Drawing Cities as a Child and Building them as an Adult
EmpireCore CEO Florim Lajqi has envisioned himself designing and developing communities ever since he was a child when he would doodle entire cities on paper. “Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, I knew that one day I wanted to manage a business and build an empire of my own,” said Lajqi. After obtaining two college degrees, Mr. Lajqi began working at Artimus Construction as an entry level construction manager. While there, he worked hard to see two ground projects through to completion. Later, Mr. Lajqi moved to Dermot Company for six years where he redeveloped and repositioned residential portfolios throughout the New York City area. During his time at Dermot, Mr. Lajqi built an internal residential real estate construction team and decided to start his own company. “I saw the opportunity and I went all in,” commented Lajqi. “I started EmpireCore’s sister company at the time called Liberty Blue Group. In 2014, we expanded by folding a design and construction team under our arm and EmpireCore was born.”
Embracing Collaboration to Achieve Success
Mr. Lajqi believes that great projects are the result of teamwork. “My philosophy is that the company does not belong to just me, it belongs to all the employees,” stated Mr. Lajqi. “I try my best to make my appreciation for the employees known. I want EmpireCore to feel like their second home. I always try my best to lead by example.”
EmpireCore’s Past, Present and Future
Mr. Lajqi’s favorite EmpireCore project has been Peter Cooper Village Stuyvesant Town which he has been working on in different capacities for the past seven years. In the summer of 2011, he dreamed of becoming the construction manager of this development. Fast forward three years, he was contracted as the sole third-party construction manager for the project. Looking to the future, Mr. Lajqi hopes to expand EmpireCore by providing services to investment firms and institutions across multiple asset markets nationally. EmpireCore has already expanded its services to Nevada, Florida and Wisconsin.
“I am proud of EmpireCore’s growth over the past seven years,” stated Mr. Lajqi. “We started off with three employees in a New York hotel with a revenue of under a million dollars. Today, we have a national headquarters in midtown Manhattan, 60 employees and a revenue that is expected to exceed $200 million by the end of 2018. I am incredibly proud of EmpireCore’s progress over the years.”
About Empire Core
Empire Core is a construction management firm based in New York City, specializing in both the redevelopment of existing properties and new property construction. Our multi-million-dollar projects span from high-rise residential and commercial buildings to ground-level retail storefronts. Empire Core handles the complete construction management process for any project, allowing companies to focus on building their core business. Visit https://www.empirecore.com to learn more.
