Always up for the Challenge
Exterior Cladding Expert Continues to Reach Higher
“I come from a family of entrepreneurs,” President and founder of Rossmoyne, Inc., George Pondella begins his story. “My father had an automotive shop and Chevron gasoline station so I learned early on the value of hard work and giving 100 percent to your business and its customers on a daily basis.” Living by his father’s example, Pondella now runs the general contracting company he built from the ground up. Pondella’s journey toward this moment began over 35 years ago when he started his own commercial landscape development business. Many clients asked Pondella to repair their damaged buildings, opportunities which led him into construction. Eventually he founded Rossmoyne in 1986. Pondella proudly sums up, “Over the last decade or so, the commercial exterior cladding division of our business has grown by leaps and bounds, and we are now one of the largest exterior cladding companies in California.”
Pondella not only adopted his father’s “all-in” career philosophy, but he also applied it to his personal life, achieving a “work hard, play hard” balance. A self-proclaimed “adrenaline junkie,” he is an avid desert racer and mountain biker. Pondella is also active in his Glendale, Calif., community. He was born and raised there and now invests in his hometown by serving as the Montrose-Verdugo City Chamber of Commerce (MVCC) CEO, as well as its former President. The mission of MVCC is “to work endlessly to promote local business, assist nonprofits in the area and strive to advance the visibility of the North Glendale/Foothills area.”
When it comes to construction, Pondella sees each project as more than just another building. He views them as occasions to foster connection with the community. “Every project allows us to develop a new relationship. These many relationships are close to my heart,” says Pondella. Rossmoyne is proud that over the years those successes have been a part of the resurgence of mixed-use developments. It has provided the exterior skins for multiple significant projects in Los Angeles County.
Let’s Talk About Playa Vista …
Playa Vista, a beachside community on the west side of Los Angeles, is one of those new mixed-use developments. There, residents can live, work and play all with an ocean breeze blowing in from the Pacific, which is only a mile and a half away. With more than 25 community parks, acres of open space (thanks to the Ballona Wetlands), and top retailers and premium office spaces down the street, Playa Vista is quickly becoming “the place to be.”
At the center of it all is the Runway Playa Vista community. Named in honor of its placement on the former location of aviator Howard Hughes’ aircraft plant, runway and hangars, Runway is now the take-off point for luxury living.
As a mixed-use facility, Runway has residential, commercial and recreational areas that cost $300 million to develop. According to a 2016 Los Angeles Times article, Runway is “the high-tech hub of Los Angeles” because many residents are employees of tech giants, such as Facebook, YouTube and Microsoft. Runway’s 420 apartments, which are comprised of two-bedroom flats, studios and loft/mezzanine residences, sell in the high $1 million-dollar range. When the development is fully occupied, there will be a projected 13,000 residents.
Opening in phases throughout 2015, Runway was sold for a reported $475 million in 2016 by Lincoln Property Co. to Invesco Real Estate. According to Rossmoyne, during the time of construction, Runway was the single-largest construction project in California. Rossmoyne provided and installed the exterior cladding throughout the multi-phase development. For this project, Rossmoyne partially employed through PVJOBS, an organization with a goal “to place at-risk and disadvantaged youth, adults and veterans in career-track employment in the construction industry.” Rossmoyne installed clear redwood rainscreen cladding over foundation walls at Runway’s leasing office and at The Resort, a two-level recreation club and fitness center, including resort-style amenities, indoor-outdoor spaces and a pool deck. Runway also boasts a luxury Cinemark, an XDExtreme digital cinema with a 72-foot, wall-to-wall and ceiling-to-floor screen—the largest XD location in Southern California. For Cinemark’s exterior, Rossmoyne installed Parklex HPL (high-pressure laminate) cladding with VaproShield RevealShield SA, as well as Rollfab Metals wall panels with Rollfab self-adhered, high-temperature, 40-millimeter underlayment. “The design intent is spectacular,” says Pondella.
Other businesses at Runway include Fred Segal, Whole Foods Market, Starbucks and Hal’s Bar & Grill. Artwork throughout the complex, by Ned Kahn, Dourone, CS-Navarrete, Cyrcle and Daniel Bilmes, completes the cultured, high-end atmosphere.
… and Brookfield Residential
One can hardly mention Runway or Playa Vista without mentioning Brookfield Residential, the developer that made it all happen. Founded in 1956, this leader in North American land development and home building developed residential structures Cleo, Jewel, Mason and The Collection, as well as others at Playa Vista.
The design by KTGY Architecture + Planning for Cleo at Playa Vista developed by Brookfield Residential won the PCBC Gold Nugget Grand Award for Best Multifamily Housing Community, and a SoCal Award for Best Architectural Design presented by the Building Industry Association of Southern California’s Greater Sales and Marketing Council.
Pondella says, “We have built a successful business relationship over the years with Brookfield Residential’s Southern California division, providing our services for exterior cladding on several of their models and projects. Rossmoyne is proud to have been a part of the team that brought Cleo at Playa Vista to fruition.”
Rossmoyne installed Allura Timber Series fiber cement trim with Armorshell finish by Northwest Factory Finishes for Cleo at Playa Vista’s exterior. It also provided and installed Longboard aluminum wood-grain cladding at Brookfield Residential’s Jewel, Marlowe and Everly models at Playa Vista, as well as Rheinzink façade products at Jewel. Brookfield Residential is committed to “making the best places to call home,” and it trusts Rossmoyne to help accomplish that goal in Playa Vista.
Road Trip to Long Beach, Anyone?
Only 30 minutes south of Playa Vista is another project of which Rossmoyne is especially proud—The Pike. A shopping center in Long Beach, this DDR Property venture represents 391,847 square feet out of the 100 million square feet of retail property DDR owns and manages in the continental United States and Puerto Rico. Located near the Long Beach Convention Center, The Pike gives the communities of Rancho Palos Verdes, Huntington Beach and Newport Beach convenient access to H&M, Nike Factory Store, Forever 21 Red, Gap Factory Store, and many others. Rossmoyne faced the unique challenge of adapting exterior claddings over existing stucco on this project and was subsequently contracted to work on the H&M, Starbucks, Forever 21 and Coldstone structures.
"I strongly believe that Rossmoyne’s success relies on everyone’s success. Teamwork is key.” George Pondella, President and Founder, Rossmoyne, Inc.
Reputation! Reputation! Reputation!
Though these noteworthy cladding projects are Rossmoyne’s trademark, as a general contractor, Rossmoyne’s services extend beyond exterior siding into several other specialties, including insurance restoration and custom cabinetry. It also participates in Earthquake Brace + Bolt (EBB), a program developed through the California Residential Mitigation Program (CRMP). EBB was developed to help homeowners lessen the potential for damage to their houses during an earthquake.
“Rossmoyne’s reputation for quality work led to our acceptance into insurance restoration programs for top-tier insurance carriers. We work with State Farm, Farmers, Mercury, Pacific Specialty and more,” Pondella explains. A glance at Rossmoyne’s web homepage confirms that Pondella is not exaggerating his company’s reputation. Review after review scrolls by with exclamations such as, “From beginning to end, the project was handled with professionalism, efficiency, and good humor,” and “We liked working with Rossmoyne so much that we now want them to do more work for us.” Clearly, Rossmoyne’s stated dedication to “never sacrifice ethical and compliant behavior in the pursuit of business objectives” has earned the company a loyal customer base.
Rossmoyne’s highly ethical and team-oriented culture also makes it an attractive employment opportunity to many. “I strongly believe that Rossmoyne’s success relies on everyone’s success. Teamwork is key,” Pondella says. He has backed those words up with action by encouraging the entrepreneurial dreams of his highest-achieving team members. Driven employees have gone on to establish their own construction businesses in their hometowns after their training and tenures at Rossmoyne.
Rewarding Challenges, Endless Opportunities
In addition to the daily tasks of estimating, managing commercial sales, developing business relations and overseeing Rossmoyne’s continuing education program, Pondella faces the challenge of building a creative and knowledgeable workforce. “It takes time, but the end result is a well-trained and successful team. We pride ourselves in premium-quality work standards and craftsmanship,” he says.
According to Pondella, all the effort is worth it when the Rossmoyne team “has the opportunity to assist homeowners in rebuilding their flood-or fire-damaged homes and when we get to enjoy the completion of a beautiful new commercial project.” Looking ahead, he says, “I am motivated by the endless opportunities out there.”