ACC Construction: where tradition meets the future.

In 1995, when Michele Medaglia took the helm of ACC Construction, which her family founded 11 years prior, it was a Queens-based general contracting and construction management firm.

Well-respected within the local business community, ACC was primarily known for its expert interior build-outs.

Ms. Medaglia, who had worked for the company throughout college, understood that she had a comfortable niche in Long Island City when the torch was passed.

But comfortably sitting still is not Michele Medaglia's way and upon accepting the position, she immediately set about developing ACC into the powerhouse it is today.

Since her tenure began nine years ago, ACC has quadrupled its staff, increased annual revenues tenfold and expanded the company's service lines demonstrably. Ms. Medaglia has also established ACC Construction as the preeminent Woman-owned Business Enterprise (WBE) construction company in the greater New York Metropolitan area.

Concurrently, she has dramatically diversified her client base to include projects from the public sector, healthcare and education.

In 2002, Ms. Medaglia moved the company from its utilitarian offices in Long Island City to spacious new headquarters in midtown Manhattan.

Moreover, all of these transformations have been accomplished just in time for ACC Construction's 20th Anniversary this year. Initially, the changes in the company were gradual, built upon experience and relationships established over two decades. The skill to provide consistent service was a family tradition, but the ability to continue implementing these services and expanding throughout different market cycles was the product of foresight and intelligent marketing.

"From the very beginning of my tenure as president, I envisioned a strong future for ACC," said Ms. Medaglia. "I had definite ideas of how we could grow, maintaining our values while moving in the most sensible directions. Although we are still very much a family business, we have a business model that is more reflective of major corporations and our construction teams are made up of the best and the brightest in the industry."

With a top executive team and a vision that addresses the changing needs of the marketplace, ACC Construction has added to its service lines, which now include out-of-ground construction and interior fit-outs of residential space, along with its traditional base of commercial build-outs.

To efficiently address the diversification of its service lines and client sectors, ACC has hired additional senior staff within the last twelve months, including several experienced project executives. These new members join a group of seasoned professionals, many of whom have been with the firm since inception.

In the past year, ACC Construction has worked on projects for Columbia University, Stony Brook Hospital, Commerce Bank, Vornado and L'Oreal USA. This midsize firm often comes up against construction goliaths and, based upon its track record, has won --and continues to win --major accounts.

"We have a team that is inherently proactive, so there's no time to sit on our laurels, only to accrue new ones," added Ms. Medaglia. "Our clients are very aware of how committed we are to providing the kind of work that exceeds their expectations. In fact, a sizeable portion of our new projects are coming from existing clients or through referrals."

Other projects that ACC is currently working on or has recently completed include The Trey Whitfield School in Brooklyn, seven Commerce Banks in Queens and Long Island, three Cold Stone Creameries, Working Organization for Retarded Children & Adults, Ruppert Yorkville Towers Condominium and Grover Cleveland Park in Queens, NY.

Major building renovations and out-of-ground projects like the 25,000-square-foot renovation of Milavec Hall at Monroe College in New Rochelle or the new three-story St. Mary's Hospital in Brooklyn, add to ACC Construction's stature within the construction industry. Taking on these types of projects contributes greatly to ACC's growth and are products of diversifying market sectors and additional service lines.

Today's ACC Construction is a company that has segued from being a specialist in interior fit-outs in local markets to becoming a top New York City full-service construction firm.

With its star on the rise, ACC Construction's indefatigable president continues as a rising star in the industry, as well. The newly-elected president of the Association of Real Estate Women (AREW) is also highly active in such charities as Dress for Success, where she donated her firm's services and built its executive offices. As a vocal advocate of the construction industry, she works to recruit women into the profession and has positioned her company as a corporate sponsor for Professional Women in Construction.

But at the end of the day, Michele Medaglia and husband John Bennardo, ACC's Vice President of New Business Development, go home together to their twin toddlers. A boy and a girl, they just may become the next generation of ACC Construction.