NEW WEST.

qxd:Layout 1 1/20/09 10:37 AM Page 212

NEW WEST CONSTRUCTION – 1555 WABASH

The 1555 Wabash building will be featured on
“Project Extreme,” a reality TV series on the
DIY Network.

New West Meets its Goals

Chicago-based contractor New West Construction says it is on budget and on schedule to finish building
the 1555 Wabash project this spring. The 15-story project will feature 176 residential units.

By Alan Dorich These have included schools and convents, as well as rehabs

W ith its experience as a developer, New West

Construction is more attuned to its clients’
needs than other general contractors, Executive
Vice President J.P. Sanavaitis says. “We’ve taken that expertise
and used it in-house,” he notes.
of commercial property and hospitals into residential use.

For instance, “We’re aware of the costs ... [and] the time
restraints [on projects],” he says, noting that the company
shows its clients ways to save both money and time. “Be it
a commercial job or residential job, [time] is very impor-
tant to everybody.”
Originally, New West Construction was a division of
New West Realty, a Chicago-based real-
New West Construction –
1555 Wabash estate company. Today, as a separate firm,
www.nwrgc.com “We do work for other people besides
Project budget: $39 million New West Realty,” Sanavaitis says, noting
Location: Chicago
Project scope: 14-story mid- that its specialties include residential,
rise building commercial and high-rise construction.
J.P. Sanavaitis: “[We are] the In the past three years, the company
only building at the moment
that’s really under construction has completed more than $50 million in
in [Chicago’s] South Loop.” new construction and rehab development.
A Seasoned Veteran
Sanavaitis joined New West Realty in 2001 and took his
current role in 2007. Previously, he had operated his own
general contracting firm, which completed rehabilitation
work for numerous real estate development companies,
primarily in the Uptown and Lincoln Park neighborhoods
of Chicago. “[I later] started doing condos and high-rises in
the mid-’90s for different small developers,” he recalls.
At New West Construction, Sanavaitis says he has focused
on implementing new technology, including Prolog, a project
management system. Before, “[The company] really was
not systematic,” he recalls. “[I] wanted [it] to run more as
a general contractor than a building division.”
1555 Wabash
New West Construction is at work on 1555 Wabash, a 15-
story, mid-rise building in Chicago that will feature 176 res-
idential units and more than 10,000 square feet of com-

212 ■ WWW.CONSTRUCTION-TODAY.COM ■ FEBRUARY 2009