Leopardo Promotes Daniel Ulbricht to Vice President
CHICAGO, Illinois (April 3, 2012) – Leopardo recently promoted Daniel R. Ulbricht to vice president, strategic accounts, for his significant contributions to Leopardo’s success over the past several years.
As vice president of strategic accounts, Dan is responsible for managing top-tier client relationships and maintaining continuous proactive dialogue with clients to ensure their construction needs are being met by Leopardo’s services. As a trusted advisor, thought leader and resource, Dan frequently lends his expertise to help corporations learn how to build quicker and more economically.
“Dan has the unique ability to lead and collaborate at all levels of our business as we work tirelessly to solve complex construction matters on behalf of our customers,” said Rick Mattioda, president of Leopardo. “He is an accomplished and talented company leader, and extremely deserving of the promotion.”
Dan joined Leopardo in 2004 and previously served as director of strategic accounts. He is president-elect of the Chicago chapter of CoreNet Global, the professional organization serving corporate and commercial real estate professionals. Dan earned a degree in marketing from Northern Illinois University.
Dan is also lead singer and guitarist in Leopardo’s charitable rock band called Liquidated Damages. Formed in 1999, Liquidated Damages was organized primarily for the purpose of playing fundraisers and has raised more than $1.2 million for organizations like City of Hope, UPS for DownS, the Federation of Women Contractors, Alzheimer’s Association, Special Olympics, Beacon Therapeutics and many more.
Leopardo Completes Build-out of Thermos Headquarters
SCHAUMBURG, Illinois (March 7, 2012) – Leopardo recently completed the 25,000-square-foot interior build-out of Thermos’ new corporate headquarters in Schaumburg. Thermos, the leading manufacturer of insulated food and beverage containers, relocated from Rolling Meadows to its new office at 475 N. Martingale Road.
The finished space features custom display pieces to showcase Thermos’ various products, numerous conference rooms with teleconferencing and high-end audio-visual capabilities, executive offices, board room, research and development laboratory, photography studio, marble flooring, a hybrid exposed-acoustical ceiling and high-end finishes, including millwork and sliding glass doors. The job also included a functional porch, which Thermos employees will use for events.
Leopardo served as general contractor with Torchia Associates as the architect. Jones Lang LaSalle represented Thermos and Ken Soltis Associates served as project manager.
See Thermos case study.
Leopardo Wins Interior Contractor of the Year
CHICAGO (March 9, 2012) — For the fifth time in 12 years, Leopardo was awarded the coveted Interior Contractor of the Year Award in front of 1500 real estate executives at the 2012 Greater Food Depository Awards, often referred to as the Oscars of the industry.
Leopardo’s Interiors group successfully completes more than 200 interior projects a year from smaller service work to multi-floor corporate headquarters. Clients include American Hospital Association, CNA Insurance, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Intuit, Jones Day, Leo Burnett, Motorola, RR Donnelley, Thermos, Walgreens, Wells Fargo (pictured), Whirlpool, and thousands more.
All 2012 winners were officially announced by the Chicago Sun-Times and Crain’s Chicago Business.
Leopardo Completes Hanover Park Police Headquarters
HANOVER PARK, Illinois (February 20, 2012) — Leopardo recently completed construction of the new $15 million, 63,000-square-foot police headquarters for the Village of Hanover Park, which hosted a public grand opening ceremony on Saturday, February 18.
The state-of-the-art facility features:
A distinguishing characteristic of this project is its unique safety record. Leopardo took the initiative to partner with OSHA, allowing open-access to the government agency in order to achieve the absolute highest levels of construction safety. More than 400 site-specific safety orientations were conducted, 149 safety inspections and 10,000 safety observations performed. As a result, after more than 100,000 total work hours, the project’s incident rate was almost 30 percent below the national average.
Leopardo, one of the most experienced law enforcement and public safety construction firms in the Midwest, served as construction manager with Dewberry as architect. In addition to the Hanover Park Police Headquarters, Leopardo recently built the award-winning Aurora Police Headquarters (195,000 square feet), Clarendon Hills Police Headquarters (14,400 square feet), Beaufort Police, Courts and City Hall Complex (63,000 square feet), Romeoville Fire Station No. 3 (13,500 square feet), and the Mount Prospect Fire Station No. 14 (24,000 square feet).
Former Clune and Reed Construction Executive Joins Leopardo
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.
Leopardo Protects His Blindside
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.”
The cover story also includes a sidebar titled “Leopardo Protects His Blindside” about Jim Leopardo’s Hollywood-caliber work with a young, inner city athlete named Otis Hudson. Below is an excerpt of the sidebar:
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.
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.
Click here to download the full story (PDF 1.7MB).
Leopardo Band Receives “Warmest Heart” Award
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.
Leopardo Renovating 88 Patient Rooms at Provena Mercy Medical Center
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)
Leopardo Building Three-Story, 95,000-SF MOB for DMG
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)
Sullivan Center, Renovated by Leopardo, Wins Restoration Project of the Year
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.
