Taking on the Impossible
The sky’s the limit for general contractor Amrani Construction, Inc.
When a project becomes a “Mission Impossible” job, customers call Jonathan Amrani, President of Amrani Construction, Inc. Though he may not speed in on a BMW motorcycle or drop in from an Airbus helicopter, Jonathan and his team do ultimately save the day.
“We take on problems others can’t or won’t,” Jonathan says. Headquartered in Canoga Park, California, Amrani Construction currently provides general contracting services throughout the Los Angeles area. “Our company specializes in tenant improvements for commercial customers that include property owners and developers. We provide design and planning services, demolition, framing, build-outs and finishes like stonework, painting and tile—from A to Z,” he says.
Jonathan says that while some people have book smarts and others have street smarts, his team has it all. “We’ve been around for 40 years and understand where projects go wrong, and we’re problem-solvers, always willing to take on those headache projects,” he says.
He cites one customer’s difficulty in getting an outdated fire damper up to code. “The challenge was to reframe the existing fire damper on four floors, leaving the unit in place and not disturbing the existing finish,” Jonathan says. The team brainstormed solutions on a drawing board until they had a strategy. “We had to go into each shaft with a harness to do the reframing on each fire damper. It was a difficult job, but we were able to save the client a lot of money without disturbing the tenant. And we got the fire damper up to code.” In addition to general contracting, Amrani Construction is a certified installer of Ecoglo, providing luminous path markings, step-edge markings and photoluminescent exit signs. “These emergency markings are a new code requirement in the state of California,” Jonathan says. “If a commercial building is more than 75 feet high from the ground up floor, it must have illuminated emergency egress markers. We help get businesses up to code on this important safety issue.”
Jonathan and his team pride themselves on the company’s responsiveness. “You pick up the phone on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon and call us with a leak, we’re there. It doesn’t matter if it’s 2 in the morning. We provide services 24/7,” he says.
Amrani Construction’s staff is multitalented, according to Jonathan. “Some of these team members have been with the business since my dad started the company in the 1970s,” he says. “They have a deep understanding of all facets of the construction industry. And, they’re like family.”
Learning the Business
Jonathan’s father, Itzik, started the business in 1979 providing painting services to Los Angeles celebrities, working in high-end residences and building relationships with local developers.
When the economy took a dip in the 1990s, Itzik obtained his general contractor license and added to the company’s service offerings. “My father bundled three services: light-gauge metal framing, drywall and painting,” Jonathan says. Clients liked that Itzik managed all three services—something the company still does today. “When you’re the one who frames out the walls and ceilings, you can make sure they’re level and installed correctly. It makes drywall and painting so much easier,” Jonathan notes.
Itzik built a team of 50 employees, often managing components of larger projects for property managers. “In the 1990s and the early 2000s, a lot of these property managers in Los Angeles would run the jobs themselves, hiring in the trades. That eventually changed,” Jonathan says.
While he was raised alongside the business, Jonathan had no intention of taking over Amrani Construction. “I had my sights on being a doctor,” he says. When Itzik was diagnosed with colon cancer, Jonathan was a premed student at UCLA. “I’d go to school and study during the weekdays and spend the weekends learning the business from my father,” he says. “The doctors gave my dad six months, but he lived five more years.” During those years of training, Jonathan learned how to read blueprints and mechanical, electrical and plumbing plans and worked out in the field learning the trade.
When Itzik died, Jonathan found himself at a crossroads. “I was just 23 years old. I remember having a talk with my uncle, who’s a urologist in Los Angeles. It was the mid-2000s and the health insurance industry was becoming increasingly difficult for doctors to deal with. I made the decision to take over the family business instead of pursuing medicine,” he says.
Sticking with Family
After his dad died, those early years were difficult for Jonathan. Shortly after assuming the helm, the country dove headlong into the Great Recession in 2008. “I lost everything, except my adopted family, Salvador Velesquez and George Canil,” he says. Salvador and George had worked with Itzik for many years. “Before my dad passed away, he told Salvador and George to take care of me. They are good men. I consider them family. They were there for me when I needed them, and I’ll be there for them for the rest of my life.”
Salvador and George remain with Amrani Construction even today, serving as the company’s Lead Construction Foremen. “During those early years, I took the worst jobs that no one wanted to do,” Jonathan says. As the economy improved, so did Amrani Construction.
Treating People with Respect
It was property maintenance services provided for some of the most prominent real estate developers and owners in Los Angeles that helped to catapult the company into the general contracting arena.
Having served as a subcontractor on other jobs, Jonathan understood the needs of a subcontractor and formed ideas on how they should be treated. “The most important person on that job site is the subcontractor. You treat them with respect, and they perform for you. You make sure they’re paid on time and you use their time efficiently on-site,” he says. “By my late 20s, I had saved enough capital that I was well-positioned to transition to full-time general contracting.”
Jonathan was able to land multiple contracts with some of the biggest Fortune 500 companies and developers in the country.
“Our company has never advertised once, not even with a website. New business comes through word-of-mouth. When clients are satisfied, they tell others. Even though the industry is huge, at the end of the day it is a small industry since everyone knows every contractor and their capabilities,” he says.
The sky’s the limit for Amrani Construction. So far in 2020, the company has secured six additional tenant improvement projects. “We’re growing by leaps and bounds and are well-positioned for additional growth,” he says. Jonathan’s cousin, Gabriel Amrani, recently joined the company as Head Construction Manager. He, along with the rest of the team, are key pillars of Amrani Construction, according to Jonathan.
“With 40 years of experience, our company is equipped to handle tenant improvement projects up to 100,000 square feet,” he says. “We pride ourselves on three basic principles: schedule, budget and client satisfaction. The third principle is the most important. When a client is happy with the product delivered, that client will boast to colleagues and friends and share details on who did the project. That’s why we never advertise. Our last client is the advertising conduit for our future clients,” Jonathan concludes.