Patrick Power is a project superintendent for Vestcor Construction Services, Inc.
TITLES?
Project superintendent or on-site project manager; it’s whatever you’d like to call him. “I’ve reached the point in my life where tiles don’t matter.”
WHAT PROJECT IS HE CURRENTLY WORKING ON?
The Carlington loft project. Previously, he was project manager at 11 E.
ARE THERE ANY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN 11 E. AND THE CARLINGTON?
“Nothing unusual. The two are similar, it’s normal work.” Although there was the hidden vaulted ceiling found by workers in the lobby of 11 E. “We found that and that’s what prompted us to refurbish it. It’s significant of the building.”
WHAT DID HE DO BEFORE GOING INTO THE CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS?
Power attended the University of Virginia until he joined the Army during the Vietnam War. He spent his first four months of active duty doing combat demolition. He was later moved into port operations. Powers left the Army as an E-5 sergeant. “(The Army) offered me a commission and I said ‘No way!’ I wasn’t going to stay in Vietnam and get shot at.”
HOW DID HE ENTER CONSTRUCTION?
Unlike most who enter the construction world as wrench pullers, Power began at the head of his construction group as a superintendent. “There’s no good answer to how that happened. I fired a young man at (a department store) and the boy’s father came in to get his son’s job back. I said ‘No,’ and then he made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.” Powers started his construction career primarily doing residential projects, and in the late 1970s, he started overseeing the building of commercial properties. His commercial career predominantly has seen the construction of hotel high-rises.
WHERE HAS HE TRAVELED WITH HIS JOB?
The East Coast, Trinidad, St. Thomas, St. Johns and Puerto Rico.
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST PROJECT HE’S EVER COMPLETED?
The Regency Bethesda Hyatt Hotel in Washington, D.C. That project’s estimated costs were $200 million. “That was a wild job. I was the contract executive, which is one step below the vice president. I got promoted to vice president after that job.”
HOW DOES HE APPROACH A PROJECT?
Power focuses on two key things: making sure the owner gets what they pay for, and ensuring subcontractors make money. “It’s a two-edged sword, but it’s a viable contractual relationship. Both people win that way.”
REPUTATION?
Power said his reputation around Jacksonville is pretty bad. “But my wife thinks I’m nice,” he said. He says it is due to how he runs a project. “I have tight control. I have a firm, authoritative, make-it-happen attitude.”
FAMILY
Power met his wife through construction. She was a construction buyer and now runs jobs for a drywall company. Together, they have two children. A daughter in Virginia who is married to the county sheriff, and a son who is a captain in the Marine Corp. He also has five grandchildren, all female.
ANY TRADITIONS ON THE JOB?
Along with The Carlington renovations came a new concept called the Royal Order of the Pink Hat. It is bestowed upon those contractors who do not complete a project on time. “We have a meeting every Tuesday morning, and I ask for completion dates from contractors. At the next meeting, I review the minutes for commitments.” If the contractor has failed to honor his commitment, he has to wear the fluorescent pink hard hat. “The point is that no one wants in. No one wants to wear a prissy pink hat. It makes sure people keeps their commitments.”
— by Tammy Taylor