York Hunter forms new commercial interiors and retail construction unit.

Ken Colao, president and CEO of York Hunter, a Manhattan-based construction services firm, has announced that Andy Frankl has joined York Hunter Interiors' newly-formed business entity - IBEX Construction - as principal, president and COO. Frankl will be responsible for the development and management of IBEX, which provides construction services for commercial interiors and retail properties.

IBEX will be based out of York Hunter's Midtown Manhattan office, but will service clients throughout the United States. Scott Yarmus and Haresh Majmundar also joined the new company as senior vice president and vice president, respectively, reporting to Frankl. York Hunter Interiors' retail and commercial interior projects will be handled by IBEX.

IBEX will soon begin construction on a new 186,000 square-foot, two-story fashion specialty store for Nordstrom to anchor an existing mall in Boca Raton, FL, and has recently won a contract to re-model an existing Macy's in Queens, NY.

Frankl, 50, has more than 30 years of experience in the construction industry, with a broad background in interiors and retail. He spent the past four years heading the Special Projects Division at HRH Construction and has worked on projects for many well-known retail companies, including Nordstrom, Federated and Chanel. He has also managed large interiors projects for corporate clients such as Merck and Nasdaq.

"Our intention is to expand our services into highly specialized areas of the business by creating a new company that will focus on the special needs of retail clients," said Colao. "Corporate interior and retail projects require a special set of skills separate from general buildings, so we need to think differently in order to satisfy the requirements of these clients. Andy brings the specific skills and knowledge needed to create a company that is committed to superior service in both the corporate interiors and retail markets."

"Ken and I have known each other professionally for years and have a similar business philosophy, which is based on servicing the client," said Frankl. "I like the way Ken thinks about the future. His plan for expansion provides a tremendous opportunity for us to succeed in becoming a leading force in the interiors and retail construction markets. Given the strength of the retail and interiors markets, we expect IBEX to grow quickly and plan to hire approximately 120 employees by year end. We are projecting a revenue of $150 million in the first year of operation."

Scott Yarmus, 41, brings more than 20 years of experience in the construction industry to IBEX and will oversee the operation of the new company. He spent the past four years at HRH Construction and, in the past, has been responsible for complex and demanding projects such-as the-Smith-Barney World Headquarters, Nordstrom and Federated retail department stores.

Haresh Majmundar, 39, is a civil engineer with more than 20 years of experience in the construction industry. He has completed projects for Smith Barney, Nordstrom, Federated, May Corporation and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

"Given Andy, Scott and Haresh's background in the interiors industry and their extensive knowledge of the retail market, I am confident that they will make significant contributions to the expansion of our interiors and retail services," said Colao.

Headquartered in New York City, the York Hunter Group provides a broad range of construction services, including construction management, general construction, program management and design/build to developers, corporate, institutional and governmental clients. The firm employs more than 300 professionals in six offices throughout Eastern U.S. Typical projects York Hunter has constructed include corporate headquarters, hotels, residential, health-care, research, and development facilities, courthouses and museums. Today, York Hunter is providing construction services for projects with an aggregate value of more than $700 million.