Condo Media - October 2014 - 38

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT

RMX Northeast and
Landmark Associates
Complementary Businesses Offering Full-Service Exterior Design, Consulting, Building Construction, and Restoration
by Pamela Schweppe

ave you ever wondered what it
would be like to be the younger
sibling of David Ortiz? Or Julia
Roberts? Or Bill Gates? You get
the idea. The fact that you are highly accomplished in your own right might well
be overshadowed by your better-known
counterpart.
The same can sometimes be said of
companies. Take Landmark Associates,
for example. While sister company RMX
Northeast is well known throughout the
condominium industry in New England,
Landmark has an equally successful track
record for serving condominium associations - but in a different way.

Finding a Need and Filling It

Both companies are the brainchildren of
Tony Chiarelli, a 30-year construction
professional who began focusing on the
condominium industry in 1995. As senior project manager for a large construction company, he was well positioned to
see how projects were being specified -
and how it could be done better.
"I realized a lot of projects were being brought in that didn't match what
needed to happen at the property," he
says. "They were either overstated or understated." Especially in the days before
widespread use of the Internet, many
designers were relying on manufacturers' specifications without realizing how
they could be customized for a particular
property. "There were a lot of square
pegs going into round holes," Chiarelli
recalls, "which resulted in a lot of change
orders, paperwork, and extra charges."
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In 2003, he opened a consulting
business for property managers to help
guide them toward the most appropriate
solutions for their associations' needs.
That business became RMX Northeast, a
full-service building envelope consulting
and engineering firm that provides studies and evaluations, project design and
specifications, project oversight and management, and expert witness testimony.
"We deal with anything to do with the
outside of the building, from analyzing
the existing conditions to coming up
with remediation designs, if it's warranted," Chiarelli explains. "That includes
siding, façades, roofs, windows, decks,
waterproofing - anything that keeps the
weather out."

A Tale of Two Companies

As RMX Northeast grew, property
managers began turning to Chiarelli
for matters outside the scope of the
company - especially in emergency
situations. "Sometimes property managers would call on us to consult on
next steps," he says. "Ultimately, what
they were looking for was someone to
manage the construction job. In essence, what they were looking for was a
general contractor."
With his background in construction,
Chiarelli was well equipped to provide
that service - but not through RMX
Northeast. The mission, operation,
and expertise of a general contractor are very different from those of
a consulting firm - not to mention
other requirements, such as insurance.

A separate company was needed, so
Landmark Associates was created.
A full-service general contractor,
Landmark works primarily in the restoration or renovation of both residential
and commercial properties - inside
and out. The company relies primarily on its own in-house staff of skilled
workers to provide siding, gutters, trim,
decking, kitchens, bathrooms, flooring,
custom cabinetry, and more. Landmark's
resources also include a vendor list of
reliable subcontractors such as licensed
electricians and plumbers to supplement
their work.
Landmark is also well versed in dealing
with insurance claim projects. A specialty
is handling restoration services after a
disaster such as a fire or massive water
damage, once the disaster restoration
firms have done the initial clean-up. And
that means dealing with insurance.
"There are a lot of nuances to dealing
with insurance companies," says Amy Cafazzo, Landmark and RMX's marketing
specialist. "Landmark is able to navigate
that and help their clients get through
the process more smoothly. Their goal
is to be smart with the money insurance
companies are allowing them and complete the job - sometimes even beyond
the client's expectations."
A case in point is Regency Park, a
226-unit luxury condominium complex
in Brookline, Mass. When a water pipe
broke in a vacant unit in the middle
of the night, no one realized it until it
flooded the gym two floors below. "It
did quite a bit of damage," says Prop-

Condo Media - October 2014

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