In 1979, James A. Leopardo opened Leopardo Companies, Inc. as an entrepreneurial construction firm in Chicago.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Leopardo quickly grew into one of the most well-respected and trusted builders in the Midwest. During that time, Inc. Magazine ranked Leopardo three separate times for being one of the nation’s 500 Fastest Growing Companies.

Three decades later, Leopardo is one of the nation’s largest 300 contractors with a team of experts who successfully complete hundreds of projects annually. With a corporate strategy built upon continuous improvement, Leopardo has earned countless awards and accolades from its peers, clients and the media. In 2009, Leopardo is a thriving family-oriented operation that embraces every project with the same enthusiasm and care as it did its first.

Today, Leopardo is a recognized leader in construction, design-build and commercial real estate development. As a skilled green builder, Leopardo’s sustainable experience spans all LEED rating levels, including Silver, Gold and Platinum.

“Sure we’re a much larger company than we were 30, 20 or even 10 years ago, but as our clients get to know Leopardo they quickly find that the entrepreneurial spirit by which we were founded is still prevalent in our firm today,” said Rick Mattioda, president and 25-year veteran of Leopardo. “Leopardo’s solid foundation and industry-leading reputation was built by our team’s continued focus on meeting the evolving needs of our clients and the industry.”

CHICAGO, Illinois (July 13, 2009) – Leopardo recently completed a $4.3 million, 22,000-square-foot office renovation for the Chicago office of international law firm Jones Day.

Based in the United Building at 77 W. Wacker Dr., Jones Day worked with Leopardo to modernize its entire executive conference floor. Almost the entire floor was gutted in order to upgrade the HVAC and cabling infrastructure, as well as to install a new supplemental cooling system. Jones Day continued to utilize the space throughout the renovation, so construction was completed in multiple phases over the course of 24 weeks to prevent any disruption.

Leopardo built new or upgraded a total of 15 meeting rooms, five administrative offices and a café/break room. Included in the 15 meeting rooms is a larger multi-purpose conference room that can be configured into two or three smaller rooms as needed. Each meeting room was fitted with a new plasma video monitor, state-of-the-art conferencing capabilities and new stone credenzas. High-end millwork, wood flooring and carpet were also installed throughout.

Leopardo served as the general contractor with Gensler as the architect.

CityGate Dermatology – Leopardo is building out a 12,000-square-foot dermatology and plastic surgery suite for DuPage Medical Group in Naperville’s CityGate Centre. Opening in July, the facility will feature eight procedure rooms, 12 exam rooms and a photodynamic therapy room. Many of the procedure rooms are fitted with cutting-edge laser treatment technology. Eckenhoff Saunders is the architect.

Gift of Hope – Leopardo is building out an 80,000-square-foot office headquarters in Itasca for Gift of Hope, an organ and tissue donor network. In addition to general office space, the facility will feature three operating rooms. The architect is Joliet-based Stromsland and DeYoung.

Northwest Community Hospital – Leopardo is building out 12,000 square feet of new neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) space on the top floor of the south building at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights. The NICU will feature 20 new special-care private nursery rooms and is expected to open in the Spring of 2010.

University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital – Leopardo is building out the fourth floor clinic space of University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital. The $16 million, 24,000-square-foot project will deliver almost 40 new rooms for examinations, procedures, testing and radiology. Leopardo is also renovating the existing lobby, replacing the north façade of the building and installing a new five-story stair tower with two-car elevator bank. Proteus Group is the architect.

Swedish Covenant Hospital – Leopardo is remodeling the first floor of a two-story building on the Swedish Covenant Hospital campus in Chicago. The space is being built out for a new physician group’s office with five exam rooms. In addition to the medical interiors, Leopardo is constructing a new front entry, canopy, walks and ramps, as well as installing new landscaping.

GLEN ELLYN, Illinois (June 16, 2009) – Leopardo recently completed a new three-story, 40,000-square-foot medical office building for Central DuPage Hospital (CDH).

The $7 million convenient care facility features radiology, trauma and internal medicine departments, along with cutting-edge diagnostics facilities, high-end finishes and wireless internet. Located at 885 Roosevelt Rd. at Rt. 53, adjacent to the existing CDH Health Track facility, the medical office building shares and expands the existing parking area, lush landscaping, retaining walls and exterior railing.

Leopardo served as the general contractor with RTKL as the architect.

AURORA, Illinois (May 27, 2009) – Leopardo recently completed a 12,400-square-foot expansion of the intensive care unit (ICU) at Rush-Copley Medical Center.

The $5.2 million expansion included a first-floor addition of 14 new rooms, which was attached to the existing ICU where four existing rooms were renovated. New mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems were installed, as well as upgrades to the existing systems. New equipment was also installed and extensive medical gas work was completed. The new space features high-end finishes throughout.

Leopardo served as the general contractor with Anderson Mikos Architects as the architect.

CHICAGO, Illinois (April 28, 2009) – Leopardo recently completed a 40,000-square-foot office renovation and expansion of the corporate headquarters for Envestnet, a leading provider of wealth advisory solutions.

The headquarters, which comprises a floor and a half of the historic Capone-era Jewelers Building at 35 E. Wacker, features several high-end finishes, such as French limestone and Organic French walnut-veneered wall panels and Pivot doors, red oak stained parquet wood flooring, and full-height interior office glass partitions.

Leopardo served as the general contractor with Baumann Studios as the architect. DUS Management was the owner’s representative.

Chris Novak, Vice President, Interiors – Chris joined Leopardo in 1990 and previously served as project executive in Leopardo’s Interiors market. He earned a degree in building construction management from Purdue University.

Mark Fenton, Vice President, Interiors – Mark joined Leopardo in 1997 and previously served as project executive in Leopardo’s Interiors market. He earned a degree in construction administration from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Matt Miller, Vice President, Healthcare – Matt joined Leopardo in 1993 and previously served as project executive in Leopardo’s Healthcare market. He earned his degree from Blackburn College.

Rory Tihinen, Vice President, Estimating – Rory joined Leopardo in 2007 and previously served as project executive in Leopardo’s Estimating department. He earned a degree in finance from DePaul University.

Todd Andrlik, Vice President, Marketing and Public Relations – Todd joined Leopardo in 2005 and previously served as director of marketing and PR. He earned an MBA from Roosevelt University and a degree in PR from Illinois State University.

“Chris, Mark, Matt, Rory and Todd have performed admirably in their roles,” said Rick Mattioda, president of Leopardo. “All of them are accomplished and talented company leaders, and extremely deserving of the promotions.”

Leopardo brings home the honor for the second year in a row and the fourth time in nine years.

Both Crain’s Chicago Business and Chicago Sun-Times covered the event and the winners in their respective publications.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Illinois (March 5, 2009) – The Business Ledger, the business newspaper for suburban Chicago, selected Leopardo Companies, Inc. as a recipient of a 2009 Award for Business Excellence. The award is based on all-around business excellence, including staff development, organizational growth, community reinvestment, client service, etc. Leopardo was nominated for the award by one of its vendors, Tasty Catering.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Illinois (March 4, 2009) – Leopardo’s general superintendent of construction, George Tuhowski III, was recently elected vice chair of the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Chicago Chapter. The vice chair term will last until December 31, 2009; after which, George will become chair of the chapter for 2010 and then ex-officio chair in 2011.

As vice chair, George will work with the other directors on the board to establish chapter policy, determine long-term goals, build membership, and develop strategic initiatives. George was originally elected to the USGBC Chicago Chapter’s board of directors in 2007. He will have the honor of chairing the chapter when the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo returns to Chicago in 2010.

As general superintendent at Leopardo, George oversees 60 superintendents who are responsible for the construction of 300 projects per year. George is an instructor of green construction practices at Wright College and sits on the school’s Environmental Technology Program’s Advisory Board. He also served on multiple Greenbuild 2007 committees and played an integral role in Leopardo’s construction of the event-sponsored LEED-Platinum Legacy Project.