Tester Construction Group

Jay brings over 16 years of accounting, finance and tax experience to the role as CFO of Tester Construction Group. He is a Penn State graduate who is very passionate about company culture and enjoys taking on projects to enhance efficiencies and increase automation in processes. In his free time, you can catch him with his family mostly trying to keep up with his 2 daughters! He also enjoys vacationing in OCNJ.

Michael Tester has over fifteen years of experience in the building industry including architectural design, construction cost estimating, procurement, and project management. During this time, he has overseen the construction of over 1,500 apartment units, 500,000 SF of office space, and large scale demolition and site work developments in Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston. These projects include Chestnut Square at Drexel University, The Royal Worthington in Malvern, and 2116 Chestnut in Philadelphia.

Prior to starting Tester Construction Group, Mike served as a Senior Estimator and Project Manager for Hunter Roberts Construction Group for over 5 years in both New York City and Philadelphia. Hunter Roberts is the 3rd largest Construction Manager/General Contractor in Philadelphia. During this time, he estimated, purchased, and managed some of the largest projects in Philadelphia at Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania. After working at Hunter Roberts, Mike became the Vice President of Operations for MLP PA Builders (a subsidiary of O’Neill Properties Group). At MLP, Mike was responsible for the entire construction operation for the company including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Massachusetts. At any given time, he managed over $500 million of construction volume in both preconstruction and construction phases of these projects. Mike holds a Bachelor of Science from Penn State University and a Master’s Degree from New York University in Construction Management. He is also a LEED Accredited Professional and OSHA 30 Certified.

After spending several years working in urban housing development and low-income mortgage finance in India and NYC, building and managing a chain of restaurants at Universities across the US, and running a solar company in Southern Africa, Adam joins TCG with a diverse and unique entrepreneurial skill set.

As a restaurant owner, Adam assessed commercial real estate markets, designed and oversaw restaurant renovations and buildouts, trained and managed a staff of 70+ across multiple States, and managed annual revenues of $2m+. While working with a NYC urban think tank, Adam maintained an innovative proprietary tool that used millions of data points to assess the status of nearly every multifamily dwellings in the five boroughs, which was used by financial institutions to gauge the health of their real estate portfolios. Managing a solar company in Southern Africa gave Adam the opportunity to gain experience in international supply chain management and to understand some of the challenges confronting emerging markets.

Establishing, owning, operating and managing various small businesses and projects across sectors and continents has provided an ideal background for succeeding in Philadelphia’s complex real estate construction and development industry. Whether operating as a construction estimator, assistant project manager, purchasing agent or general administrator, Adam supports all areas of TCG to ensure company success.

Adam holds a MA Economics and MA International Political Economy and Development with a specialization in International Finance from Fordham University, an Advanced Degree in Emerging Markets and Country Risk Analysis, and a BA Philosophy from Penn State. Adam is a former AIF Clinton Fellow and U.S. Peace Corps Coverdell Fellow, a Pennsylvania Notary Public, and a Certified U.S. Economist.

Ben is a Project Manager for TCG and has over a decade of experience in the construction industry. The bulk of his career has been spent building new construction multifamily buildings at Temple University. Prior to joining TCG, he was a project manager for Vandalay Building and worked directly with developers to provide high end student housing. Most recently, Ben managed the construction of fourteen units on Temple’s campus, a luxury roof top renovation in Center City, and was instrumental in the overall development of two student housing projects.

Ben’s love of building is evident in his projects and his attention to detail. He is highly skilled in pre-construction planning, scheduling, on-site quality control, cost management, and overcoming issues with field conditions. Ben works closely with subcontractors and inspectors to deliver the highest quality construction for TCG’s clients.

Dennis is an accomplished and dedicated Senior Project Manager at TCG with over 30 years’ experience in the construction industry. Dennis previously worked for The McKee Group and N. Vaughan & Sons as a Construction Superintendent and GMH Construction Co., Bozzuto Construction Co., and The Klein Company as a Construction Manager. He also owned and operated Berkley Development Corp. Inc. construction company specializing in complete home restoration and new home construction.

Through the years, Dennis has developed keen supervisory and administrative skills. He leads by example as a motivated professional and skilled craftsman. He has strong organizational and people skills and is detailed-oriented. Dennis presents extensive knowledge of production home building and complete home renovation as well as solid experience in single and multi-family homes, student housing, and apartment communities to TCG.

James is a Construction Engineering Technology Major at Temple University set to graduate in May of 2022. He graduated from LaSalle College High School in 2018 where he competed for the swim and water polo teams. He is excited to be a part of the team and pursue his passion for construction and development!

James is a life long construction professional. He worked his way though the industry as a tradesman, superintendent, business owner and project manager. He participated in the development of numerous communities surrounding greater Philadelphia, as both a contractor and manager. For the last 10 years, James has been dedicated to the revitalization of inner city neighborhoods. He is an experienced multi-family manger with an eye towards quality and customer satisfaction.

Jeff has over 30 years’ experience in the construction industry starting out in a small family-run business where they completed each trade task themselves with no sub-contractors.  He quickly became interested in the production residential home building industry and has worked for national home builders like K. Hovnanian & Toll Brothers and was directly involved with the absorption, and transition of other home builders into those companies.  He has fulfilled many different positions over the years ranging from the project manager, senior construction manager, warranty manager, and others.  He was instrumental in building a construction building template schedule, and construction manager training program for two different top ten national home builders.  He has always been valued for his drive to train others and has a great team attitude.  Jeff is extremely excited to be here at Tester Construction Group and finish out his career in the commercial construction industry.

Jim Jankiewicz has over 15 years of construction experience in Project Management, Owner Representation, and Operations Management. Jim brings technical expertise from a diverse background in managing healthcare, post-secondary education, mixed-use, and public housing projects throughout Philadelphia, New Jersey and Delaware. These projects include Merwick Stanwork Commons at Princeton University, 2116 Chestnut St in Philadelphia, Philadelphia Housing Authority in Philadelphia, and Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

Prior to starting with Tester Construction Group, Jim served as a Project Manager for Hunter Roberts Construction Group for over 10 years in their Philadelphia Office. During this time, he managed a variety of new construction and renovation projects for various clients such as Princeton University, Bryn Mawr College, Philadelphia Housing Authority, and Virtua Healthcare. After working at Hunter Roberts, Jim became Project Director for Stantec Consulting. At Stantec Consulting, Jim was responsible for comprehensive project management services for the Design and Construction of over $115m in construction volume for various healthcare projects for clients such as Thomas Jefferson University, Cooper University Healthcare, and Hackensack Meridian Health. After Stantec Consulting, Jim became Executive Vice President of Construction for the Galman Group. While at the Galman Group, Jim was responsible for overseeing all capital construction and renovations projects for over 40 properties throughout the Delaware Valley. Jim holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Catholic University of America and is OSHA 30 Certified. Jim looks forward to establishing team chemistry while coordinating members in working together to achieve project goals.

Joe Emory is the Director of Preconstruction for TCG and is focused on their multifamily new construction projects in Philadelphia. Joe has worked on multiple large scale development/construction projects in both Philadelphia and Boston. Joe has a wide range of experience from these projects including multi-family, residential, commercial, and healthcare. Joe uses his experience and knowledge of the entire construction process to plan for a successful project during the early stages of development.

Joe previously worked for MLP Builders (an O’Neill Properties Group subsidiary) as a Project Manager and Senior Estimator. Joe was primarily responsible for managing the construction and pre-development of the 90-acre Uptown Worthington site in Malvern, PA. During his time with MLP, he completed the construction of over 500 apartment units and 75,000 SF of commercial space. Joe graduated from Villanova University with a degree in Civil Engineering.

John is a project manager for Tester Construction Group and has almost 20 years of experience in the trades and building industry. Prior to joining TCG he worked as a construction manager for PRDC Properties, responsible for multiple new construction residential subdivisions in Philadelphia. John comes with a lot of hands on and managerial experience as he had owned and operated a small renovation company in the suburbs prior to building new in the city.  John is very excited to have become a member of this successful and growing team and looks forward to the future with TCG.

Kevin is a Project Manager for TCG and has over a decade of construction management experience with a diverse background ranging from commercial office, pharmaceutical, medical, gaming, and hospitality. Kevin brings experience in pre-construction, scheduling, control of the budget, management, and execution of commercial projects from conception to closeout.

Prior to joining TCG, Kevin served as a project manager for The Norwood Company for over 8 years working with clients throughout the tri-state area. Kevin has been responsible for the execution of over $100M of commercial renovations, tenant fit-out, and ground-up construction. Kevin graduated from Williamson College of the Trades with a degree in Construction Technology.

In Kevin’s free time you will find him at home spending time with his growing family and working on never-ending home improvements.

At TCG, Project Manager Michael Burghardt is responsible for total project management including controlling budgets, negotiating subcontracts, and providing day-to-day communication with the project team to ensure jobs remain on schedule and within budget. As team player, Michael holds an excellent track record of strong working relationships with owners, architects, engineers, and contractors resulting in successful construction experiences.

Neil joined TCG as a project manager focusing on new construction of multifamily and single-family homes. Prior to realizing his passion for real estate and construction, he worked ten plus years in financial services in the credit derivates market before running business development at several internet startups in New York City. Neil graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics from NYU and brings his experience in contracting, budgeting, and relationship management to TCG. He looks forward to exceeding client expectations while contributing to TCG’s continued success.

Ogden is a recent graduate from Gettysburg College where he received a degree in Computer Science. Through TCG’s internship program, Ogden discovered his passion for construction and development. He hopes to contribute to the success and growth of TCG by assisting project managers with their everyday schedules and projects, all while absorbing every new experience along the way.

As a Senior Superintendent, Scott is responsible for the on site operations, purchasing, and scheduling for TCG’s largest multifamily projects. With a 30 year career in construction management, Scott Dennis has been involved in all types of projects throughout his career. While spending 26 years doing public work, Scott preformed projects on Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard bases. Also during that time, he completed projects on schools, public libraries, courthouses, recreation centers and even prisons.

Over the last 6 plus years, Scott has focused on the Philadelphia region and the multi family housing market. He has managed projects from concept design to final completion for some of Philadelphia’s largest multi family new construction projects in South Kensington and Temple University. These projects include 1850 N 18th Street, “The Greenery” at 1325 N 15th Street, and “Liberty Square Apartments” at 1203 Germantown Avenue.

Before TCG, Katelyn previously worked at O’Neill Properties Group as Administrative Assistant to the VP of Pre-Development. She is now a Purchasing Agent at TCG which includes processing subcontracts, purchase orders and change orders. She plans, schedules, orders finishes and forecast procurement activities. She oversees that subcontractors execute their subcontracts and provide their workers compensation as well as certificate of insurance. Katelyn helps and assists with any miscellaneous office duties that are needed.

Mike has over 10 years of marketing experience working with everything from small businesses to big entertainment venues. Mike is looking forward to learning more about construction Tester Construction Group brand, and helping grow the brand in and outside the Philadelphia area. When Mike is not at the office, he is spending time with his wife and 2 boys, watching sports, or reading a good book.

Sarah is a recent 2020 graduate student athlete from Saint Joseph’s University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration as a Food Marketing major. She is currently working towards receiving a Master of Science Degree in Marketing at Saint Joseph's University. She wants to be able to enhance her academic learning through hands-on tasks, execute awareness, and develop skills and abilities within TCG as a marketing intern.