2024 Letter from the CEO

The birth of GRA happened because of the single most significant desire – Freedom.

Freedom to unleash creative talent free from critical eyes. Freedom to continuous learning through trial and error, unbounded by the number of attempts. Freedom to experience setbacks without being criticized. And most importantly, the freedom to engage in just actions without hindrance.

In January 2020, I decided to pursue my newfound desire to start a construction business. And that’s how GRA was formed.

Despite not knowing anything about construction and not having mentors or partners, I bought my first distressed property in Audubon, NJ. Everything was first, from vetting the contractors to creating a scope of work and understanding that certain work requires something called permits and that there is a place called the building department. I learned the hard way that if you pay $15K to your contractor before the start of the work, you may never see them again. Everything was new, and every business step required new skills to learn. The motivation to endure such and many other challenges was Freedom! Freedom to build exemplary homes with the highest standards for our clientele.

Today, GRA is an established organization. We have dedicated General Contractors & Subs, Architects, Designers, Planners, Accountants, Real Estate Agents, and a whole barrage of people who work together to build homes of the utmost quality.

Quality is our brand.

Everyone, including myself, has the privilege of striving for and achieving peak personal efficacy in their work. Now that I am not in the trenches, I am focused on building a company environment where our employees and associates are allowed to have freedom.

Our designers are encouraged to express their creativity without the subjectivity of evaluation. Our Architects then take those creative ideas and create unique & dazzling plans, which our GCs take to create and deliver top-tier residential spaces with unwavering quality commitment. When we win, we win as a team, and when we fail, we all fail together as a team, and we celebrate both occasions.

As we enter 2024, we have a lot of work to do, and we can't do it alone. We are looking for people who align with our vision and core values and want to join the GRA family. We are striving not to hire but to empower, where we all look each other in the eyes and say unanimously: “This is how we do it here when we are at our absolute best.”