Ruscilli has remained busy in the education sector, completing projects for local universities and colleges such as Ohio State University.

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Ruscilli Construction Co. Inc. knows that part of securing contracts for some of the top projects in the Midwest takes a team that can provide full-service construction services on each and every undertaking.

Ruscilli’s services include preconstruction, construction management, design/build, design/assist, general contracting, trades contracting and construction consultation. Each step of the process is also supported by the company’s value engineering, cost-estimating and scheduling staff.

Louis G. Ruscilli Jr. founded the company in 1945 as a specialty contractor, and was later joined in business by his father, Louis Ruscilli Sr. Third-generation owner and current CEO L. Jack Ruscilli joined the company in 1967, bringing with him an understanding of design/build and construction management, and grew the business from there.

“We’re known for doing some of the biggest and best work locally,” says Louis V. “Lou” Ruscilli,  fourth-generation vice president. He operates the business along with his father L. Jack Ruscilli, as well as cousin and Vice President of Operations, Robert A. “Tony” Ruscilli, Jr. Not only does the company offer a wide range of services, it also has expertise working for clients in various industries, including healthcare, assisted living, industrial, retail, residential, hospitality, government and education.

The company says “skillful management of construction involves the blending of diverse skills into a total team environment. By managing the overall planning, design and construction components, Ruscilli professionals assure maximum value for our clients.” 

Ruscilli provides its clients with many unique construction services, including:

Preconstruction Services:

• Site feasibility studies
• Materials counseling
• Life cycle energy analysis
• Cost engineering
• Budget development
• Municipal approval/permits

Construction Services:

• Cost containment
• Manpower resource leveling
• Equipment installation
• Quality assurance
• Labor relations
• Management Information Systems
• Risk management

Value-Added Services

• Environmental assessment
• Zoning and governmental approvals
• Site selection and due diligence
• Section 1031 exchanges
• Brokerage services

Smart Building
Ruscilli has remained busy in the education sector, completing projects for local universities and colleges such as Ohio State University (OSU), Findlay University, Marietta College and Hocking College.

“Those are all pretty big players, but we’ve done a good job for them, so we keep getting new business,” Ruscilli says.

OSU, in particular, has been a repeat client of Ruscilli’s. Throughout the years, the company has performed preconstruction services for the university’s Austin E. Knowlton School of Architecture, managed construction for Scott Laboratory – a mechanical engineering lab and classroom building – and is currently building the new Student Academic Services and Lane Avenue Parking Garage, which will have 1,500 new parking spaces.

In 2006, Ruscilli was selected by OSU to demolish and rebuild the campus’ mechanical engineering lab and classroom.

The company was involved in a multi-phase demolition of the existing Robinson Laboratory and for constructing new space for the mechanical engineering department.

Ruscilli helped coordinate the new construction with the rerouting of traffic and class locations. The new 240,000-square-foot lab, re-named Scott Laboratory, houses classrooms, instructional computing, research computing, instructional labs for various engineering courses, departmental offices, meeting spaces and student services.

Education Leader
Ruscilli has also been the construction manager for many K-12 school districts throughout Ohio, including many projects for the Ohio School Facilities Commission. Since the commission’s inception in 1997, Ruscilli has provided construction management services for more than 100 schools across 15 districts.

Most recently, the commission awarded Ruscilli a major project for the Southwestern City Schools, which is subject to bond issue passage. This project will include new construction and renovation of 31 buildings. The district serves approximately 21,000 K-12 students in the southwestern quadrant of Franklin County, Ohio, and is the state’s sixth-largest district.

Additionally, a 15-year relationship with Dublin City Schools has resulted in more than $100 million in construction for Ruscilli. The company was selected by the district for construction/renovation of several facilities, including three high school campuses, middle schools, elementary schools and a number of athletic facilities and fields. The company has also coordinated hundreds of acres of boulevard and parking construction.

Ruscilli has assisted Dublin City Schools in all phases of construction for various projects including master planning, programming, preconstruction and value engineering.

Top Performer
Today, Ruscilli’s business is split between construction management and general contracting, Lou Ruscilli says. Experience in construction management has helped Ruscilli develop a proven method of handling large, complex projects. “We can handle almost anything that comes at us,” he notes.

Weekly meetings with the project team, including the architect, owner and project representatives, help facilitate team building, planning and project execution strategies. Progress reports outlining the status of a contract, contract awards, schedule and budget details are also submitted to the owner monthly.  

To meet scheduling and cost objectives, Ruscilli can self-perform much of the work on its projects such as concrete, masonry, millwright, and carpentry. Additionally, Ruscilli is one of the largest pre-engineered building dealers nationally and has erected more than 50 million square feet of pre-engineered steel.

Ruscilli says it can provide cost savings where the competition cannot.“We can work with change orders or tight budgets because we can be flexible,” he notes. “We’ve got a lot of satisfied customers because of [our flexibility].”

Total Commitment
Partnering with everyone involved in the construction process is key to completing a project within budget and on or ahead of schedule. Construction partnering, as Ruscilli calls it, requires open communication between project stakeholders so that objectives can be met. This philosophy is also practiced internally. Each associate, no matter their position or rank, has the opportunity to take part in the decision-making process. “Everyone has a voice here because everyone’s role is important,” he says.

Treating its associates with integrity is one way Ruscilli has maintained a skilled work force. The company grooms its associates through on-the-job mentoring and by treating them as professionals.

“Our people want to work here because they know how we operate – we treat people fairly and we work as professionals on every job,” Ruscilli maintains. “We put an emphasis on quality.”

With the family name associated with each and every project, Ruscilli says the company won’t do anything less than top-quality construction. In the end, Ruscilli says, reputation will be key to the company’s longevity. “When I drive around and I see our name out there on [projects] we're working on, I'm proud of what we do,” he says.