Executive Profile: Devin Kulka

Devin Kulka has learned the construction business from the ground up. The son of Jack Kulka, who founded Kulka Construction nearly 40 years ago, Devin Kulka started out as concrete laborer before rising through the ranks of his father’s firm.

With his dad hampered by health issues, the young Kulka was pressed into service running the company’s day-to-day operations.Now CEO, Kulka has rebranded the firm as The Kulka Group, expanding its services to offer general contracting, real estate development and capital consulting for real estate developers, in addition to its original focus on construction management.

What is construction management? Construction management is a method of construction where we manage the entire project every step of the way, almost as an owner’s rep. I think it’s very successful because we get a flat fee to manage the project and the client will never get charged for any change orders. So the client always knows we have their best interest at heart along the entire process. It’s pretty much an owner’s rep that helps them with everything, from getting the approvals all the way to receiving a certificate of occupancy.

How did you start working for your dad’s company? Growing up I actually didn’t want to get involved in the family business. I wanted to be a sports agent. I figured if I couldn’t make it as a pro athlete, why not represent them. I was always working for subcontractors of my father’s during high school and college summers. Finally when I graduated, I realized I had a wonderful opportunity in front of me that I could follow in my father’s footsteps while tweaking his style of management. Originally, he put me out in the field, working for a carpenter subcontractor of his, I then started working as an assistant super for Kulka and five years later I’m now running the day-to-day operations with my father.

What new services have you begun offering since you joined the executive management team? Since I joined the executive management team I’m really pushing real estate development. We’ve done development in the past, but really we have always built for other people. I think within our repertoire we should be building for our family and our team, so real estate development I’ve been really pushing and during the past three years I’ve gotten the ball rolling on three pretty significant developments that will change the Long Island landscape. When the time comes I would love to discuss that with you, but it’s a little premature.

What are some recent projects you’ve completed on Long Island? The most high-profile project was Amneal Pharmaceuticals, which was a 360,000-square-foot expansion within the Town of Brookhaven. We recently completed a hotel extension in Rockville Centre. We completed a perfume distribution center in the Town of Islip and we completed a mixed-use project on the water in Roslyn, where we had 20 residential units and some retail on the first level.

What interior and exterior features are your clients asking for lately? Internally, we’re seeing a lot of open spaces with no drop ceilings. That leaves the ductwork and all the utilities exposed, but if you clean it up nice it gives you that Soho-loft feeling and it actually saves the client some money while giving it the trendy look where we don’t have to cover up the ductwork. Externally, clients are doing away with brick and block and we’re seeing a lot of EFIS (exterior insulation and finish system) these days. You can do a lot with EFIS and getting away from the edges gives it a more modern feel to the building.

Why is it considerably more expensive to build on Long Island than other parts of the country? Life here on Long Island is more expensive in general. Real estate costs more, labor costs more, everything costs more on Long Island. It’s one of the greatest places, but everything’s more expensive. Everything adds to the cost of construction, but you are also going to get a higher return on investment, so you might be paying more upfront, but

you’re making more on the back end.

How is your company’s relationship with the building trades unions? We have a great relationship with the trade unions. I personally grew up in a blue collar neighborhood and most of my friends work in unions. So I have a lot of respect for the unions and I understand the importance of them. Generally, my father has always kept a good relationship with the unions and I continue to do so.

How can a business save money by building green? It may cost a business a little bit more money upfront to build green, but there are a number of rebates available from PSEG and also the energy savings pays off pretty quickly. At Amneal we achieved LEED certification. Amneal has a state-of-the-art geothermal system incorporated in that building which produced significant savings. At the perfume distribution center we worked with SUNation in order to install the second largest private rooftop solar system in New York and the cost of installing the system will be paid off in energy savings within a couple of years. It may be a little more costly up front, but overall you’ll see the energy savings pretty quickly.

With the dearth of modern industrial buildings here, is it becoming economically feasible to raise the roof on older buildings to accommodate today’s warehousing and distributing needs? Yes, I do think it’s economically feasible to raise the roof on older buildings. Land is sometimes hard to come by these days, but for instance in the Hauppauge Industrial Park, the second largest industrial park in the country, my father worked with the Hauppauge Industrial Association to lead the way in creating an overlay district for the industrial park which allowed property owners and businesses to extend vertically from 35 feet to 50 feet and even as high as 62 feet on Motor Parkway.