Becky Mariotti is the new project manager at GL National, Inc., a subsidiary and commercial land arm of Gate Petroleum.
WHAT DOES SHE DO?
“I’ve discovered that project management is primarily just managing people, resources and keeping an eye on our costs. We have a couple of projects coming out of the ground right now. We go in, buy raw land and do the development of the site. This includes putting in the infrastructure, which are the utilities, roadways and so forth. We deal with the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, JEA, and Florida Department of Transportation and we hire consultants to come in and do all that work including engineers, contractors, civil engineers and environmental people.”
HOW DOES SHE
LIKE HER NEW JOB?
Mariotti started in her new position in July. “Basically what I have found in my new position is that you need to organize things, manage people and get things done. It’s turned out to be something that I enjoy very much.”
GATE PROJECTS?
GL National, Inc. develops commercial, retail and land. A few of Gate’s commercial projects completed in Jacksonville include Deerwood Center, The Shoppes of Ponte Vedra, Gate Maritime, Deerwood Park, Southpoint Business Center and Riverplace Tower. They also own and operate four clubs including The Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, Epping Forest Yacht Club, The River Club and The Lodge & Club.
HOW DOES
GATE FIND LAND?
“We are very in a very unique situation in that, since we are a privately held company, we are able to move on property pretty quickly once we find something. What I found is that people just bring us dirt all the time. We are working on a couple of properties right now, both of which were brought to our attention.”
BEFORE GATE?
She was a certified legal assistant (paralegal) at the law firm of Rogers Towers for 21 years in the area of commercial real estate.
HOW’D SHE GET
THE JOB AT GATE?
“I’ve known the people at Gate for the whole 21 years I was at Rogers Towers. Ken Wilson, president of GL National, Inc. and I worked together over the years on all of their commercial land transactions. I got to a point in my career where I had done what I had done for 21 years. While I enjoyed my work, I just came to a point in my life where I needed to decide if this is what I wanted to do for the next 21 years of my life. I decided if I was going to make a move, it needed to be soon.”
PRIOR TO ROGERS TOWERS?
She worked for Randy Hardy at Coordinated Programs, Inc. “He is an insurance and benefits provider for big companies.”
FAVORITE THING ABOUT HER NEW JOB?
“Road trips. I am a people person and I enjoy meeting new people. I enjoy meeting with our consultants on site, seeing a project born and watching it come to fruition. I love seeing a piece of raw land turn into something beautiful.”
LESSONS LEARNED?
“The most important lesson that I have learned is that nothing stays on schedule in construction and development and everything will cost more than it was originally contracted.”
HOME
North Carolina.
MOVED TO JACKSONVILLE?
In 1981.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS?
Commercial Real Estate Women of Jacksonville, National Association of Legal Assistants, Northeast Florida Paralegal Association, co-founder, president and executive director of Foundation for Motorcycle Awareness, Wayne’s World Charities, Harley Owner’s Group.
PERSONAL SIDE
When Mariotti is not working, she enjoys riding her Harley-Davidson motorcycle with friends and and participating in related charity events. She also enjoys gardening and attending Jaguars games. When traveling, she enjoys visiting the Keys or the mountains. Her favorite dish is the Sea Bass at Pom’s Thai Bistro in San Marco. Mariotti lives in Beauclerc with her fiancé’ Curtis Hamilton, a mail handler for the U.S. Postal Service and a fellow motorcyclist.