Innovative contractor The Cocozza Group is taking NYC by storm with its ‘budget lease design build’ process
Since its inception in 2012, The Cocozza Group (Cocozza) has specialized in ground floor construction in New York City, including retail spaces, restaurants and spas. “Over the last ten years, our evolution has been focused specifically on independent and chef-driven restaurants, which are incredibly popular in New York,” explains Reed MacNoughton, Managing Director of Cocozza. “There’s a lot of specialty work involved, due to kitchen exhaust and fire regulations, so we’ve found comfort in being experts in that niche.
“Focusing on restaurants, we’ve spent a lot of time analyzing how projects go. During construction, you naturally encounter problems along the way. By analyzing a problem, we understand why we had to solve it and how to deal with it in the future. We found that if we were involved a little earlier, we could have avoided the problem arising in the first place. Now, we’re involved with most of our clients before they even pick a location. We help them understand the feasibility of a location before signing their lease, so they understand the scope, the cost, and the timescale for executing the project before they commit to the space.”
Proactive process
Over the past four years, Cocozza has built on its success by actively participating as part of the design team. Although it is essentially responsible for the physical construction, the company has developed its analysis process to perform ‘budget lease design build.’
Reed says: “The traditional approach to construction is known as ‘design bid build’, but we’ve modified our process to get involved from the beginning and bring the contractor in at the design stage. This allows us to maintain budget and schedule more easily, ensuring these restaurants open on time and in the right season for their operation.”
One such project is NYC-based restaurant Massara, the success of which is down to understanding its complexity, explains Reed: “This repeat client was evaluating a building which we were involved in prior to the purchase. We spent a lot of time on the feasibility of the building and after the transaction went through, the real heavy lifting began. This was due to the intricacy of the concept and the restrictions of the building. It’s a very old, narrow building with limited space and Massara required a wood burning grill, a pizza oven and a traditional hotline.
“With the difficulties of fire codes and building regulations, all three of those kitchens needed their own exhaust systems in a very small space. These were all problems which needed to be solved. Being heavily involved in the design process, we sketched the design ideas, priced them out and decided whether they were worth the cost. Making these decisions during the design process as opposed to construction meant we were in a good position to execute on the project, rather than problem-solving.”
Purposeful approach
Cocozza has further exciting projects on the horizon, as Reed shares: “We’re working on an Argentinian steakhouse which should be pretty spectacular, and a big gym concept that already has locations in Spain and Mexico. We’re currently in the design phase with these projects so our priority over the next two months is to move them from the problem-solving stage to construction.” 
Reed describes Cocozza as a small company with limited capacity per year, which means it’s very purposeful about the projects it takes on. Over the next five years, it aims to increase its network of returning clients, while inspiring new restaurant groups to work with the company on future projects.
When selecting partners to work with on these projects, Reed explains that each one is different, depending on location requirements and customer preference. “The client may have a favorite designer they want to work with, so we’ll work with that person. Other clients may have ideas but no designer, in which case we can introduce them. We’ve built well over 100 restaurants and worked with a lot of different designers, so we actively try to match the right person with the right project. For example, the design specifications of a gym will differ to a French restaurant, but it’s important to make sure that there’s a personal connection too.
“It also depends on the complexity of the project. Kitchen designers, mechanical engineers and structural engineers are all integral parts of the team. In New York, we have expediters who will file all the drawings with the cities and pull construction permits. You can also have lighting designers, sound designers and sound engineers. There’s a long list of options that we decide early on.”
Although these partnerships are integral to the success of Cocozza’s projects, Reed concludes by describing the people of the company as its real driving force: “We’re a small yet mighty team; everyone is passionate about the work we do, and everyone takes ownership of their projects. We all understand that we’re protecting people’s livelihoods, and we take that very seriously – we want to see our clients become successful.”