Suffolk expands to Sarasota
By Henry Queen
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jul 24, 2024

Boston-based Suffolk Construction has tasked Brian Stathers with overseeing a new office in Sarasota.

Stathers returned to Suffolk in January after serving as senior project manager at Massachusetts-based Dellbrook JKS for several years. He will now lead the new Sarasota division, which has launched to meet the growing demand for projects in the aviation, education, health care, residential and hospitality sectors.

“Our Sarasota team is largely made up of individuals hailing from the local workforce, and we are proud to contribute to the continuous growth of Sarasota by nurturing relationships with both clients and the community, further stimulating economic development,” Stathers said in a statement.

A spokesperson didn't identify exactly how many employees will be located in Sarasota.

"We have already identified several significant project opportunities that are aligned with our teams and project experience," Andrew Pierce, vice president of operations, said in a statement. "Our plan is to mobilize experienced Suffolk construction professionals from Florida and throughout the country as needed, and then quickly hire more local talent to grow our Sarasota team as we grow our project portfolio."

Suffolk established a physical office presence in downtown Tampa in 2017. It is involved in some of Tampa Bay's most noteworthy commercial real estate projects, including 400 Central in downtown St. Petersburg and Gasworx in Tampa's Ybor City neighborhood.

In Sarasota, the general contractor teamed up with Belpointe OZ to build the 424-unit Aster & Links at 1991 Main Street in downtown.

Suffolk wants to take advantage of what is still a hot construction market in Sarasota despite high interest rates. U.S. News and World Report recently ranked Sarasota as the 10th fastest-growing city in the nation, and the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport is expanding amid high passenger volume.

Suffolk lists 12 office locations on its website, ranging from New York City to Estero, just south of Fort Myers. It most recently expanded to the greater Washington, D.C. area to target data center, federal government and casino projects.

The company reports roughly $5.5 billion in annual revenue, putting it among the top 20 largest general contractors in the country.