By: William Jones

South Florida Contractor Focuses on Accelerated Delivery in Occupied Facilities

Avante Construction has shifted its business mix over the past several years to concentrate on projects where schedule compression and stakeholder complexity can create competitive advantages. The Delray Beach-based general contractor, which maintains 45 years of combined team experience and operates as a Florida-licensed certified general contractor, now derives the majority of its revenue from occupied facility renovations and developer partnerships, where traditional sequential construction may prove economically inefficient.

Mike Mondelli, who leads the company as President, spent two decades in real estate acquisition and disposition before transitioning fully to the construction side. His background includes work with FlipHomesToday.com and extensive property investment experience. That real estate perspective shapes Avante’s current approach: the firm underwrites projects based on the total cost of occupancy rather than construction cost alone, which has led to a systematic focus on cycle time reduction.

The leadership team includes Vice President Trevor Morien, who manages complex project execution from inception to completion and maintains relationships with developers, architects, and engineers across South Florida markets. Christine Holt serves as CGC Qualifier and General Manager, overseeing business operations, contract negotiations, and operational efficiency. The company reports that referrals account for the majority of its business—a metric that reflects a pattern of client satisfaction in markets where reputation drives deal flow.

“We started analyzing where money actually gets lost in construction,” Mondelli said. “It’s rarely the hard costs. It’s carrying costs, lost revenue during renovation, and coordination failures that extend timelines. Once you see that, you can build the business differently.”

Business Model Centers on Schedule Compression

Avante’s current portfolio reflects this thesis. The company maintains ongoing relationships with several commercial real estate developers in South Florida, handling both base building work and subsequent tenant improvements. A typical engagement involves delivering a white box shell, then executing tenant-specific buildouts as spaces lease—a model that requires maintaining flexibility in resource allocation while meeting developer timelines tied to lease commencement dates.

Recent projects include a 3,000-square-foot professional office tenant improvement in Lantana and ongoing work in West Palm Beach. The residential side of the business, which Mondelli describes as selective, focuses exclusively on projects exceeding $500,000, where the scope includes structural modifications, high-end finishes, and compressed schedules. One current residential project carries a $100,000 millwork package alone—a scale that demands the same trade coordination and procurement discipline as commercial work.

The more significant shift has come in hospitality and institutional work. Avante recently completed a $2 million renovation at Gallery One Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, covering eight restrooms, three bars, front desk areas, restaurant spaces, and comprehensive finish work. The project required phased execution to maintain hotel operations throughout construction—a constraint that ironically suited Avante’s operational model.

Currently in progress is a $6 million common area renovation at a Fort Lauderdale condominium complex. The project encompasses multiple building systems, finish upgrades across shared spaces, and coordination with an active HOA and hundreds of resident stakeholders.

Operational Approach Emphasizes Parallel Paths

The company’s approach to project execution differs from traditional general contractor sequencing. Rather than completing one trade before initiating the next, Avante structures work packages to run simultaneously wherever physically possible. In practice, this means site work, envelope modifications, and interior rough-ins often proceed in parallel rather than in sequence.

“The construction industry defaults to sequential execution because it’s easier to manage,” Mondelli said. “But sequential execution in a 60-day residential renovation or a phased hotel project is a luxury you can’t afford. We’ve built systems around parallel execution because that’s where the economic value is.”

The company maintains what it describes as an in-house estimating department—unusual for a contractor at this scale—which provides detailed cost breakdowns and financial planning support to clients. This capability supports Avante’s value proposition around total project cost rather than lowest bid, providing transparency into cost drivers that matter for clients evaluating time-sensitive projects.

Avante maintains what Mondelli describes as a “curated” subcontractor network—not simply a bid list, but ongoing relationships with trade contractors who can maintain quality under compressed schedules and adapt to dynamic project conditions. The company does not deploy trades outside their specialization, viewing that as a false economy that creates quality issues and delays. The firm’s comprehensive safety, health, and environmental program addresses the regulatory and risk management requirements that come with commercial work and occupied facility projects.

The occupied facility’s work demands additional operational infrastructure beyond standard construction management. Avante has developed protocols for resident communication, construction access in occupied buildings, contamination control, and rapid response to stakeholder concerns. These capabilities have been a competitive differentiator as the company pursues larger institutional projects where stakeholder management complexity increases with project scale.

Financial Model Tied to Velocity

The business model depends on project velocity. Mondelli is direct about the economics: extended timelines on fixed-price contracts can erode margins rapidly. A residential renovation budgeted for 60 days that extends to a year typically loses money regardless of change order recovery. The same dynamic exists in occupied facility work, where extended construction disruption creates friction with building ownership and management.

This focus on cycle time has implications for how Avante bids work. The company typically prices projects with the assumption that trades will work in parallel and that coordination overhead will be higher than the industry standard. For clients focused purely on low-bid procurement, Avante frequently does not win. For clients evaluating total project cost, including time-related expenses, the value proposition becomes clearer.

“We’re not the low bidder,” Mondelli acknowledged. “But we’re often the low-cost solution when clients account for their own costs during construction. A hotel losing revenue during extended construction cares more about the substantial completion date than the bid price.”

Market Position and Growth Trajectory

The company operates in a market segment where reputation and relationships matter more than scale. Avante has been recognized within industry circles—including selection by Next Wave Marketing as a top real estate professional spotlighting Mondelli’s leadership—though such accolades matter less than repeat client relationships in construction markets. Commercial developers working with Avante on tenant improvements return for subsequent projects. Hospitality clients facing renovation requirements in occupied properties seek contractors with demonstrated capability in that specific environment.

Past work has included automotive dealership projects (Acura/Genesis and Hyundai facilities) and residential developments such as Wellington Bay and Wellington Senior Living Community, indicating capability across both commercial and residential institutional work. The company’s positioning in the post-2008 Palm Beach construction recovery has established relationships that continue to generate work as the market has matured.

Mondelli sees the current business mix as sustainable but not necessarily the end state. The $6 million condominium project represents the upper end of Avante’s current project scale. Larger institutional work would require additional infrastructure—project management depth, bonding capacity, and formal quality management systems—that the company is evaluating.

“We’re at an inflection point,” Mondelli said. “We’ve proven the operational model works at this scale. The question is whether we build the infrastructure to pursue $10 million to $20 million projects, or whether we optimize the current model and focus on throughput rather than project size.”

The South Florida commercial construction market continues to offer opportunities in both directions. Hospitality renovation remains active as properties pursue repositioning or brand standard updates. Condominium common area work has increased as aging buildings face deferred maintenance and modernization requirements. Commercial tenant improvement work follows office absorption, which remains uneven across submarkets.

For now, Avante continues to execute its core model: accelerated delivery through parallel path construction, selective project pursuit where stakeholder complexity creates competitive advantage, and a financial approach that treats schedule as a first-order variable rather than an afterthought.

The company’s track record suggests the approach has likely proven beneficial. Projects are delivered on schedule, clients return, and the business continues to win work in segments where operational capability matters more than bid price. Whether that translates to scaled growth or optimized throughput remains an open question—one that Mondelli appears comfortable leaving unresolved for now.

“We know what we’re good at,” he said. “The market will determine whether that’s a $10 million revenue business or a $50 million revenue business. Either way, the operational principles don’t change.”