A reputation built on trust and mutual respect has given Jersen Construction Group staying power in the industry, to the tune of over 40 years. John R. Jersen founded Jersen Construction Group in 1983, and from the beginning provided true general contracting services to satisfied customers across both the private and public sectors. Among the very few in the industry, John brought his expertise as an engineer, self-performing a large majority of the actual construction work, resulting in higher quality, enhanced safety, and improved schedules.
Since 2007, John’s sons, Ken and Dave, have built on the foundation their father laid to grow the company exponentially. It now serves a roster of clients across New York State in Advanced Technology, Industrial, Commercial, Education, and Multi-Unit Residential industries.
After four decades, this family-owned and operated business has built an impressive reputation among clients, built on a history of responsive service, competitive pricing, and superior quality. Guided by two core values: trust and mutual respect, everyone from employees to vendors, sub-contractors to clients all know that a job with Jersen is one that will go smoothly, delivering the highest quality product every time.
“I like to say we are a no-nonsense contractor,” says Chris Lepkowski, Vice President of Jersen Construction. “We’re expert builders and are often able to lower project costs through value engineering and one-stop-shop services.”
At Jersen, project timelines remain consistently on track and under budget thanks to its fleet of modern construction equipment, and in-house expertise to self-perform sitework, concrete, masonry, and carpentry scopes. After 40 years in the industry, they have fostered strategic partnerships with highly qualified subcontractors and consultants to provide creative turn‐key solutions to even the most complex projects. What’s more, Jersen recognizes that its people are its most important asset, and as a result have low rates of turnover, with the majority of staff and our staff having decades of tenure under their belts. Jersen lives its values, inside and out.
“Jersen recognizes that its people are its most important asset, and as a result have low rates of turnover, with the majority of staff and our staff having decades of tenure under their belts. Jersen lives its values, inside and out.”
Chris Lepkowski 
“We provide the hands-on approach you need with high-attention to detail,” Chris adds.
The company has become known as a primarily hard-bid public work general contractor in New York State, where it conducts all of its business, despite completing many large-scale projects for private clients, too. This hard-bid mentality, Chris says, allows Jersen to focus on lowering construction costs while still meeting the project goals such as quality, schedule, and safety.
“It also drives us to self-perform as much scope as possible, often providing more control of the project,” he adds. Of course, with their expertise in civil and concrete work, they have the capabilities to ensure the project always gets out of the ground quickly, leveraging a trusted network of quality subcontractors to pick up where they leave off.
Of course, despite Jersen’s continued success, the company is not immune to many of the same challenges plaguing the construction industry across North America. Things like rising inflation, cost of materials exacerbated by the pandemic, and a shortage of skilled labor as industry veterans inch closer to retirement.
Thankfully, Jersen has an established and experienced workforce, with a number of employees spending their entire careers at the company. This in-house experience is an integral part of navigating ongoing industry challenges and allows the company to continue delivering the high-quality projects it is known for. Take for example The Hudson project at 1475 Washington, which began in 2022 and will be completed this Summer. The project had an impressive $55 million budget and when all was said and done, featured 295,929 square feet and 556 beds. Jersen had to manage a very long pre-construction period, after starting work on the project pre-COVID in 2019, with the first estimate provided in December of that year with a slew of cost saving ideas. One such idea was the purchase of over $3 million in wood framing at the end of 2021 while the market was down. These materials were then stored in the Jersen yard. Given the cost of materials, wood in particular, had been at an all-time high, and the supply chain was seeing countless disruptions due to ongoing pandemic-related trucker strikes, this decision was made to secure the project budget and ensure the highest value for the client. It was a risk but those at Jersen, armed with decades of experience, made the decision to protect the integrity of the project budget and timeline.
Over the years, the company has developed a strong relationship with the lumber salesman and area managers, eventually negotiating a lower rate to guarantee the huge order to outfit The Hudson project.
Other impressive Multi-Unit Residential projects include the recently completed student housing complex, Block 75, formerly The Aspen. The complex features 200,000 square feet of story wood frame, featuring 4-stories of live-in dormitory space in addition to a fitness center, tanning room, study rooms, conference room, business center, game room, and courtyard. The building itself sits atop a two-level, cast-in-place parking garage. Similarly, another Multi-Unit Residential on 1385 Washington was The Auden, wrapping up in 2018 and featuring 321 beds and 143,885 square feet.
The Aspen The Auden
Through all of these projects, the team at Jersen worked through a lot of collaborative planning and coordination with owners, subcontractors, and suppliers.
Now, however, the future is rife with three over-arching development goals. At the heart of this is a strategy to address the loss of the committed, expert team members who are reaching retirement age. “One, we want to continue to over-deliver for our customers. Two we want to continue to recruit, train, and retain the very best people at every level in the office and in the field. Three, we want to continue controlled growth by focusing on expanding both our services and our geographical reach.”
Presently, the company plans to take advantage of the boom in the Advanced Technology Sector right in their own back yard. “With the investments from the Federal & State Governments, along with private enterprise, there will be several multi-billion-dollar mega-projects coming to the Capital Region of New York,” says Chris. These projects not only bring thousands of construction jobs to the area, but will bring thousands of full-time, high-paying salary positions, and they all require housing. Jersen is expertly positioned for these contracts given their track record on every semi-conductor project in the region so far, and the company’s proven ability to develop and build multi-unit residential housing.
“We’re just really excited for the future.”
If you’re in New York State and looking for a no-nonsense general contractor, fill out the contact form for more information.
