Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Cocozza.
Hi Michael, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
As a Sarasota native, I grew up working with my father who was a general contractor who specialized in renovations, restorations, and structural repair. My father was a man who operated with integrity and had a firm belief in building above code and to the highest level of quality. We worked with my father from an early age and every part of the building fascinated me. There’s something about using your two hands, brain, and muscle to bring a two-dimensional set of plans into a three-dimensional reality. Having the opportunity to learn how to do it from your father was a privilege not many are afforded. Learning how to do it correctly, including each scope of work or part of the build is a blessing.
Using the skills, knowledge, and experience I gained from working for my father, I set out to start my own company. My father preferred to keep his company small and I had dreams of one day becoming Sarasota’s premiere luxury home builder. This doesn’t happen overnight. My twin brother, Jesse, and I started a custom framing and finish carpentry business together around the same time I studied and sat for my contractors’ license. We worked hard to secure contracts to build for the builders who we admired most. Working together for nearly a decade, we gained a lot of insight into how luxury homes should be built. At the same time, we were growing our contracting business by taking on renovations and smaller projects.
Every project afforded us the opportunity to learn more, perfect our craft more, and more importantly, find more ways to “delight our clients.” I have heard the saying, “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” many times over the years and I realized, we were doing exactly that. No matter how many weeks we worked 60+ hours a week, it never felt like work. We found our mission, Our mission is to provide a custom-building experience that vastly exceeds our client’s expectations by recognizing that quality can only be achieved through integrity, transparency, and organization.
By 2018 we had some great projects under our belt and were recognized by a well-known architecture magazine by being awarded the cover shot for one of our projects. Nothing has been the same since. By implementing processes and systems within our company that were unique to the industry we were able to grow our business rapidly while not sacrificing quality. Around this time, we are able to bring on some of the area’s most talented building professionals to assist us in our goal of becoming Sarasota’s premier luxury home builder.
In 2019 we broke ground on what is arguably one of Sarasota’s most unique waterfront homes. “The sand dune house” is located at 1 John Ringling Blvd. By using BIM modeling, a pre-construction process of building the home virtually in three dimension software, we were able to construct an incredibly complex home with and complete with the area’s best builders.
I have been given the opportunity to build the sand dune house, our exposure to the area’s best architects began to grow and more opportunities became available to us. From 2018 to 2023 we went from a company of two to a company of thirty. In 2022 we were recognized by the Tampa Bay Business Journal as the 27th fastest-growing company in Tampa Bay.
In 2023, we are starting the year with nearly two years’ worth of custom homes on the books and a team stronger than ever.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Nothing worth achieving ever comes easy.
Our industry suffered significant setbacks as did many when the covid pandemic hit. Materials were at times, unavailable entirely, material pricing skyrocketed, and staffing was extremely challenging. Attempting to be sympathetic to the situation while simultaneously working to complete your client’s projects was extremely difficult.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Trinity Construction & Design, LLC?
Trinity Construction & Design is a Sarasota-based custom home-building firm. Started in 2010 by Michael Cocozza.
Trinity Construction & Design has focused on four primary points of focus. Integrity, Transparency, Organization, and Quality. We believe that the home building or renovation process should be an enjoyable one and with a focus on these four areas, we can ensure a successful project, every time.
Integrity to us is doing the right thing, no matter what, and always following through on what we say we will do. Making this a priority in our business and for each project, gives our clients the comfort they need to enjoy the construction process. We practice integrity by being responsive to clients’ requests, never cutting corners, and fulfilling our promises. This does not end with just our clients, it also carries on to our relationships with our trade partners and vendors. Having built a great network of trade partners and vendors in Sarasota, we set the example to ensure our trade partners are operating with integrity as well.
Transparency is the first thing we often hear is lacking in previous experiences our clients have had with other builders. Understanding how crucial it is for our clients to be aware of project finances, project scheduling, and project details, we have made transparency a major part of our business. Whether using our online project management software with real-time budget accounting available to our clients 24-7 or complete cloud access to all pertinent project documents, we operate completely open book. This level of transparency gives our clients the trust needed to become the foundation for a successful project.
The organization is paramount in the custom home-building process. We have developed processes and procedures to ensure that every person involved in a project from our team, trade partners, design professionals, and vendors has every detail needed to ensure a quality product. Our firm utilizes a highly organized cloud-based file management system that allows our team, clients, and trade partners to have every necessary document available to them at the click of a button. Each member of our team utilizes laptops and tablets in the field to gain access to plans, proposals, and schedules on a daily basis.
The organization also means being prepared for the job. Each custom home we build starts with our three-dimensional modeling process. This process involves merging the architectural and structural plans for the project into a three-dimensional BIM model. Through this process, we are able to achieve a comprehensive study of the home to ensure that the plans are accurate and that we achieve a full understanding of both the designer’s intent as well as the engineer’s plans. Through this process, we are able to understand each project to the square inch and plan for accuracy within 1/16th of an inch. We are able to virtually build each home to ensure our process is planned to perfection prior to even breaking ground. These three-dimensional models give us the ability to complete takes-offs with the highest accuracy to ensure our bids are accurate. They also allow us to be detailed ad thorough while discussing details with clients, trade partners, and design professionals.
Quality is the expectation of each and every project we are a part of. We believe that quality is the result and only can be achieved by operating with integrity, transparency, and organization.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you.
Luck is what you make of it.
In this business, like many other businesses, it’s not so much about what you know but who you know. Building and maintaining good relationships and operating with integrity go a long way in keeping good standing with those who can help you. We depend on our relationships heavily as building a home is not a one-person task.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sarasotacustomhomebuilder.com
- Instagram: @trinityconstructionanddesign
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrinityConstructionAndDesign
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCETUQOCrz8KbFKo6eaC-mQg
default
Image Credits
Ryan Gamma Photography
