D&D Breaks Records with Marriott Project

A Central Florida builder, D&D Construction Services of Orlando, recently broke a record for hospitality giant, Marriott International. The company built a four-story, 55,000-square-foot Residence Inn by Marriott in Sebring, Fla.—on time and on budget, in 363 days.

“I work with 56 general contractors at any given time and D&D is absolutely the premier,” says Jeff Simpson, senior project manager for Marriott International. “We provide so much information and so many requirements that owners and builders have to adhere to. The way D&D organized and handled our information was phenomenal.”

Simpson says completing the hotel in less than a year was quite a feat.

“Given the logistics and permitting that was required at this location, it was amazing. D&D overcame all of that,” he says.

Daryl and Darand Williams, father and son owners of D&D Construction, and other family members, are directly involved in each project the company undertakes.

“Whether we’re working with a small client or a hospitality giant like Marriott, the owners of our company are intimately involved in the process,” says Darand Williams. “We believe an owner’s perspective is unlike any other, and that’s been the key to ensuring our clients’ satisfaction.”

D&D Construction was hired by ZMC Hotels, which had owned the property for two years and was initially unable to find a local, qualified constructor that met Marriott’s stringent building requirements. Williams heard about the proposed property, called the owner, ZMC Hotels, and negotiated a contract. The company broke ground on the all-suite, extended stay hotel in June 2006, and completed it in June 2007. The total construction cost was $7.5 million.

The company was founded in 1985 by Daryl Williams, who later involved his son, Darand. The third generation in a family of construction experts, Daryl Williams says he drew on the experiences of his father, who worked side by side with his grandfather, to learn the tricks of the trade. Otis Williams worked in construction during World War II and built some of the first cloverleaf highways in Los Angeles, Calif., as well as the original Skyway Bridge in St. Petersburg, Fla. After many years of traveling between large construction projects, the family settled into agriculture and real estate development, and later drew these experiences into a commercial general contractor business, with headquarters in Ocoee, Fla., outside Orlando.

Need more info and analysis about the issues?
CLICK HERE to subscribe to Shelter™ magazine.