VOLUME 32, NUMBER 8
WWW.RBJDAILY.COM
MAY 27, 2016
PROFILE
Building on family firm’s legacy
John DiMarco II serves as president
and COO of the DiMarco Group
Photo by Kimberly McKinzie
By ANDREA DECKERT
J
ohn DiMarco II is not one for a lot of
back-and-forth on email. He prefers,
instead, to have in-person contact.
“When you’re reading something, it’s
open to interpretation,” he says. “When
you’re speaking to someone face-to-face,
there’s less chance for confusion.”
The formula appears to be working for
the DiMarco Group LLC, where DiMarco,
46, serves as president and chief operating
officer.
Established in 1910 as a general contractor, DiMarco Group has evolved over
the years into a full-service development
company.
Its family of companies include DiMarco Constructors LLC, general contracting;
Baldwin Real Estate Corp., property management; J. DiMarco Builders Inc., facilities maintenance; JD Aviation LLC, private
jet charters; and Admar Supply Co. Inc.
DiMarco, 46, oversees the overall operations for DiMarco Group and DiMarco Constructors. His brother, Joel DiMarco, leads
Reprinted with permission of the Rochester Business Journal.
Admar, which rents, sells and services light
construction equipment.
The two represent the fourth generation
to lead the family business. Their sister,
Anne Desmond, oversees the family’s charitable foundation.
John DiMarco—the father of John II and
Joel DiMarco—whose main residence is
in Florida, is still the CEO of the DiMarco
Group and continues to be involved with
the business.
Based in Brighton, the DiMarco Group
employs a total of some 500 employees.
It ranked sixth on the most recent Rochester Business Journal list of real estate
developers.
As a real estate developer, the DiMarco
Group has 1.29 million square feet of local, nonresidential space, with properties
that include Fishers Ridge, BayTowne,
Tops Brighton Plaza and Perinton Square
Mall.
DiMarco Constructors also ranked third
on the most recent Rochester Business Journal list of builders. Its projects include the
Monroe Community College downtown campus at State Street and Morrie Silver Way,
adjacent to Eastman Kodak Co.’s headquarters; and the $110 million redevelopment by
Boston-based WinnDevelpment LLC of the
Sibley building at East Main and Franklin
streets.
Direct communication, along with not
making things too complicated and involved, is helping the family-owned firm
succeed, the John DiMarco II says.
“My goal is to keep it simple,” he says.
Family firm
The family business always has been a
part of DiMarco’s life. He grew up in
Irondequoit and remembers as a youth going to local projects the company was
working on and sneaking a peek at the
progress.
Later, he would spend summers off from
high school and college working for the
business, cleaning properties and helping
to load supplies.
After graduating from McQuaid Jesuit
High School, he went to Union College in
Schenectady County, earning a bachelor of
science degree in civil engineering technology in 1992.
DiMarco then returned to the family
business. There was no pressure to join the
John DiMarco II
Title: president and chief operating
officer, the DiMarco Group LLC
Age: 46
Education: bachelor of science
degree in civil engineering
technology from Union College,
Schenectady, in 1992
Residence: Perinton
Family: Wife, Susan; sons, John III,
16, and Jason, 14; daughter, Nina, 8
Hobbies: water sports, winter skiing,
bicycling
Quote: “My goal is to keep it simple.”
company; it was simply a natural progression, he says.
He has over 20 years of experience in the
industry, coordinating architectural, engineering and construction work for a variety
of renovation and new construction projects for mixed-use, multi-residential and
commercial property.
DiMarco worked as a project manager
and estimator after college before being
named executive vice president of DiMarco Constructors. Two years later, he took
his current position.
“We are managing a lot of
moving pieces.”
DiMarco holds weekly meetings with
departments to stay on top of all parts of
the business. His typical workday starts
around 7:30 a.m. and ends at 6 p.m. It is a
time he tries to stick to so he can spend the
evenings with his family.
He chooses his words carefully.
“We can spend a lot of time complicating things,” DiMarco says of today’s world.
“In a complex world I look for the simple
answers.”
At first glance, DiMarco’s office may appear the exact opposite of that thinking. He
has piles of work papers stacked throughout the office, mixed in with family pictures and drawings done by his children.
But DiMarco says he has a system, and the
piles help keep projects organized.
The best part of the job are the people
he works with, DiMarco says, noting his is
not an automated industry, but a human
one.
He describes his leadership style as
hands-on, but not overly invasive.
“I like to see people accomplish their
goals in concert with the big picture,” he
says.
To support that, he likes to provide opportunities where people can use their talents and reach beyond their limits.
“Oftentimes, people think they can’t do
something until they try it and find out they
can,” he says.
A challenge is keeping all aspect of the
business moving along, while allowing the
process to play out.
The company often is involved in all aspects of a project, from beginning to end,
which involves working with a number of
parties and obtaining several types of state
and local permits.
“We are managing a lot of moving pieces,” he says.
A lot are big developments, often involving one hundred-plus-acre sites, DiMarco adds.
“It can take time,” he says.
DiMarco credits his father and grandfa-
Reprinted with permission of the Rochester Business Journal.
ther for helping to create a thriving family
business that supports its employees and
customers. His elders “instilled a large level of respect and work ethic” in him, DiMarco says, noting a mantra has always
been “do the right thing.”
Howie Jacobson, owner of the consulting
group Red Rock 1886 Advisors LLC, has
known DiMarco for more than 15 years.
Jacobson knows DiMarco both through
work and serving together on community
boards.
Jacobson describes DiMarco as a good
listener who is observant and committed
to not only the company, but the community, as well.
DiMarco is a hard worker, he added.
“He likes to get in there and get things
done,” Jacobson says.
Key projects
One project the DiMarco Group is moving forward with is Fishers Ridge, a lifestyle/town center project on Route 96 at
Route 251 in Victor, Ontario County. The
78-acre parcel is being developed into a
mix of retail restaurants, office and housing.
Its anchor tenant will be Bass Pro Shops,
which plans to build a 145,000-square-foot
store.
The outdoor retailer, which specializes
in hunting, fishing, camping and related
outdoor gear, will be building a large-format store there, making it the first in New
York. Bass Pro has two smaller stores in
New York, in Auburn and Utica.
The DiMarco Group is in the final stages of town approval for its site plan for
Fishers Ridge and could begin construction
this year or by spring 2017, DiMarco says.
Other notable projects include:
n Fishers Landing, a retail shopping center on Route 96 in Victor. Architectural and
landscape improvements are slated for the
site, as is additional square-footage;
n BayTowne Plaza, a shopping center on
roughly 34 acres in Penfield. Plans are in
the works to increase the square footage by
some 60,000 square feet at that site to more
than 500,000 square feet;
n Tops-Brighton Plaza, a mixed-use
property in Brighton where renovations are
underway; and
n Hampton Ridge, an 89-acre retail/
mixed use parcel on West Ridge Road in
Greece that will be increased from its current 144,000 square feet of space to roughly 580,000 square feet.
DiMarco Constructors is also involved
in local projects with additional clients.
They include a repurposing project at McQuaid, where some unused space will be
developed into a location for the school’s
science, technology, engineering and mathematics program.
DiMarco Constructors also is serving as
general contractor for Top Capital of New
York LLC’s Seniors’ Choice at Heritage
Square, an independent and assisted living
community project in Brockport. The $17.8
million project is expected to be completed this fall.
Joel DiMarco says his brother is a great
partner in business who does not take no
for an answer.
“We’re both relatively driven people,”
Joel DiMarco says. “(John) has tremendous
determination to accomplish the goals he
sets.”
Off the job
DiMarco lives in Perinton with his wife,
Susan, and their children, sons, John III, 16,
and Jason, 14, and daughter, Nina, 8.
He incorporates activities the family enjoys when together so everyone can take part.
That includes winter skiing and bicycling.
The family also enjoys taking their boat
out on Canandaigua Lake, where they have
a cottage. They take part in water sports, such
as wake surfing, in which a rider trails behind
a boat, riding the boat’s wake without being
directly pulled by the boat.
DiMarco is also active on local community boards. He serves as president of the
Italian Heritage Foundation, vice chairman
of development at the Monroe Community
College Foundation and as a board member
for Golisano Children’s Hospital.
Samuel Merlo, a retired partner at Woods
Oviatt Gilman LLP, has known DiMarco
for some 20 years. The two are both involved with the Italian Heritage Foundation
Reprinted with permission of the Rochester Business Journal.
and Merlo has provided some legal services for the DiMarco Group.
He describes DiMarco’s character as impeccable and is someone who will do what
he says he will do.
DiMarco also is able to look at a complex
business matter and reduce complexity to
simplicity, he says.
“John is a doer,” Merlo says. “Every
(project) he assumes is important to him
and he will do what is necessary to make
it successful.”
Moving forward on the job, DiMarco is
focused on continuing to grow the family
operation. While there are many facets to
the business, DiMarco says he thrives on
the activity.
“We have been accused of being overachievers,” he says.
[email protected] / 585-546-8303