In a blog I posted nearly three years ago, Coastal Construction Chairman and CEO Thomas P. Murphy Jr. predicted that Miami was on the verge on a potentially "unprecedented" building boom. Said Murphy: "I've never seen anything like this." As most ENR Southeast readers likely recall, those kinds of predictions were themselves rather unusual at the time.
 
In fact, numerous readers responded to the post—entitled, "Is Miami About to Boom Again?"—with comments calling Murphy's prediction a bunch of "lies," "propaganda" and "fictional."
 
Well, three years later, and Murphy's predictions have largely come to pass. While the current construction uptick may not have yet earned official designation as "unprecedented" quite yet, it arguably can be called "distinctive" for the financing methods that South Florida developers have employed to fund their projects. The bottom line: it appears that Murphy was telling the truth after all.
 
Coastal Construction is teaming with Tishman Construction to build the $147-million Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort project, currently under construction in Hollywood, Fla. (Image courtesy Coastal Construction Group)
 
The latest numbers from ENR Southeast's annual Top Contractors survey reveal that Coastal was well-poised to ride the latest wave of South Florida construction activity. The Miami-based firm experienced a 114% increase in year-over-year revenue, with 2013 revenue jumping to $443.2 million from the $206.8 million it reported in the previous year. The increase vaulted the firm from 28th in last year's ranking of the Southeast's Top Contractors, to 11th in this year's list, scheduled for publication on June 30.
 
Moreover, Coastal earned the top spot for Florida construction revenue—a significant achievement considering the competition statewide—as well as the #1 ranking among Southeast residential contractors. 
 
For these reasons—and a few more that readers can learn about in ENR Southeast's June 30 print edition—ENR editors have named Coastal Construction Group as this year's Contractor of the Year. That edition will also feature our annual ranking of the Southeast's Top Contractors, so be sure to check it out.