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.”
Their two main commercial projects right now are Kendall Town Center in Regency and Bartram Walk, located on the corner of State Road 13 and Racetrack Road.
“Primarily what I do is keep track of those projects and make sure they are on schedule, check on permitting and deal with all the engineers and contractors. I go to a lot of meetings.” Once the building is completed, they turn them over to a leasing company who will manage the leases and tenants.
HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR 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. But, primarily, we do use a lot of Realtors.”
BEFORE GATE?
She was a certified legal assistant (paralegal) at the Jacksonville 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.
“I love dirt. I love commercial real estate. It’s great and fun. I used to call it happy law because, at the end of the day, someone had their dirt and someone had their loan and everyone walked away happy. I contacted Ken and told him I was thinking about getting out of the legal aspect of what I do and what he thought my options might be on the outside world. He said, ‘Well, it just happens that I’m in need and if you are serious about changing why don’t you come over here?’”
HOW DOES HER PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE HELP HER NOW?
“It helped me by understanding how real estate transactions work, how you acquire land, what goes into buying land, what kind of issues come up in negotiating a contract and due diligence. Anytime you go to buy a piece of raw land, you want to make sure you are going to be able to do what you want to do on that property.”
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.”
ONE BEST THING THAT YOU COULD TELL A REALTOR?
“To know your property and know your market.”
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 putting on and participating in related charity events. She also enjoys gardening and attending Jaguar football 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.
- by Michele Newbern Gillis