About Steven Resnick and Hi-Resi

How I learned the business

My millwork and interiors company built for the Beverly Wilshire, the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Peninsula Beverly Hills, and for Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada and Loro Piana. In Aspen, working for a high-end builder, I watched owners pick the low bid and pay the difference back in change orders.

At Universal, I was the owner-side check on a roughly $6 billion program. For Brightline, I was owner's representative on its conversion to Virgin Trains USA, 670,000 square feet rebuilt while the trains kept running. I also took Brightline's Art Basel idea to Mera Rubell, and Keith Haring's work ended up on the coaches.

Why I started Hi-Resi

Most owners bring in help once construction starts, after the expensive decisions are made. I start earlier, building an estimate and schedule with the owner and architect from conceptual renderings, then staying through construction.

From Delray Beach, I work with estate owners from Jupiter to Manalapan and developers nationwide. Resi was my nickname. The name is the handshake. The work is the serious part.

Should I hire an in-house estate construction manager or an outside owner's rep?

For running an estate once it's built, an in-house manager makes sense. For the build or a major renovation, an outside owner's rep usually fits better:

• —The cost ends with the project. No salary, benefits or role to unwind after move-in.
• —An earlier start. I can begin before the architect's full drawing sets, when the most expensive decisions get made.
• —Builder-side experience. I've priced work for a builder, so I know what a bid tends to leave out.
• —Easier bad news. An outside rep has no long-term job to protect, so problems get raised early.
• —It isn't either-or. I'm glad to work alongside an estate manager or family office staff.

When should I bring in an owner's representative?

Before the architect starts the full drawing sets. The biggest cost decisions happen in early design, and changing them gets more expensive with every set of drawings. Hiring after bids still helps, but by then more of the budget is already spoken for.

Can you take over a project that's already underway?

Yes. I take on projects in design or construction, including ones that are behind schedule or over budget. I start by reading the drawings, contracts, schedule and budget as they stand, then tell the owner plainly where things are and what can still be saved.

How is Hi-Resi paid?

By the owner, and no one else on the project, on a fixed fee agreed before work starts. The fee isn't tied to the cost of construction, so I have no reason to favor spending more.