South Florida Construction + Design Firm Sees Success in Just Three Months

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorAventura, Fla.–In its first three months, LBC Design + Construction, an Aventura, Fla.-based decorating, creative consulting and construction planning firm, has been commissioned for $2.65 million worth of new business, modeling and decorating in South Florida.”We’re kind of an all-inclusive company,” says Louis Cohen, founder and principal of LBC Design, who formed LBC Design + Construction with Jason Shelley, vice president and general contractor at Shelby Homes. “We have really every service one might need within our company. We do everything from custom remodeling, home building and interiors. We do commercial work for lobbies, clubhouses, retail and office space,” Cohen tells MHN.Specifically, LBC Design + Construction offers a wide range of services that include construction document drafting, permitting, material selection and specification, electrical integration, project management, daily onsite labor supervision and move in and concierge service.Cohen and Shelley had worked together over the years, with Cohen using Shelby Homes as his general contractor on a number of projects. The two decided to merge their expertise to create a so-called one-stop shop for clients, which they formed in February of this year.Among LBC’s multifamily projects are the 210-unit BellaMare (pictured) and the 250-unit Hamptons South, both luxury condominiums. “The ability to come in and offer a product that is completed is a big draw for developers,” Cohen says, adding that South Florida has seen a large influx of foreign buyers and that turnkey options are huge selling points.The advantage to this all-encompassing firm, explains Cohen, is that a client only has to hire one company, thus paying only one set of fees. As a result, “It leaves us in the position of due diligence, and there’s no separation between what’s on paper and what’s created,” Cohen says.Furthermore, what makes LBC Design + Construction different from other full service firms is the size of the company, with eight full-time staff members, in addition to a number of external staff from Shelby.”What we find in our formula and the nature of the business and the type of business is that the client is still looking for a personalized relationship. You’re holding the responsibility that is something that is single-handedly the most important possession to most people,” Cohen asserts. Additionally, “A lot of smaller companies don’t have the infrastructure behind them to form a secure relationship with the client.”