.”
Allowing him to give so much back to his clientele as well as the community, Alex Getelman looks back upon his work at Aragon Construction. “Our business is to physically create an infrastructure, an environment that will help people do their business. Without what we do, our clients can’t do business. Consider a client company that is operating out of one building, and moving to another over a weekend. During construction, we want them to be able to stay focused on their business. Come Friday night, they pack up and move. On Monday morning, when they have a new address, our goal is to have made it a seamless transition, with everything working perfectly. In a way, we are invisible. If anyone is going to take credit for a job well done, we want it to be the client and their thanks and loyalty makes it all worthwhile.”
With so much focus on the completed project, Alex sums up, “Occasionally I feel that the construction business is not recognized enough; but clients appreciate our approach and the attention to detail our Aragon people bring to a job.” He concludes, “They tell me so, often by referring us new clients.”
Aragon General Contractors
and Construction Managers
142 West 57th Street
New York, NY 10019
Phone 212 937-9600
Fax 212-937-9606
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